Josh Higgins leads Boortemus (5.10d), Indian Cove....
Description
A beautiful line located on a large boulder 100 yards west of the Iceberg Boulder. Slightly offset so you can't see it until you're on top of it or just past it. Right off the ground a couple of moves of very tight hands lead to 30 feet or so of awesome gently overhanging hands. This would be a three star route if it were only longer. As it is, it is excellent and one of the best cracks in Indian Cove for sure. On excellent rock and with excellent protection and sinker jams and a low crux, this is an excellent route for someone wanting to push their crack leading level.
Protection
.5" to 3", take several hand sized pieces. Anchor requires 3-5" gear or sling something massive a long ways back from the edge.
A female friend of ours who also led it commented that it felt harder than Heart of Darkness... so much for ratings ;) I thought 10+ was reasonably fair, though it was short.
Boortemus is a corruption of Blortemus. The Blortemus was the name of a band from the Pomona/Diamond Bar area in the '70s. One of the members had a brother who climbed with the FA party and was apparently fond of blurting it out...it's a fun word to say!
Hand size will determine the crux; average people will find it in the tight hands down low, while small folks might find it being the wide cups higher up. Great route; if it were only 3-4x as long it would be a five-star mega-classic.
By Andy Laakmann Site Landlord From: Jackson Hole, WY Apr 12, 2007 rating: 5.10+
Like Will said... your handsize will determine which section is the crux - this short little baby has a bit of sting for all hand sizes. Good physical fun. Bring BIG gear (#4-#5 camalots) for the belay anchor. Or do like I did and send down the rope afterwards for the big stuff.
By caughtinside From: Berkeley, CA Dec 15, 2008 rating: 5.10b
Fun route! Starts tight and opens up. Agree that it's about .10b if you have average sized hands, definitely a harder start if you've got big mitts and a hard finish if they're small.
By Russ Walling From: www.FishProducts.com Sep 19, 2009 rating: 5.10c/d
As Will described, people with smaller hands might find the start to be easier than the off-sized hands above. Muliple hangs as my hands slid out of the crack finally got me to the summit.
Harder than Illusion Dweller, Fisticuffs, Rubican. IMO
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