Adventure Punks 

Every pitch is stellar on this one. However I realise that alot of folks out there don't like/ are scared of Offwidth's.
However if you skip the last pitch you haven't really climbed the route have you?
So! I suggest that anyone climbing only the first 4 pitchs(which are Awesome, did I say that yet?) has climbed a variation to the route.

This variation has a name....Adventure yuppies.

Plus they will miss one more great pitch. The blue collar pitch!

Topo available here:

www.redrocksguidebook.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24&sid=c>>>

Josh, I agree, this route is superb. I can't believe it's been overlooked for so long. Rare for Red Rock, this is a crack climbing route with five sustained pitches, and a blue collar finish that'll tell the men from the boys!

this route has several good stories with it, esp considering how few ascents it has seen over the years. here's one from recent years:

a couple of guides were climbing this route a few years ago. the day went swimmingly until their arrival at the base of the wide pitch. apparently the leader didn't know how to wiggle up chimneys, so instead she went out on the face to try unprotected .11ish slabbin'. her fall ended with a badly broken leg (femur, i think?) and a helicopter ride out of pine creek.

as a testament to how rarely this route gets done, their bail gear was still in situ 2-3 years later. this is a shame b/c this route is quite good and deserves more traffic.

finally, a note about the 'offwidth.' don't let it scare you off. like pretty much every rr route, it doesn't really require crack skills. its wide enough with plenty of face holds to allow a couple wiggle moves and its over. no worries; it would be more like 5.8 a lot of places. and if they haven't been removed yet, there are a couple of bolts on the pitch mistakenly added by a party who thought they were making an fa a few years ago.

beny,
I agree with you to a point concerning the last pitch. However I did use multiple Chicken wings, a couple of arm bars, one stack(which isn't the only move there), mixed with alittle squeeze chimneying.
But due to some key foot holds stemming keeps the grade around 5.10+....in true Red Rock form!

Cheers!

simply amazing route- probably the best 5.10 route i've done in RR- outstanding.

the only big question for me is the empty bolt holes next to every belay and the total mank (except the last two belays) that comprise the anchors. luckily they can all be backed up, but its obvious that someone was going to replace the bad bolts with good ones on this route at some point. regardless, if you're going up this thing, bring some tat- two or three belays could use replacement webbing.

despite all that, this route is an absolute classic. exceptional and varied on spectacular rock and very remote!

one thing- i'd bring two big cams (#6's) and one #5 (c4) to augment the single rack suggested. this will allow the leader to be very well protected on the cruxy last pitch...

Contrary to the often spot-on guidebook, the anchors on this route are OLD. Only the top of the route has a new anchor. The bolt atop p1 is an artifact. #3 and a Yellow Alien can back it up.

I don't usually add a comment to any routes that I do, but this one is sick. This is definitely one of the best routes in Red Rock. I'm not that good at wide cracks and was able to pull off the wide pitch. Don't let it scare you. The rack beta was spot on. Some of the pitches make you earn your gear, but what good trad climb doesn't? Launched some rock off during the wigglefest of the last pitch, so it should be good to go for subsequent parties. Compared to other wide pitches I have done I would say this one is not harder than 5.10, not 5.10+. Go for it.

Any thoughts on comparing the last pitch to the Fox?

@max-

hmmm...completely different flavor of climbing. The OW on the fox is pretty mellow compared to this beast, imho- the Fox's crux is lower where its not as wide.

overall, though, the sheer physicality of the two pitches is probably in the same ball park. The fox is pretty steep and sustained the whole way, and while the last pitch on this route isnt vert, its more physical and has a little extra 'bite' to it.

Have to agree with John, the best 5.10 route I've done at RR. Found it helpful to have slider nuts for a few places on the 10b pitches.

Killis and I did some work on this route this weekend, all bolt anchors have been replaced, and this route is ready to go.

Thought the route was awesome, sustained, and in some places pretty dangerous, so I wouldn't climb the route unless your a competent 5.10 climber.

1st pitch - 5.10a R/X. 5.9 move R/X off the deck, first few placements are in brittle/shitty rock. Rock quality gets better as you continue climbing, easiest pitch on the route, but mentally challenging. At the start, It's possible to place some gear way over to the left if your using doubles/halves, but be prepared for a pendulum.

