This route is located on the Upper Wall of the Clock Tower on the left-hand side. It is the three-bolt direct start to Leave It to Beaver. Leave It to Beaver is the third climb from the left on the Upper Wall of the Clock Tower.
Scramble up some easy rock to a ledge, then follow pockets and underclings to a left facing dihedral/flake. Rolofson's guide gives the climb 12c, but this must be a misprint. The climb is closer to 11a than 12c, and is not much harder than The Other One.
There seems to be a dispute here to how hard this route is: 12c vs. 11a. Quite a difference. Is one person trying to sandbag or is the other person looking for an ego stroke. So, how hard does this route feel? Is it similar in difficulty to 12c's such as Rifle's "Pretty Hate Machine", or Shelf Road's "Surreal Estate", or Boulder Canyon's "Gyro Captain". The first ascentionists put a grade on the route. Doesn't mean you can't disagree with them. They may even disagree with themselves if they did the route again.
I believe that 11a might be a little sandbagged for sport climbing in Boulder Canyon. I have not climbed any of the routes you mentioned above, but the day I did the route, my wife and a friend also did the route. My wife, Michelle, has never climbed a 5.11c, let alone 12c. She fell once, and that was past the crux. My friend, Ryan, did not fall at all, and at the time he had to make 12a projects. We all thought this route was 5.11. I thought it was about the same grade as The Joker at Easter Rock, which I had done the week before I did Beaver Fever. As with any rating, peoples opionion will be different, and it should not be left up to one person. Maybe other people will put in thier two cents and we can get a consensus. I am not trying to sandbag, but it might come naturally.
Softest graded climb I've done in BoCan. The "12c" part isn't even as hard as the upper part, which is the 11d crux of Leave it to Beaver. Decent route, nonetheless.
Actually, Beaver Fever is the 4th route from the left.
Left to right: DitchWitch - 12b Hew Haw - 11.d Leave It To Beaver - 11.d Beaver Fever - 12.c Mutant Overload - 12.d
The routes are little close together, and perhaps the posters may have done the 'Leave It To Beaver' start. 'Beaver Fever' starts in some blackish colored granite with an incipient vertical crack. This route seemed way harder than 12 to me, and 12c is consistant with ratings of other routes in the area(IMO). I got the beta from Chris Alber when I did 'Leave It To Beaver' with Mike Neu in 7/2004.
Of course, when routes are this close it is easy to find an easier line. I tend to take a "boulder mindset" and eliminate holds and wandering (As long as I won't die ;-)) cheers, and happy climbing!
I also don't believe the people who rated this 5.11 were on route. The first bolt on Leave it to Beaver is a bit right of the easiest line and might look like a direct start.
Upper Wall
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