One of the best and most accessible of the easier moderates, Double Cross is perhaps the most climbed (i.e, crowded) route in the entire Park. Those who have not yet developed basic jamming technique will find this route quite difficult.  Although easily protected, this route has been the site of several serious injuries and a few fatalities over the years.

Begin by climbing 25' up and then traverse left to gain the main crack.  Continue for another 70' of stellar hand to fist crack.  Belay from 3-bolt anchor.

If crowded (as it often is), consider

Double Start

(just to the right),

Dogleg

, or

Sexy Grandma

.

Descent: Rap to ground (a single 50m rope just barely makes it).

Many, many pages of discussion about the route have been moved to the

Double Cross Discussion

in the Southern California Forum.

Double Cross

Begin 5' left of Double Cross.  Climb up to an overlap and drop in a couple cams (suggest you equalize them as it's a bit crunchy...but good).  Mantle and move left to the first bolt.  Move up & left.  You get some more pro before another mantle, then a bolt.  Move right into the dish and clip another bolt that protects the steep, pawing, slabby crux.  Once above the crux, follow the left trending crack to the top of dogleg.  There is a moderately sized, detached, slabby piece of rock above the crux.  It hasn't come off and I doubt it will...but let your belayer beware.

Bridwell-Sustad

This route lies to the right of Dogleg Begin below the left side of a large downpointing "Fang" flake/cave feature (same start as The Fang).

Up the left side of the Fang flake (use 1st bolt on The Fang), then continue up face climbing past 3 more bolts and a horizontal crack to finish at the belay for Dogleg.

The Cavity

On the south side of The Old Woman and 15' right of Orphan is this nice climb with a minimal approach and a variety of moves.

Start up a nice handcrack that arches up and right (crux) to meet a thin crack on a lower-angled ramp. Continue up the ramp with minimal protection as the crack peters out, until the top where a welcome bolt protects the last smeary moves to the top. You'll end up on the same ledge to belay as Toe Jam and it's neighboring routes; afterwards, move over 15' and rap off from bolted anchors atop Bearded Cabbage, circling back around the formation to reach your pack.

This route gets few stars in the guidebooks, but the climbing is good and there tends to be little traffic compared to some of the other nearby routes. Every bit as good as Orphan and not as thrutchy - have a go at it. One star out of five.

Dandelion

Scramble onto a ledge about 30 ft off the ground. Up the fun jugs to gain the prominent dihedral crack.  Cool stems, then much awkward bliss.

Descend by going over the top (exposed) and downclimb the northwest steep features to climber's left, or tunnel through to climber's right and downclimb Northwest Chimney (5.2), or thread the rope around a near-horizontal block (use the smoother hole to climber's right) atop Northwest Chimney and rap (afterward straightforward pull with some friction).

Little Old Lady

Climb up a crack/ramp 10 feet to the base of the left facing corner. Climb 5 feet with no pro to reach the bolt -there are no hand holds and loose, grainy, rock for the feet. Scary! Stick clip? Bust moves up into horizontal, place hand sized gear, get scared and pumped, hand traverse left to place a old #4 camalot for protecting crux. Tell your belayer to put on goggles, then heal-hook and hand traverse the pumpy, flat, edge with kitty litter for feet. This was very hard! I failed on lead and when I top-roped this section from sexy grandma anchor. NO feet, they keep falling off. Makes a nice rain sound though. Continue traversing on much easier ground to the top of Dogleg. I did it in one pitch but had henious ropedrag. The follower would probably like the tighter belay possible with an intermediate anchor. I thought this climb looked cool. It does, but I would not recommend it, except for a good laugh. Covers a lot of ground on the old woman though.

Middle Band

Climb into a small bowl just to the right of ORPHAN.  Climb up and left across the fact to a belay in the DOUBLE START chimney.  Drop down a few feet, then continue left to the top of DOGLEG.

Iron Man's Traverse

A nice chimney with fair protection.  It gets its name from the fact that you climb a short chimney/flake on the left, then traverse right into the upper half of the more obvious chimney.  Rappel off from the top.

Double Start

This route is on the south side of the Old Woman and has the same start as Dandelion Stem.  Start up the face 15 feet to the right of Dandelion.  Stemming moves will bring you to holds on the right and a pinch.  Climb over the pinch and continue up easier face moves to finish with Dandelion.