2nd pitch - 5.10b after the pin, funky fun technical moves through a slot, climbing becomes easier 5.8, another cruxy 5.10a move right before you hit the anchor, wouldn't want to fall there as your last peice is about 5-10 feet below you and it's not completely vertical.

3rd pitch - 5.10 a/b. 5 star pitch, another technical move off the belay, if you don't get a peice in and fall, you'll definately hit your belayer... after that it's an amazing dihedral finger size w/ stemming and liebacking, best pitch on the route.

4th pitch - 5.10+. Another stella pitch, traverse right, make awkward technical moves consisting of liebacking/smearing/offwidthing through the first section & then placing a #5, this is another place where you really do not want to fall... eventually make your way back left towards the beautiful finger crack that is sustained... I was tired at this point, but thought it was a littler harder than 5.10b. More like 5.10+.

5th pitch - 5.10+ there are two retrobolts, one at 15-20 feet, another at 40 ft, at the first bolt, a number six easily protects that area, not sure why it was added. Due to time constraints we had to bail, but will be back on it next fall to finish the OW! For now, i'm just an adventure yuppie.

Cheers,
Robert

Rob- thanks so much for replacing the anchors on this one- a mega classic that needed them badly!

ASCA info-all belays up to top of fourth pitch are brand new 1/2 inch stainless with Fixe double ring hangers. A rad route that had seen some sheisty retrobolt action at the stations...new bolt at top of first pitch was placed far away from the original, in hollow rock. This necessitated still using a big, decaying piece of tat for the raps, and 2 bad bolts instead of one. I left the original as historic decoration-but installed two new good ones to the right and chopped and patched the newer bolt's hole. Try thumping on that spot with your hand when you're up there-bonehead move, placing a retrobolt on a classic route and not having the brains to tap with the hammer first and see what kind of rock quality you're dealing with. At P2 anchor, there was a retrobolt and new hanger on the older (but not original by the looks of it) stud bolt. Big ass, ugly chains had been added to these, and the older bolt was placed in a watercourse and looked solidly in danger of corroding out of there in the next few years. I chopped the FrankenAnchor and put in the crisp stainless. 3rd pitch was really fun-two holes drilled beside a gear anchor-looks like whatever Home Depot garbage bolts that were placed there originally were pulled out pretty easily. The gear anchor has been reduced at times to a single #4 wire (my first time up the route, we put in a second nut and re-equalized everything with new slings. That was three years ago-same slings and nuts were still in place, sunburnt as shit.), and Richard and Paul both expressed enthusiasm towards having the best anchors put in possible. I enlarged and filled the already-existing holes with brand new stainless. This allows a safe rap from the top of the third-no bail wires or slings need go on the gear list. Here's hoping that misguided choppers don't miss the message-the first ascentionists wanted good anchors on the route and were in agreement to fill the empty holes with good bolts. Please don't leave empty holes up there as did a previous party. At the next anchor, non-original drilled angles are rusty and the right one is eroding. I left these in place for now as we did not have the right tools (funkness) for pulling them. We'll be back.

The top anchors have been reported as fine, but considering the lame state of the rest of the anchors, I'd be ready to be unthrilled when hitting the last belay. [Edit: I was just assured that the top anchor has been replaced...] We started rapping with a little over an hour to get back to the car (no late pass, bonus points for forethought), foregoing the $200+ ticket for the chance to come back on a non-rotisserie heat day and finish the last pitch. It's really obvious that the retrobolts placed for pro on the final OW pitch are convenience bolts, nothing more. I can't believe that anyone climbing up past fixed pins, four anchors, well-worn and non-snappy climbing in the ass-end of pine creek thought they were on a new route and just happened to have 2 bolts to put in on a continuous crack climb. Those bolts are there to help lazy climbers dumb down a classic and get by without the double set of big boys that anyone less crazy than Richard would want to lead a pitch of those proportions.

