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A New Must-Climb 5.13+ in Arizona

Friend of the Devil follows a sweet line up an eye-catching piece of stone at Mount Lemmon

Mount Lemmon’s newest hard sport climb is Friend of the Devil, it was established by Luke Bertelsen in February 2023 and it already had several repeats.

About the route, Bertelsen said, “Begin down and right of a high first bolt. A boulder problem right off the ground gets you going and brings you to a no hands rest before you bridge the chimney and begin up the prow. Compression climbing and delicate smears bring you to another good rest just below the halfway mark. Above this lies two hard boulder problems stacked on top of one another. The first is dynamic and low percentage. The second requires balance and great foot work up a series of amazing slopey Hueco features. Both are absolutely amazing. The climb tops out the feature with anchors that are placed on the caprock above.”

The grade was suggested at 5.13d, with repeats suggesting slightly easier. In this short film, Jack Hereford sends, saying after, “This line looks wild when catching glimpses of it through the trees below. The prow rising out of the chimney and the Hueco scoops catching little patches of sun at the top drew me in immediately. Did not disappoint. The cruxes are unique, technical, a little burly, and left me grinning after each one came together. Comfort with smeary, off balance feet goes a long way. Very well-suited to the more bouldering-minded among us as there are good to decent rests most of the way up. I have never really been very motivated by anything on Beaver Wall (I told myself it’s because I don’t love the mid-mountain granite) and this rig had me hyped. A tasteful addition to the mountain and a modern classic.”

Friend of the Devil

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