Aurora 

Honestly, this route is an overhyped pile. People like it because it's juggy, steep, and really ego-boosting for .13a in the gorge. It's probably .12c. Aurora is chossy and unpleasant at the bottom and is a drilled and gluey pile at the top. There are many better .13s in the gorge not to mention better easier routes. I guess the headwall to the right would be "classic" too if it was chiseled or had modular holds bolted on.

I agree the bottom is nothing special but I thought the movement on the headwall was really fun. I had no idea it was chipped though that's to bad. I don't have an extensive experience with 13's but I thought it felt about as hard as Yellowstreak over on the right side of the Great Wall of China.

Brad- the deeply gouged chisel marks in the enormous jugs didn't clue you in?
I recommend this sustained (not hard) jug haul to everyone who likes to hang once on a route but not actually send it.
Tim's a lil harsh with 12c...maybe "athletic" 12d.

scary looking! i only belayed my boyfriend up it and i was nervouse just as his belayer. this route is haunting...

Here's the deal: Aurora is a really fun route, not chossy. As with most 13s in the ORG it has some glue and/or enhanced holds. But it climbs great - go do it, you'll have a blast whipping off at the top. Kinda ridiculous for anyone to harsh on Aurora while giving Fight Club the big thumbs up. Both are fun steep climbs. Aurora is 13A for the ORG if you actually redpoint it, a lot of people who downgrade it are still in "1 hang" mode. Oh and the headwall to the right now sports a natural 13B called Corona which has cleaned up well in its 1 year of existence and is an enduro classic with a crux at the top!

This route is fun.

The bottom half of the route won't change your life, but the headwall is just good-ol'-fashioned fun rock-climbing. Go ahead, gun for the jugs (there's lots of them) and take perfectly clean whippers when your forearms explode.

I thought Corona was easier than this rig. High gravity day or truth?

I don't see why anybody would trash talk this route.....if your a 12+ or 13- climber go do it. You'll have fun and learn something in the process. It's fun, engaging, athletic climbing with perfect falls. And manufactured or not I thought it was a beautiful climb. No there is no single hard crux move but linking it all together is difficult, especially that last bolt! And after all that is how climbs should be rated, a single Redpoint push. Haters gonna hate, just go climb it! Lots of fun

Ethics aren't really at stake here and I think the grade-based criticism amounts to egotism that is as predictable as it is silly. That said, manufactured holds cheapen the whole experience and that bears heavily on how I perceive this route. Big moves between drilled and glue-sculpted jugs are fun, but so is climbing in the gym. So in answer to your quandary, that is one reason why I would choose to 'trash talk' this route if indeed I was going to do so.