The first ascentionists want those bolts gone and give their permission to return the route closer to its original state. As Richard put it, it was a rap route, it IS a rap route-nothing wrong with having safe raps so no one gets hurt and people can enjoy the route without shitting themselves getting off the thing. Richard Harrison considers that route and specifically that pitch as a statment of everything his climbing style is and was about at the time the route was put up. There are plenty of unclimbed, scary and gear intensive offwidths to be put up as first ascents that are legit (if not legal or respectable) to bolt up as sport climbs if that's really what turns you on. In the meantime, please leave the classic routes of Red Rock how you found them, and preserve the history and challenge for the next generation. Better yet, climb a route like Adventure Punks, learn what can be done with a pair of brass balls, some brass nuts, and a little belief, and put up routes that carry on the style and tradition that made routes like this great. End rant.

PS aside from gear and ethics issues, the first three pitches are well worth the hike and require no big gear other than an optional new #5 camalot on the wide flake of P1. If just doing the first four, I'd rate the pitches 5.9+ R/X, 10a/b PG13 (safer if you bring a small ballnut or two to back up the old pin), and 10a SOLID with an R start. This is a great intro to the area, 2 legit five star pitches that keep your attention the WHOLE way, and your rack's solid at doubles from .3 to #1 camalot, singles to 4 or five. If doing the upper pitches, the rest of the rack could be hauled or left with the second till the last pitch (the #5 is really key on P4). Hope that helps a few yuppies enjoy a long hike, beautiful views, and some exciting, memorable climbing.

Thanks again Rob and Killis for the bolt replacement. Nice meeting both of you. -Michelle

Michelle, if you start acting like me and my boys aren't horrible, demon baby-rapers, my rep is going to suffer. Glad you guys had fun up there, was nice meeting you too. Rob and I are still laughing about our conversation up there.

Hey Wilder-only Rob gets a thank-you? I'm hurt! Now if I don't hear from you on Valentine's Day, I'm going to KNOW something is up...

If I post one more comment after this one, it's gonna have to start with, "I am SO gay for this route..."

Anyway, I just want to give a nod to the person/persons who added belay bolts to Adventure Punks not too long ago and give respect for actually taking the effort to explain what and why they did on the route. I also want to clarify that the newer bolt atop the first pitch was in hollow rock, but so was the original. In the case of the bolt added at the second belay, it was placed well.

I think that Adventure Punks is a good example of what happens when people do "work" on existing routes a little at a time, on their own, without necessarily having the best ASCA hardware, and, more importantly, the permission of the first ascentionists to make those changes.

Who added the drilled angles? Why drilled angles of all things? I confirmed with the FA guys that they've never placed a drilled angle-EVER. The route in its original state had two bolts, a few nuts and slings, and one pin for raps-not the safest, but also not a mess of random crap put in by whoever felt like it over the years.

The lesson to learn here is to consult the FA team before making changes, and avoid getting too "creative" with someone else's statement of what a climb should be. Paul and Richard are psyched that the anchors on the route have been upgraded, the mystery holes filled, the tat and chain removed, and the visual appearance of the route restored as best possible.

Again, thanks to the person/people that contacted me about previous work done. I hope that the next time you get out to climb Adventure Punks, it's the safest, most pleasant, and aesthetic trip you've had up the route. Buy the FA guys a beer sometime-they take a lot of pride in that route, those memories, and those friendships. Plus, added bonus-they lived through it!

Thanks for the fixing up the anchors.

When Joanne and I did this route there wasn't too much known about it.
A lot of the rappels were from fixed nuts(even a cam). Sounds like there's been some improving on that...thanks!

This route is one of my all time favorites anywhere....

josh

The traverse is really scary, it seemed much easier to go straight up to the flake for my partner. There is no OW anymore. Lieback, squeeze, stem and 2 extra bolts turn it into sustained hard pitch, but way far from true OW..so go for it, one of the best routes in RR for sure..

Whats the dealio with the first pitch of this climb??? Was thinkin of gettin on it on my next trip; is it 5.9X?? How far to the first pro? Hopefully not 5.9 on brittle sandstone edges.....
thanks... lou

its a few moves of 5.9 just before the obvious flake about 15'-20' off the starting ledge. once you gain the flake, you get good pro. if you bring a hook and a bit of duct tape, it would protect it.

the fall wouldnt kill you, but it'd be gnarly- you'd fall past the start ledge into the brush below.

that said, anyone strong enough to get on this route should be able to deal with the first 20' of this climb.

