This is an excellent route with great climbing on good rock.
It is slightly overhanging with two distinct crux headwalls separate by a good ledge/ramp. The variety of finger locks, jugs, crimps and slopers require good footwork, body position, and endurance.
The Ticket is located in Boulder Canyon, at the Upper East Face of Blob Rock, up the grassy gully between East Blob and Bitty Buttress. (Not the gully next to Blob Rock with Jolt Cola, Vasodilator, Conan, etc.. The Ticket is in the next gully to the East.)
There are several prominent lines on this wall. The trad test piece, Mile High Comic Crack, is the splitter, finger to hand crack, on the left side of an extremely overhanging wall. The first bolted line to its right is The Enlightenment (5.13b/c). The third bolted line, 60 feet to the right of Mile High Comic Crack, is The Ticket.
It begins with a small triangular roof about 15 off the ground. Four bolts take you through the first headwall (11d) to a ledge with a pin. Pass another 6 bolts up and right, past the upper headwall (12a), to the anchors. 85 ft.
Hardman/softboy disclaimer: Although The Ticket may be slightly under rated at 5.12a, its neighbor, the Mile High Comic Crack (5.12a), seems even more difficult. Therefore, to avoid controversy, I have left the ratings as they are stated in the guides.
This wall receives no sun after noon, is protected by wind, and has grassy ledges at its base, making it a good hang on windy or hot summer days.
Protection
10 bolts, 1 fixed pin lead to a two bolt anchor with chains.
I had a chance to jump on this superb route near the end of May and will second the three star rating. I thought there were two fine cruxes, one between clips three and four and another entering the final head wall. Both seemed close to 5.12a with a good rest between. We stayed left of the crack above the ledge which reduced the actual crack climbing to a bare minimum, and while this seemed a sacrilage, the crack did not seem very friendly when taken straight on. Excellent stone, good continuity, lots of open hand forearm pump all serve to rachet up the stars. If only all of the granite in the front range were as nice that on Blob Rock...
Just a heads up to those folks (like me) that are pushing their limit at this grade. I fell making the move to the sloper jug at the top of the crack (about 15 ft above the big ledge) and hit the big ledge just as the rope caught me. And that was with my belayer watching me close. A fall at this move with an inattentive belayer or an extra foot or two of slack will probably do some damage to your ankles. That said, you could slot a nut in the crack a couple feet above the 6th (?) bolt to shorten the potential fall. This move is probably mid-5.11.
A nice static way to latch the "jug" at the top of the crack is to switch sides in the crack to a layback on the right. This lets you make a static reach to the jug and still keep your waist close to the clip. A slider or loweball will slot high in the crack and be bomb-proof.
Upper East Face
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