Mars Attacks 

This route felt hard and exciting for 5.8. The first pitch looks easy, but there is a difficult slab move on this pitch. The next pitch, the traverse seemed to be the crux and it is a bit heady and a bit pumpy, so very, very cool. Great photo potential here. I think the route feels more like a 5.9 on the first two pitches. The 3rd pitch is a super cool, very unique and fun crack/chimney pitch.

Mars Attacks is a great climb! From where you park your car, walk back to the road and then head north for about 350 yards to a small wash on your right. Take this wash to the path that will get you past the first little cliff to the shelf. You will approach the climb from the West.

The first pitch is harder than 5.8. I would say 10 slab easily. I heard that a key foot nub wore off from repeated use. The second pitch is a classic limestone band traverse around the prow. Third pitch is a full rope with wide gear placements. Not to worry, there are plentiful huge jugs that make this pitch a cruise. The fourth pitch is a crack to slab combination. Make sure you traverse right to the other set of anchors for your rappel!!

This rap will put you right over Big Corner, which is another great climb [10c/d corner]!!!

I'm not going to get into the technical aspects of this route. Its a must do if your out in Sedona. The third pitch had to be my all time favorite. It was a great chance to practice that crack climbing that I've been avoiding. I can't say enough good things about this climb.

FA John Burcham AND John Mattson.

Mars was a great route all around. It contains a wide variety of climbing disciplines. The first slab was nerve racking to a airy traverse. The 3rd pitch was aesthetically beautiful as well as one of my favorite cracks. Bomber hand jams, to fist to chimney, stellar at the least. If you plan on rapping the route, bring two ropes. You can rap big corner with one rope no problem. The anchors for the second rap are at the very end of a 60 meter rope. They are hidden below a bulge and you will not see them until almost on top of them. A true 100 Ft. rap.

Best climb I've ever done. This route has everything. Slab, traverse, crack and off width. Thanks to Jodie and the rest of the crew for taking my girlfriend and I on this amazing climb.

If you are good at slab (check) and your head is on for exposure (check), this climb is pretty much cake. Gear is bomber on cracks and sandstone provides great friction. I recommend.

I have done this route several times over the last 3-4 years and it doesn't seem any harder than 5.7 or 5.8. If you aren't good at slab technique the 1st pitch will feel harder, but that is because of your skill, not because the climb is difficult. It is a great route.
Ronnie

I rope soloed this in early Oct. I'd like to comment on the first pitch rating. After reading the varied opinions on the rating of pitch 1 I paid close attention to the difficulties and I climbed it twice(because I was soloing). I intentionally climbed 2 different "lines" at the crux section. I found one of them to be 5.9 and one to be 5.10-. The lines I took were both on par with the bolt location's and wear to the rock indicating that others had climbed there. Is there an easier path farther from the bolts? Possibly...but the "line" that is bolted is in the 5.9/5.10- range. It is very well protected however!
I've put my time in climbing hard slabs in a wide variety of local's and that's my 2 cents.

Also this is a very good route. The 2nd and 3rd pitch's are very classic!

Great route! I felt like the 3rd pitch was the crux though. Pulling through the little bulge with only the offwidth crack and no holds was quite exciting for me. Then I ran out of gear and had to run it out to the anchors from there- don't place all your big pieces before the bulge!

I felt the first pitch was about 5.9 (Sedona 5.8), no harder, but could seem harder if there was no chalk.

There are more bolts on the first and fourth pitches than on the route description: I think 5 on P1, and maybe 6 on P4. Both slab pitches are well bolted.

My partner and I had flashed 5.10 slab at Pinnacle Peak earlier in the week, a place not known for its soft ratings. We've climbed 5.9 and 5.10 sandstone slab/face as well. The slab pitches didn't seem a whole lot easier here.

Regardless of the rating, Mars Attacks is an awesome route.

Just did it again, for the fourth time! We were a little short on time so I ran the first and second pitch together without too much rope drag and with only one double length runner. Didn't seem to make it any more dangerous and made for one hell of a first pitch!

Regarding the rappel; I don't think you can hit the midway anchors with one 60m rope, two ropes are required. We did a single line rappel and the center marking for our 60m rope was about 15'-ish above the anchors. A 70m will be VERY close.

The second rappel is right around 190' from those midway anchors.

Like mentioned below, the midway anchors are hard to spot until you're almost on them. You'll see the anchors for a climb, Big Corner way on the left. First time I was going down it, I was heading to those griping about how far out of plumb they were and pretty much ran right on top of the midway anchors.

Fun route! The 3rd pitch great!

I must admit, the beginning of P2 and bulge crux on P3 of Streaker Spire seemed harder than anything on this route. A fun climb but everything is there as far as features go, you just have to know how to use them.

"5.8, my ass!," said my wife on pitch 1. "5.8, my ass!," I thought on pitch 4. Seriously, I've done some slab climbing and that 4th pitch through the well-protected slab section seemed quite a bit harder than 5.8. Ah well.

And I second a two rope rappel. We were on a 70m rope and it was a testy three-rappel descent. But the climbing was AWESOME!!!