I'm so gay for this route....

I've seen strong 5.10 trad daddies sketch out and struggle on the first pitch. The initial pro is AFTER 5.9 cruxing, is bunk 00 tcus and small wires in a hollow, 1/2-3/4 inch thick bongo flake. The gear on this pitch is consistently hollow, gongy stuff. It's beautiful and fun but no joke. It's by far the easiest on the route physically if not mentally though, so if you're not able to pull the moves I'd downclimb and move on with your life. Not every route's for everyone. Despite the "not X" banter you're hearing, a fall from 40' up might rip all the junk gear and take you and your belayer for a long tumble down slabs. The initial impact could easily kill you and holds are waiting to break on this as with most RR climbs. Heads up, wear a helmet.

I did the route today. The run out section of the first pitch is about 20 feet above a sloping belay ledge, 35 feet off the ground. Easy for the first 15 feet then probably about 6-8 feet of quite thin crimps and smears for the feet to a solid 1 inch wide, 6 inch long flat edge. I guess you could duct tape a hook on that though it might rip off the edge. The gear right there in the flake is questionable as it might just pull the flake. Just grab the flake gently and mantel onto the ledge, then you can get a small cam or RP that I did not trust due to the looseness of the flake. However after that you climb a bit farther on relatively easy terrain to a better flake and good cams so once you get the 6 inch edge its over in terms of difficulty / risk. Rest of the pitch - good cams and wires in an at times pretty hollow flake. I thought the pitch was PG. My partner assures me it was R rated and in retrospect a fall would have been bad so I will go with that consensus. Pitches 3 and 4 are fantastic. Pitch 5 is a true blue collar bitch - I bought a #6 cam (my first true monster cam in 32 years of climbing) just to do this pitch on this route. One big cam is not enough (for me) to safely free this thing even though I got some occasional other gear - Humbly I backed off 1/3 of the way up. Guess I am an Adventure yuppie. Kudos to you who have led that entire pitch. We brought an 80 meter rope and were able to rap with a single line. The rap down the second pitch is 41 meters but with rope stretch makes the belay - tie knots, use a prussik.

Very interesting.... awesome honest beta... coolio.... ..done enough aid to not be jacked on taping a hook on an edge ...

cheers....

the third pitch is incredible! final pitch is a knee-breaker, good luck

Great route but alright, enough is enough. A duck taped hook? Come on guys! The first pitch is seriously less intimidating when you actually see it than any description or picture. I was expecting it to be way further to the flake/good hold. It's close to the ground and really just one move and an absolute cinch. So anyway, that's that. The rest of the pitch is really fun liebacking from one flake to the other. Although one flake at one point is really really thin and pretty scary.

Now for the other pitch with the reputation: the offwidth. I only did like 10 ft. of real off width climbing after the first bolt. That was pretty much it for the pitch. I was honestly pretty scared and had no idea how I was going to do it as I have basically no wide crack experience but i thought it was doable. The rest of the pitch I used face features and a bit of squeeze chimney after the second bolt. I ended up with my #4, 5 and 6 at the belay! After cleaning the 6 for the last time (at a nice rest ledge on the face with smaller gear) I looked up and the corner was a finger crack. So definitely don't bail after the 4th pitch. At least go to the first bolt and then maybe the second and see how you're doing (if they don't get pulled that is).

Anyway, great route and amzing setting way back there in pine creek with awesome views of Bridge Mtn and the area. Pitch 3 is really rad. Thanks for all the nice belays.

