The day after Avi and I climbed Cathedral Peak, our motivation to climb remained high. With Ampitheatre Mountain’s Middle Finger Buttress only a stone’s throw from our tent, it was the obvious choice! Avi and I climbed Middle Finger Buttress via the “Left” route on September 1, 2025. Despite the incredibly bland name, this is a fun climb with an absolute classic first pitch.

Pitch one is by far the hardest and highest quality pitch of this route. Avi ran out the starting chimney, only placing a piece to protect the top out. Next, she launched up an amazing dihedral split by a perfect hand crack. So classic! The crux comes near the top with full-commitment laybacking required. Good stuff.

The rest of the route decreases in quality compared to the amazing first pitch, but it’s still fun adventure climbing all the way to the summit. Avi led off on the second pitch on grainy 5.9 terrain while I let the residual first-pitch pump dissipate. We swapped leads up three more pitches to the summit. These upper pitches feel very alpine and there are many possible route options. On the hike off the backside, we ran into some cowboys on horseback who’d been hired to support another climbing team in the area – so cool! The riders and their horses were on their way to meet the climbers at the top of the wall with beer and a ride back to camp.

After the short hike back to camp, we packed up and did part of the hike out the same day. What a fantastic area and trip! It was the perfect combination of high-quality alpine rock climbing and backpacking.

Gear Notes

Doubles .2-2, single 3, single 4, offset nuts.

Strategy Notes

Apparently, hire a local outfitter to ride on horseback to camp. Have them pick you up when you top out your route. Walking is for suckers!