Morpheus 

This is a nice long pitch with a variety of climbing. Between bolts 3 and 4 in the corner, I placed a few cams ranging from about a #.4 to a #1 Camalot. (I think that a #.5 and a #.75 would be particularly useful.) I also placed a finger-sized stopper in the easy-but-runout section between bolts 1 and 2.

A 60-meter rope is useful, as ours just reached back to the base of the climb while lowering, although this depends on where your belayer stands on the steeply sloping ground below the route.

Good route that starts a little grungy and maybe loose, depending upon the path taken. The route soon improves. The [other] day I saw "medium gear" scribbled on a topo, so I took 1.5-3" gear. OK, so medium really meant .75"-2". With a few big stoppers and TCU's to 2" you [can] protect it well. It's a cool route, too.

Borderline 2*. If the bottom 30' were more like the rest, it would be a better line, but it is very worth doing.

I just have a really hard time saying that this is harder than Leftwing, let alone [Pegasus], Kangaroof, or FM... I can't grade it 11c. I understand that the grades are all questionable, but the ones that have held their grade for 20+ years should be the benchmark.

11c felt about right for this route. Maybe I [missed] something at the crux. You can get a good #5-6 nut at the crux traverse to the left.

grade depends on how high up you are at the crux, if you are higher, it is harder, if you a lucky enough or smart enough to reach lower at the crux it is easier. This probably explains the 11a/11c opinions

Cheers

BobL

I thought for a little while about how to say this without sounding like a wise guy, but I think no matter how I say it, some people are going to take it that way. I am serious and not trying to start a flame war, but isn't the climb an 11a if there is an 11a way to do it and anybody doing it a harder way is just making their ascent harder, not the route? From my point of view, skipping crux holds doesn't make a route harder, it makes the ascent of it harder. Maybe I am missing what you are saying, or maybe somehow this explains the differences in the grades I've been feeling between sport or trad lately. That maybe sport grades are made on the onsight by people used to redpointing?

Tony I think you are missing the point here. Each ascent of a route is different for every person doing it. The holds are the same but different people have different strenghts and weaknesses and might use those same holds in a different way to make the climb easier or harder. If you thought the route was 11a...so be it. That does not mean that every other person doing the route has to grade it 11a just because TB thinks it is that grade. I stayed at waist level of the bolt and traverse left to the arete. Hence the grade for me. I have seen other people go straight up from the bolt and then go left, hence the grade for them.

To me, the grade is just an approximation. It lets me know if I should stay away or get on it. Some days everything feels easy and some days I have to work a "red point" on the trail to the climbs. Depends on everything.

I suppose I could put it more plainly that missing the easiest sequence and doing the route a harder way doesn't make the route harder- I agree that it makes the ascent harder. But if there is a 5.11a way and a 5.11c way to do the route, I'd give the route 5.11a and say that people that did the 11c were a bit off the mark. That was the point. In trying to sound as polite and as diplomatic as possible I've clouded that though. Sorry.

The NW Corner of the Bastille has three variations in Rossiter's guide to do the crux headwall varying from 11b to 10c -- the left and center variations are just a couple feet apart. No one has a problem with that. Hopefully both variations for Morpheus will show up in the topo of the new guidebook.

I'd call the "low" crux traverse left from the corner to the ledge .11b. But, since it's only one or two moves, .11a makes sense too.

For me, the most enjoyable climbing was on the final headwall. It's never harder than .10c(?), but consistently thought-provoking.

The 30+' corner between the 3rd and 4th bolts is well protected with two or three pieces chosen from 6 - 9 Stoppers to .75 - 1 1/2 Friends (or similarly sized Aliens, Camalots, etc.)

This and The Daily Grind are probably the two nicest climbs uphill from Sleepless in Boulder.

For some reason I found this REALLY hard. I simply could not get over to the good jug out on the arette even though it was SO close. Usually at this grade I can at least do the moves after working it out but not this time, and I stayed on the low path. Was I missing a backstep or something? Do you just go for the jug or slap the [arete] a bit first?

BTW, I agree that just above the crux is a good bit of really cool juggy but pumpy and thought provoking climbing.

Kirk Woerner said: For some reason I found this REALLY hard...Do you just go for the jug or slap the [arete] a bit first?

I remember leaning out off of a decent hand hold, pasting my left foot on the wall and lunging sideways to the jug. My partner, Chuck, who is shorter, got his left foot to stick on something and did it more or less statically.

Heard from a solid source, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH A 50m ROPE!

Lots of fun. Take a red Alien and maybe a #1 or #2 Camalot if you don't want to run out the 5.7ish corner to the crux. It was easy and I didn't really think about only having a red alien 20 feet below, but maybe it is smart to have a bigger piece.

The crux move out left to the arete was sweet. Get that little crimpy side pull with opposition feet and lean over there. In all grace I just got my left hang on the jug, cut feet and swung over.

To top it off the mid 10 face at the end is a great finish! Agree with everyone else, do not climb this with anything less than 60m rope.

So, am I the only one who thought an all points off dyno to the little shelf out left on the arete was the way to go? After 2 tries of trying to get there statically the dyno worked really well and was super fun! Afterwards on TR, I just reached out several feet above the shelf and used the arete with the thin crack as a sidepull for my right hand (instead of the dyno). I placed 3 mid sized cams for pro, which seemed just fine. Agreed the top section is consistent and can pump you out quickly. And yes 60m rope mandatory...even with one you just barely hit the ground so be careful raping or lowering. I would give this 4 stars if it was completely sustained...as it is the plethora of rests break it up too much. Still a great climb though.