Out to Lunge is located on the west face of the Bastille, uphill from the Blind Faith corner and starts beneath a large coniferous tree. Begin by either ascending the starting corner of Breakfast in Bed or climbing the slab directly below the initial left facing corner/ramp system (both are easy 5th class) to a ledge. Climb up this corner (careful of loose rock) to an okay stance below a left facing flake (the climbing up to this point is quite runnout, and I believe it deserves an "s" rating even though Rossiter doesn't give it one). One can place medium TCUs, medium nuts, and possibly a #1 Camalot here, before laybacking the flake and manteling onto its top (crux of route). After the mantel a #8 WC nut fit nicely into a shallow groove to the right. Continue straight up towards the roof on easy huecoed 5.5 climbing. Moving left 5 feet below the roof makes for a long reach between big holds, where climbing straight up to the roof and then left is shorter moves on smaller holds. Place gear before this because the fixed pin can't be clipped until after the 5.8 moves are made. Bust up left around the arete and finish up easy face climbing or corner to the broad Bastille descent ledge. Descend as for all other Bastille routes.
Protection
Bring a full set of nuts, single rack of cams up to a #3, and several standard length runners.
This was a good climb. I think my entertainment came from the assortment of quality moves. I didn't do a route submittal since I did not do P2. Anyway, the "s" rating may be warranted as Kristo suggests since some of the placements behind the hollow flakes are questionable and well spaced. My partner and I felt that this pitch was 5.8. However, I would recommend Blind Faith (10-) to the 5.8 leader before this climb due to the nature of the protection.
FWIW, I thought it protected fairly well (the first pitch at least). Pitch 2 continue up and slightly right up a slab before turning an awkward looking off-width/chimney crack/roof. It's actually hands and a finger lock once you get up there, but there's a tricky move on the clean face that is unprotectable - THIS warrants an s rating, I believe. Anyways, turn the corner and follow the easy climbing another 15 feet to the ridge and belay. I thought this was definitely better than 1 star, 2 stars in my book.
Quick comment-Did the route for the 3rd time today, and realized a good way to keep the rope out of the roof crack atop the 2nd pitch is to brinng a #2 Camalot or equivalent for a pothole about 5 feet right of the belay ( a straight in crack 15 feet above the roof). This will keep the rope to the 2nd climbers right (out of the crack) and make it easier to belay. Otherwise it has a tendency to get caught in the sharp finger crack at the crux move while you belay your second.
There is a pretty fun variation listed in the guidebook for pitch 2: Go up the left side of the slab and turn the roof at a thin crack (10d/11a). Gotta say, although it's short-lived, this is pretty damn hard for the grade and a wee bit hairy to protect. Did I mention reachy?
For the "unprotectable slab move" on P2, you can sling a decent small horn (a large round pebble) on the right. With the belayer down and left from the start, this horn is quite good. If you come off you'll still hit the big horizontal crack, but the horn should keep you from going all the way to the walk-off ledge.
I agree with a previous comment that the mantel isn't as hard asa 5.9. A friend of mine lead breakfast in bed the same day andit sounded like his mantel was much more difficult than mine.I however didn't like the pro placement before the 5.8 sectionat the top. I found myself about 20 feet above my last placement(just after the crux mantel) and placed two very sketchy pieces which Idon't think I would have trusted body weight to. Is it possiblethat I missed some good placements in the 5.5 section? In any caseI enjoyed the climbing, but would warn climbers about the proplacement at the top of P1. Also, in the 5.8 section, going straightup on small holds and moving left although looks rather uninvitingat first is not as bad as it looks. The feet I thought were really good.Alex Olivas.
This would be a 3 star on the West Ridge. Pitch 1 is steep and continuous for the grade (whatever it is) -- pretty darn fun. P2 is basically two moves, but still adds some value.
By Clint Locks From: Boulder Aug 8, 2004 rating: 5.8+
Man! Finally got around to doing this! I feel like it was just a bit easier than Breakfast In Bed. I'd give both that climb and this one an 8+. The second pitch is also a blast. To avoid the 's' slab, I started far left and got a decent piece in before traversing up to the roof. The roof indeed has good holds around the corner, but you ARE hanging it out there! Very fun.
Climbed the first pitch of this route a few days ago, right after climbing Breakfast In Bed. IMHO, this climb is not nearly as difficult nor as serious a lead, but much more esthetic. A bit runout, but all of the crux moves were made from relatively good stances and were protected by fairly decent pro. A lot of fun, though it didn't seem as hard as 5.9 to me.
The first pitch seemed like a serious lead to me: the rock is pretty poor before the flake that you mantel and the gear is not inspiring. The climbing isn't that hard to that point, but falling off is probably not an option. I agree with previous posters that this isn't a great lead for someone breaking into the grade (whatever grade you assign it). That being said, the climbing is very fun.
The Bastille - W Face
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