This is not a Urioste route. Much more in your face than your standard 5.10 affair at RR.
Pitch 1-people exaggerate the initial move off the deck. You can reach the solid edge without doing any slab moves, then mantle and its done. Its only 15 feet up on a slab, not 35. Don't bother with the traverse beta from the left. Really fun flakes follow.
Pitch 2-The initial 15 feet are the crux, but gear is there though creative. The last 20 feet all I could get was a purple tcu and green c3, so it felt pretty heady.
Pitch 3-Best gear pitch. Not heady, fun great climbing in a corner.
Pitch 4-most heady for me. The corner lacks obvious gear, mostly really small stuff till you can get to the finger crack which was flarey with pods, then I couldn't find any good gear minus a purple c3 in a horizontal from the top of the crack to the anchor, which felt like 30 feet. If this was a Urioste route it would have 5 or 6 bolts on it. Not my favorite pitch. Not sure where Killer thought a #5 would go as there is barely any crack on this pitch.
Pitch 5-Easy up to first bolt, then walk the #6 for 10 feet till you get a hand jam, then easy to 2nd bolt, then squeeze chimney. From the squeeze chimney you can bail out to the crack on the left wall, and no more OW from there. So really, its 20 feet of hard OW or squeeze where a 6 is nice. Those bolts were nice IMO, but not where I would have put them.

Gear:bring some small stuff for sure, multiple c3's with doubles up to #1 camalot with a 2 and 3 camalot. I did not place a 4, or 5 camalot on this climb. The #6 is pretty critical for the OW unless you are cool running it out.

Great climb. Steep. Varied. Word of caution on last pitch though(the OW): As you near the last 20' or so you'll find it helpful to stem/reach out for the wall right of the wide crack. A lot of this rock is fairly fragile and there are numerous missiles waiting to launch. Your partner is safe because the pitch heads up and left but any parties below would be sitting targets. Have fun!

Big thanks for those who have helped cleaned up the anchors on this route. One of the best I have climbed in Red Rock with a bit of everything.

We cut the tat off the P5 anchor and added rap rings courtesy of the ASCA. Both bolts are bomber.

We took doubles of green alien to .75 camalot with single Green and Purple C3, and #1 to #6 camalots. If the pro bolts get chopped from p5 you will want a second #6.

The #5 is in a good placement on P4 and very nice to have.

I say this is a 5.10 route for the 5.11 climber. Exciting and stimulating climbing with just enough gear. If you can't do the start of P1 then you shouldn't be on the route.

We rapped with a 70m rope and only needed the tag line to rap p2. You need about 30 feet of cord since the rap is about 40 meters as mentioned above. The rap from P5 is very tight. Tie knots and be ready to clip the anchor below you.

Have to mention this route is my new favorite route in RR.

Rapped it with an 80M and had ten feet extra on the longest rap.

After reading mixed reviews of the runout start, I hiked up this morning to check it out. I'm a 5.11 climber and don't mind the occasional runout but I wasn't willing to risk the small chance of a slip. If you blew the moves before the flake your best case is a medivac out of Pine Creek Canyon. It's a long fall that probably wouldn't stop on the sloping ledge below. The 5.9 traverse variation appears to be protected by very marginal gear and the 5.10 direct start looks pretty greasy and insecure. The route looks amazing but not worth it to me. To each his own...

The "direct start" is a 5.9 move, there's only one move on the first pitch that I thought even rated 10a. Traversing in looked like way more of a pain in the ass and more of an attempt to avoid the nature of the route than much "safer", seeing as the possibility of a good-sized swinging fall and lack of a clear route burn time and psych that could be better put to use higher on the route where the real challenges lie. If you can't handle a .9 groundfall possibility on good rock, there are a lot more routes in Red Rock that are off the do-able list for you as an .11 leader.

Glad you liked this rig, too, Floyd. Safe anchors rule, amigo.

Just did route this past Sunday and I have to say has to be my favorite multipitch route in red rocks so far even though I failed leading pitch 4.

We brought TCU blue to red and single 0.4-#6 C4s. There are two bolts on pitch 5 that protect the parts of the wider stuff so doubles for the offwidth aren't necessary. I also placed two small nuts on pitch 2 I believe. Having a #5 on pitch 4 does help but not necessary. After a few more moves you can place something, but just a little run out from last pro. I had to bail on the bulge leading into the finger crack and let my buddy switch lead. I have to go back and claim this one.

This route reminded me of the Super Pooper at Tahquitz. Numbers #4 and #5 come in handy on P4. With double 60s you can rap from anchor 4 to anchor 2.