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Bell Buttress - Main Crag

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Arms Bazaar 
Bell Air 
Cosmosis 
Double Jeopardy 
Epiphany 
Epiphany Direct 
Gates of Eden 
Grand Inquisitor 
Hound Dog 
Little Man in the Boat 
North Face 
Pitts, The 
Purpose, The 
Route That Dan Missed, The 
Saved by the Bell 
Spoils, The 
Three Minute Hero 
Tiempos de Ceguera (Times of Blindness) 
Verve 
West Crack 
West Face 


Bell Buttress - Main Crag

Submitted By: Ben Mottinger on Jan 1, 2001
Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst
Latitude: 40.0011  Longitude: -105.4130 
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Description 

BB is a towering mostly N-facing wall opposite of Practice Rock. Many old and classic routes can be found here but not too many easy routes. The famous route Cosmosis should not be missed, and if you're a trad hardman (or woman), there are some testpieces on this wall, some with a great deal of controversy surrounding them...

With its north-facing exposure, the wall stays in the shade until early afternoon so summer outings are cool, but on winter days you're probably better off with another wall.

A. Bell Air, 11, 2p, 190', bolts & gear.
B. The Pitts, 11, 2p, 220', bolts & gear.
B1. North Face, 10-, 1p, 80', gear.
C. The Bypass 8 A4, 1p.
D. Freak on a Leash, 12+, 1p, bolts.
E. Hound Dog, 11-, 1p, 90', bolts & gear.
F. Grand Inquisitor, 12 R, 1p?, gear & bolts.
G. The Purpose, 12, 1p, bolts & gear.
H. Gates of Eden, 10-, 2-3p, gear.
I. Double Jeopardy, 9, 2-3p, gear.
J. Bell Buster, 11-, 1p, bolts.
K. The Spoils, 12, 1p, gear.
L. Verve, 13, 1p, bolts.
M. Swerve 12, R/X, 1p, gear & bolt.
M1. Cosmosis, 9+, 3p, gear.
M2. The Route That Dan Missed, 10 R/X, 1p, gear.
N. Beethoven's Fifth, 12+ R, 1p, gear.
O. Unfinished Symphony, 11, 1p, gear.
P. West Crack, 9+, 1p, gear.
Q. West Face, 9, 2p, gear.
R. Arete, 12, 1p?, bolts?
S. Little Man And The Boat, 12- R, 1p?, gear?
T. Epiphany Direct, 12, 1p, gear & bolt.
U. Epiphany, 11+ R, 2p, gear & bolt.
U1. Saved by the Bell, 11, 1p, gear.
V. Arms Bazaar, 12-, 1p, gear.
W. Three Minute Hero, 11 R/X, 1p, gear.
X. Joe Pontiac, 7, 1-2p, gear.
Y. Malaise, 10, 1p, gear.
Z. Daedalus, 10 R, 1p, gear.
AA. Wrinkles, 9, 2p, gear.
AA1. Christmas In LA, 7, 2nd var 50' R of Z 2nd p, gear.
BB. Wayward Puritan, 6, 2p, gear.
CC. Five-Ten Route, 10-, 1p, gear.
DD. Front Line 11, 1p, gear.
EE. Frontier 11 R, 1p, gear.
FF. Tiers 7, 1p, gear.


Getting There 

Drive West on Canyon from Boulder and set your odometer at the bridge just east of the Dome. Drive 8.1mi up the canyon and a little ways beyond Boulder Falls, look for Practice Rock on the north side of the road with a gravel pullout. Park here then head across the creek on the south side of the road via a tree bridge.

To access the routes, hike downstream to the east end of the wall then scramble up an easy ramp to the base of the routes. Descent from the top is via a gully on the west side of the wall.



Featured Route For Bell Buttress - Main Crag
Rob Kepley catches while Rob Woolf narrowly misses a beautifully executed beta flash attempt with crux gear in situ.

Arms Bazaar 5.12a R  CO : Boulder Canyon : Bell Buttress - Main Crag
This is one of Boulder Canyon's longest and finest crack climbs, a shorter, steeper version of Country Club Crack without the annoying mantle at the bottom. It is on the smooth buttress right (west) of the gully which splits Bell Buttress in two, about 100 feet past Cosmosis along the ledge system.Begin just right of Epiphany. Step up over a small roof, clip a bolt and move past poor holds. Move right under the lip of...[more]