This route is to the left of the crack on P2 of Gonzo. There are 2 ways to do this route. One way is to start the 2nd pitch of Gonzo and move left where this crack starts. Otherwise, walk left around the corner and uphill from Gonzo and begin on a crack that is just to the left of a wider crack/slot, leading to a tree. Move right before reaching the tree and access the crack via the obvious traverse.
I usually don't get this pumped on a 9, and I suppose that's where it gets the "+". Once you start into this left-leaning crack, plug and chug. This crack is nice and sustained. I couldn't resist the many stopper placements and drained some energy placing them even though they were within a couple feet of good cams. I love bomber stoppers. If this route were longer, I would give it another star.
Protection
To protect the route, bring nothing larger than a #3 Friend/#2 Camalot and maybe double on a green Alien or Blue Metolius. Good stoppers o' plenty during the business. Use the anchor bolt and tree at the top of Gonzo or set your own with one of the small trees and cracks at the top. The walk-off at the top is obvious.
By Tony Bubb From: Boulder, CO Oct 16, 2001 rating: 5.10a
I found the route honest at its grade. Nice rock, nice moves, nice setting. If it were a multi-pitch it would qulify for classic status.
My partner lead it and found it difficult to plac the protection due to the right-hand overlap of the crack combined with the fact that it leans left. This may be why stoppers are good, but hard to place without a pump. A 1" cam is the crux pro- one of my cams now has a broken cross bar to prove it (Thanks, Mark).
A classic Eldo 9+ that would otherwise be rated 10b were it located just about any where else. Aliens are the call on this route...as you will not want to hang out fiddling with nuts. To bad it does not go on for another 100 feet...
Tough for the grade. I found it to be harder than a number of the classic low 10s in the Canyon, and it is miles beyond what should be a comparable route: the 5.9 leaning crack just right of Prince of Darness (called Sirens of Titan, I think). Good fun, but the leaning position and uneven nature of the crack make it a real challenge.
By Tony Bubb From: Boulder, CO Oct 3, 2002 rating: 5.10a
Sirens of Titan is softer than a feather pillow, so it's not very fair to use that as a comparison, or almost all of the Eldo 5.9s are 5.10s... It's harder than The Bat and Auburn Lane as well, but that doesn't make it 5.11...those are just super-soft routes (at 5.10d?!??!)
Touch and Go, The Green Spur, P1 of Yellow Spur, C'est La vie, P1 of Tagger, , etc... those are the yardstick 5.9s in my book, and to what I would compare Deviant. It is tough, and on the hard end of 5.9, but still .9 in my opinion. YMMV.-Tony Bubb
I loved this route! We did the first pitch of Gonzo then finished on Deviant. I think this route is very hard (but safe) for the grade - I have done many of the "classic" 5.9's in Eldo and found this to be more continuous and sustained than most routes at the grade. It is short, but feels like a lot of climbing for it's length, one of the most interesting 30 feet of climbing I have done in a while! Enjoy!
This was my very first 5.9 lead, and it was simply spectacular!!! For me the crux was the last two thirds of the route because my fore arms were just "PUMPED" . I even took my first lead fall on this one---SAVED by a red Alien---!! The route is very easy to protect and a beautifull straight forward line which is why i chose it as my first 9. Stoppers and small cams are the way to go here I think I placed a 1.5 camalot right before I popped off near the middle but that was the biggest one I plugged. Led V3 after this and felt like I was in "easy heaven"!!!
Cadillac Crag
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