Great technical climbing on small edges and sharp in-cuts. The obvious green and gold face above Laurel & Hardy Meet Abbott & Costello and just left of a right facing corner (5.7). Take fourteen draws if you are going to do the route in one pitch.
This a very classic route and the upper section is just wild climbing up and over a series of overhangs to a traverse that gets you on the upper headwall.
Climb up the steep thin face making cool, thoughtful moves (5.10c/d) to the first anchor. Belay or continue up and right through the tier overhangs the upper headwall. Climb the headwall past three bolts to the anchor.
Be careful lowering and put a knot in the other end of the rope.
Great route that will get better with more ascents.
Location
On a large ledge above Laurel & Hardy Meet Abbott & Costello near a large, dead pine tree.
Protection
Six clips to first anchor...twelve to the second anchor.
Kevin...we just added a second pitch...pretty wild climbing through the overhangs. Somewhere in the 11d range. We left some gear (draws) on the upper pitch and haven't finished it yet. Still need some cleaning. Should be done by the weekend.
The upper pitch is complete and the route was led in one very classic pitch thanks to Vanio Kodas, Greg Hand and Bob D. You need fourteen draws to the reach the upper anchor if doing it in one pitch. The upper section past the first belay is beautiful climbing up a series of small overhang to a wild traverse to the upper headwall.
The first pitch is tricky and sustained from the 3rd bolt to the anchors -- maybe .10c but it felt more like .10d to me. The wild second pitch is probably .11c onsight (easier once you've worked out the beta). Another excellent addition to Boulder Canyon.
As Chris said, there's a nasty 20"x20" death block to the right of the first bolt on the second pitch. Although it looks like a good stemming foothold, it's completely detached from the wall. Be careful.
A 70m rope isn't mandatory but makes it easy to lower to the dead tree instead of downclimbing from the ledge at the start of the climb.
PS. In light of Bob D's comment, I deleted my remark about Dana's .10c rating. Sorry about that.
Thanks Bob D, Vaino and Greg. This route is awesome, one of the best at Animal World. 11c, maybe d, I will go with 11+. It still has a bit of lichen on the upper section but will clean up quickly.
Done as a single pitch, this will become the best mid-range 5.11 sport route in Boulder Canyon once the lichen on the upper headwall cleans up a bit. Great position and thought-provoking movement. Out of curiosity, I used the advanced search features of MP to list all the 5.11 sport routes in Boulder Canyon sorted by stars. Nothing on that list is better than this climb. Animal Magnetism probably has a better finale, but over the entire length this route delivers better moves.
Of the 3 separate roof tiers, I think the 1st is hardest and the 3rd is the easiest. The upper headwall looks so blank from the ground, but it has a surprising rail on it that makes the upper headwall moves some of the easier moves on the route.
Use a long runner on the 1st bolt, the midway anchor and the first bolt after that and your rope will run nice and straight.
Great find Bob, Vaino, Greg and Dan! Thanks for the effort too.
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