Blade Runner  5.11b

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Type:  Trad, 1 pitch, 70 feet Consensus:  5.11b [details] FA:  P. Piana, B. Devine, K. Bein, 1982 Submitted By:  nolteboy on Sep 17, 2005 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (7) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

Rob Kepley sending Blade Runner with "pumphouse".
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Description 

If facing STRAIGHT & NARROW, head downhill to the left, passing MOON TIDE and then a rubble-filled gully. Stay to the right, up and over some boulders, and you'll see BLADE RUNNER straight ahead- a clean, less-than-vertical dihedral with a very thin crack.

This route is a Vedauwoo classic. Instead of the typical blue-collar thuggery required by most climbs at the 'Voo, this one is more balancy and touchy-feely stuff. Two distinct cruxes will be encountered. The first is a thin lieback past two fixed nuts (the second of which, a wedged copperhead, looks to be the better of the two) about 10 or 12 feet off the deck. Jam and lieback the thin crack above to a great no-hands rest, then finagle your way up to where the crack starts to close down. Place gear and commit to the thin, spooky moves up to and past a tiny copperhead pasted into the seam. A committing, but not too difficult, mantle follows, at which point you can place a hand-sized cam and regain your wits. Twenty feet of low fifth class up the corner leads to a belay (gear in crack on left or sling giant blocks on right) - there is no fixed anchor. Descend by scrambling up and to the right, then down the rubble-filled gully- pretty casual descent.

Protection 

Mostly nuts (all sizes) and smallish cams. A couple of hand-sized pieces.

Descent 

Per Jeff G.: There are new bolts with rings on top. A single 50 meter rope will get you back down.

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On the blade.