Alligator Wall 

Has anyone led this route recently and can comment on gear?

The gear is the same as for Dancing Madly Backwards for the first 20 feet. Mid sized (small hand sized) 4 cams in the spaces present where the rock is featured with the odd discontinues flakes and jugs. Do not place gear behind the flake top that sits just left and below the left most corner of the overhang. It is somewhat detached and loose/fragile. Above the loose flake and in the corner crack formed by the left facing corner that forms the overhang low down you can get nice larger four cam placements and maybe hexes or larger tricams. Above this there is little or no gear for a good 10-15 stretch unless one traverses left a bit and ties off the large softball shape rock nugget/pebble that is stuck in the rock. Makes a great hand hold too this pebble but it is somewhat left of the natural direct line of Alligator. There a few spots near the top one can get small TCU os C3 in horizontals.

Comparing this climb to say Mammalary Magic, I'd have to say this climb is a bit harder. Way more physical at the bottom of the climb. Then moving up to small crimps and feet to finish it off. I would give it a 5.10b rating. The holds are as small as Mammalary at top, and more vertical.

I submitted it at 5.9+ to stick with what the guide book says.

Anyone know the FA?

fa = dlfa

Thx Steve

tr fa the infamous tommy d.
first lead. rich and dave

I had been saving this for an on-sight lead for awhile and today I sacked up and sent.
The gear was fine up to the arching crack and I created a nest with one good cam and a few more micro cams in the crack before I pulled around the roof for the run out. The run out was serious as I couldn't be sure my nest would hold in the sandstone as I was ~15ft above it but at the next horizontal a decent, albeit shallow, cam went in to protect some insecure sloper crimping moves to the top.

One quartzite knob I relied on after the roof looked as if it could pull out at any second but people have been yarding on that thing for a long time so it's probably damn permanent. I think the quartzite knobs embedded all over this crag are the coolest!

As Burt said this takes mostly small gear, try not to fall. I also think 5.10a or b would be fair if you compare this to Arturo or Has Been right next door.

Way to go Nick. Sounds like this route was FULL VALUE as a lead.

After the last good piece (a bomb .5C4 around 40% up the route) I kept muttering to my belayer "holy cow this thing is intense!". Definitely a heady route. Although I was able to place plenty of gear, none of it was better than a 50% piece, and some much worse! I probably spent 30+ minutes on this route sussing out the gear and trying to summon the courage to move upward. On the upper slab I was able to sling 2 quartzite knobs and place a undercammed shallow #1 camelot, and a marginal #1c3. None of which inspired much confidence. Needless to say I was stoked to top out!