On the left side of Bell Buttress, at a tree flush against the wall, is this excellent, well-protected route. The climbing is good from bottom to top, with good crimpy edges and a reachy crux somewhere by the 8th bolt. The bolted line which extends up and left from the 8th bolt is "Freak on a Leash" (5.12d, F.A. Steve Sangdahl & Chip Rockgrabber), an exercise in devious, hard-to-figure-out moves. By the way, Hound Dog has been led using gear and clipping only two of the bolts (an exercise in deviousness of a different nature!).
One of the best bolted lines in Boulder Canyon of this grade. The climbing is sustained and the crux well protected. The finishing moves are now protected by a bolt and a cam is no longer needed for the 5.9 exit moves.
I have to concur on this one; steep and relatively sustained, but well protected. Just don't blow the second clip or you'll have the tree stump anal probe experience.
By Tony Bubb From: Boulder, CO May 22, 2002 rating: 5.10
Awfully easy for 11a. Seems like a good first 5.11 for people.
All comments relevant to the trad/bolted/headpointing/ethics discussion has been moved to the features section of the site (should show up tommorrow). Geez, I leave for a week and all hell breaks loose. :-)
Great climb, but if you are 5'2" or under it is a very powerful reachy crux on sh*ty holds.
By patrick kadel From: Boulder CO Jul 18, 2006 rating: 5.11a
At 5'7" the crux moves felt hard to me but I think if you are 5'10" or taller you avoid the difficulties. Maybe for the taller, the crux is located elsewhere as the hold 6" above my crux is very positive. So I'll chime in with 10+/11- and if you can reach 6" more than me I'll guess sustained 10-???
Overall, a nice climb to do while visiting Bell Buttress.
Bell Buttress - Main Crag
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