Ya, I climbed it more than 4x actually and by both routes 2x each, up & down plus initial inspection. I put a short Beta/info section at the very end explaining the easier way up, in the black chimney. . . I felt very comfortable on the direct route up the spine so I did that for the camera after climbing the very short "5.6, hard part" with no camera or pack just to make sure it would be safe and doable for me. It was, did not even feel like I needed my climbing shoes. . .
While I am certainly no geologist I would guess the black layer was an ancient sediment layer, silt/clay as it was smooth and slipperier, laid horizontally one zillion years ago. In nature, perfect flat planes like that often form horizontally in layers. It also appeared to erode faster than the Crystalized rock, some type of molten lava, surrounding it. Then the mountains uplifted the black sediment layer to an almost a vertical orientation. . . Just my not very "educated" guess. I was interest in it too, sure made for some cool drone footage! Really showed depth!
Secret be told, on two of the longer shots, I set up the drone on a "launch pad" framing my shot then started recording without launching. Not much to worry about if the drone is just sitting there! Got the shot of hiking and then launched and flew it to myself from my now distant position, awesome move if I do say so myself, lol. The one real pooper! I can not do it for super steep climbs! I would have to set the drone angled up on the launch pad too steeply to take off safely, even with the gimbal tilted up to the max! Bummer, that HUGE climb to the jagged summit. . . went back for the I phone on the one. . . honestly, this was not a mega huge route for me so I felt plenty good to do a lot of it twice. I must be crazy but I really enjoy it. . . . I did something similar on my next adventure but, at 14,000'+, the really awesome part, I was climbing the crux of the route with my furry friends! It was one of the more unique climbing experiences I've ever had. . . You'll get to join me on that adventure soon!