Terminal Velocity 

I know I say this all the time, but... ballnuts.

I've climbed Terminal Velocity at least 5 times. Although it was not always me leading, I feel like I know the route pretty well; it definitely deserved to be rated S and perhaps should get VS. The books reflect the VS grade and I am somewhat surprised that this review does not. The crux can be protected by a nest of small nuts, although it is sure pumpy getting them in. Although it's not the crux, you could hit the ledge from the upper 1/4 (10d/11a) if you are not attentive- lots of rope out on a undulating path and a slight distance from your gear with a ledge lurking below.

It seems to me that T.V. is very height dependent on the upper 1/2 because the footholds either do or don't allow you to reach the good hands.

I'm somewhat confused by the first comment. The upper part of the route has excellent protection. A cluster of good, small gear can be placed at the start of the crux and a good RP can be placed (admittedly strenuous) in the middle of the crux. This RP is no lower than your feet when the next good gear opportunity arises. I wouldn't argue much about giving this pitch an S, but it should not be a death pitch.

I agree that it's not a death-fall, which I why I said it is S and not VS. With the amount of rope that will be out however, it would be quite possible for a leader to hit the mid-route ledge from one of a few hard moves on the upper section, with rop stretch. This may be only my opinion, but it is supported by the traditional VS rating of the climb.

I found this challenge of this route to be entirely in the first section, which had [awkward] moves, sketchy protection, and deceptive holds (read: classic!). While the upper section was incredible fun, the protection was excellent and the climbing easy. If you can stem, the upper part is about 10a. Jump on this small gem if you feel comfortable fiddling in gear while hanging less than perfect holds. Enjoy.

Hey, I was [Mark's] partner in the [first] ascent, circa 1981, I have done the climb a couple of times since and still think its great fun.

Alfredo Len alfredolen@terra.com.pe

I agree that this is a fairly sane lead for the Eldo 5.11 climber. You can sew it up through the crux. The hardest move was getting to the large chalked flat hold in the middle of the lower section... after that the pro worsens but the climbing isn't as hard (though still solid 10/10+ or so). I got pro in through this part, but I wasn't terribly confident that it could hold falls... the most 'bomber' nut placement on this section is behind a chalked hold that makes a funny sound when you set the nut. I would definitely give this a very solid 'S' rating due to the marginal nature of the pro. As for the upper part of the route (is it just me or does this seem just as hard as the crux?), you'd have to really screw up to hit the midway ledge. If you're up for leading it, I would recommend climbing Hand Crack first, and then suss out the pro options on the way down.

This is a really great climb mainly because you have two very different types of climbing in the same pitch. The beginning is fairly sporty and strenuous and the upper half is amazing stemming. I do think that this climb deserves a solid S, but probably not a VS. The top is very safe with locker stoppers. The bottom however, can be pumpy to hang out and fire in a bunch of RPs. The pump from placing gear makes the upper portion feel harder than it is, but stick with it, it is not that bad. I got in what appeared to be a locker offset after pulling the crux, but it must have been behind the same loose sounding flake the above comment mentioned. I really would not like to fall in the crux of this climb. An excellent route if you're solid at the grade.

Very fun route, and I agree its tricky to pro - I'd give it an S rating. Considerably easier than Foxtrot, a bit easier than Parallels, so I'm going with 11b...whatever...its fun. The hardest single crux protected pretty well for me, but the section above, up to the midway ledge, was harder for me to fiddle in good pro, so I ran it out. A fall would have been baaad.

I'll agree with a previous post: I also felt the pump from the first section while doing the upper half, but it is easier (10) and protects well with stoppers.

I think its really satisfying to do a route with this blend of technical moves and technical protection -- that's why it merits 2 stars in my book (despite the big, momentum-breaking ledge).

The upper section might be a bit easier for those of us with small hands. Where as I could get some purchase with my fingertips, my partners (both bigger than me) had no such luck and were forced into laying back the arête. Still, the upper section is probably solid 10+ demanding wide stemming and finesse. Three stars.

Ahhh c'mon, I can still fit some pinkies in up there. Stem!

I just tried this (on tr) and in terms of pure difficulty of climbing found the upper section to be much more difficult than the lower section. I had a really hard time using the stems to gain enough reach to get to the good finger lock. Really fun climbing throughout the entire climb though.

I'd agree with the crux of the route at the classic Eldo stembox up high. It'll be more challenging for those of a shorter nature.