Dandelion Wine

A fun, secure, low angle chimney.   Scramble off.

Northwest Chimney

This is a fun and hard route that will prepare you for using all of those J-tree friction holds that you would not think could keep you on. The crux is relatively short and the climb may be a little easy at the given grade, at least if you TR it. In the attached picture, the line is essentially where the climber is rapping off.

Approach and begin climbing as for Double Cross. When Double-Cross moves up and left, Route 499 moves out right to a set of seams just above a dark bulge. These opening moves where the line separates are relatively easy (5.8) and I suppose more than one non-vigilant leader has been mistakenly sucked onto the wrong line. I would not want to lead this line though, as the climbing gets more difficult and insecure as the route progresses, and protection is not be available. Climb the seam to its top, about 45' off of the start, and continue straight up on the face above, past a horizontal and onward through a few more short seams, just to the right of a dark section of rock. This is the crux of the route. Crimp, smear and sidepull. From the crux, head up through a shallow concave feature to the ledge/belay as shared with Double Cross.

To descend, rap from the anchors above the route.

Side-note: I tried this right after applying sunscreen on a hot sunny day and got to a crux crimp that just would not stick, as my sweaty-oily hands baked and slipped each time. The rock was so good and the friction was so high (with the exception of on my hands) that I got the crux with a contortionist-looking toe-hook to the right, in front of my face, which held me for a dead-point! An subsequent ascent on my next trip to J-tree made this feel much better, however, WITHOUT the sunscreen.

Route 499

This variation climbs the initial crack of Sexy Grandma, then instead of moving right around the corner, continues straight up the crack, joining Double Start at its top section.

Sexy Grandpa

Nail the incipient crack system on the left side of OPHAN's chute. RURPs and nests provide entertainment. Note:  This is the original route description by John Wolfe.

Treinte Anos

This is a fun route that goes up the arete to the left of

Band Saw

and turns the roof on good holds. This route is really well protected and along with great climbing it makes for a good alternative when Double Cross or other climbs on this face are being climbed. There is a two bolt rap/belay anchor (one 60m rope reaches on lowering).

Sexy Grandma

Begin as for Double Cross, but head left on the diagonal crack to a belay at Dogleg (5.10a/b).  The crack continues slightly lower and traverses the North Buttress to finish at the first ledge of the NE Corner (5.10b R).  Crux is at the end of the second pitch, with a potential bad fall for the second.

From the original 1970 guide:  "About 35 pin placements are used; most are A1 and A2, but a few are more challenging.  Two hanging belays were used on the first ascent."  And regarding entering the Dogleg's 'Freeway':  "A sling over a small loose flake and two bolt holes are used to enter the Freeway".

The original rating was A4.

Lower Band

This route is a direct start variation to the route Dandelion on The Old Woman.  Start 15 feet right of the diagonal crack at the base of Dandelion on the face directly below Dandelion's vertical crack.  Stemming moves bring you up to holds on the right and eventually a pinch 5 ft to the right of the vertical crack.  Traverse left into the vertical crack to join and finish with Dandelion.

Dandelion Stem

Start off a block and make funky, unprotected 5.10 moves to a high first bolt which you'll be glad to clip as there are some thin moves above the bolt climbing up to a small roof (pro possible here). After the roof pass a horizontal crack and then continue up well protected face past two more bolts. A small cam will fit in a horizontal after the last bolt and protect the finishing moves to a ledge. Scramble left to rap anchors atop Double Cross, or alternately it's possible to traverse left in a horizontal and reach the Sexy Grandma anchors.

A fun route that would be a lot more popular lead if it had some decent pro at the start. This is one climb you probably won't be waiting in line for and a good climb to do when on this side of the rock.

Band Saw

A tricky start with fiddly pro is the crux after which fun but sustained crack climbing leads to the top of the rock.

To descend head to the east side of the formation and rap off from bolted anchors atop the route

Deviate

.

Dogleg

Stem and jam up a hand-crack until the midway point where the crack widens to a chimney then dive in and try not to thrutch your way to the top.

Orphan

"Joshua Tree National Park (formed as a Monument in 1936, and designated National Park
 status in 1994) has long enjoyed a reputation as a world-class climbing
 mecca. For many decades climbers from around the world have come to 
experience its steep cracks, exposed slabs, and huge granite domes."

Description

Protection

Routes in The Old Woman - West Face