This is another excellent climb starting from the top of the Lower Ramp. If it weren't sandwiched between so many ultra-classic climbs, it might get 3 stars. Part of this route is covered under the "Roving for Love" route description.
Begin from the top of the Lower Ramp at the start of Ruper. The climb's 2nd pitch follows the obvious arching dihedral overhead.
P1- Climb the thin crack on the left (5.8, 2 fixed, purple, Metolius cams) or scramble more easily up to the right. Belay in a nice alcove directly below the beautiful, arching dihedral.
P2- Climb up to the dihedral and lieback/undercling up and left (Ruper goes out right at this point), eventually reaching a nice belay ledge at the top of the dihedral. This is a beautiful pitch of 5.9 and makes a good alternate 2nd pitch to Ruper. The first two pitches can probably be linked.
P3- Climb straight up from the belay to a left-trending crack/groove. Climb the crack and face to a decent stance under the roof (10a S). The topo for this section says "no pro", but I was able to get in a couple decent offset nuts. From the roof stance, climb right up the ramp/roof to a hidden bolt. Clip the bolt and make a funky traverse move to better holds (crux). The feet are good in this section but there isn't much in the way of hands. I shudder to think what bizarre fixed mank must have been in place on the FFA. Continue up and right to the Upper Ramp through some runout 5.9 face (watch for loose holds in here).
There are some issues on the 3rd pitch regarding belaying up the second, especially if they aren't solid following 5.11. The climb trends up and right from the crux and there isn't much gear right after this section. Best to leave a long sling on the bolt which the second can unclip AFTER pulling the crux. I also backcleaned my last piece (the only decent gear I found between the crux and the upper ramp) and belayed from an awkward spot almost directly above the crux to minimize swing potential (there is a good nut placement here to belay the second through).
From the upper ramp, continue on Alice in Bucketland, the Serpent, or any of the other adventure climbs that start in that area for an excellent day of climbing.
Here's my new-found beta for that route. First off, stellar route, the first three pitches anyway. that's all we got to. went like this: started with the crack on the left, short, phenomenal stemming & lay backing...went up the Rover dihedral - - it was way too pretty to pass up, protected very well, and ends at bolts. Why anyone would do those as 2 separate pitches I can't understand - - they linked great as one. Then the traverse and short bit up to the tree, and an epic descent taking twice as long as the climb - - long story. I didn't use anything larger than the red (#1) Camalot, and really didn't need that...small Metolius cams (blue thru red), med. and large nuts, or medium hexes, and lots of slings. Maybe the Ruper crack down low needs big stuff, as I've read, but I just hate carrying a lot of gear, and I found that by going light, I could move fast enough that I didn't need to place a lot of pro. I wonder if all 3 could be done in one pitch with some rope drag. Anyone tried that? How about linking the 4 + 5? Can a single 60m do it?
By Tony Bubb From: Boulder, CO Jul 24, 2003 rating: 5.11b R
I thought the runout face pitch above the tower to the roof was very scary!
Not too bad on the doo-doo factor. I didn't particularly notice anything dramatic, so its certainly not second-pitch-of-Jules-Verne caliber. We definitely heard birds squirming around inside the crack though.
P2 is an excellent variation for Ruper, but is significantly harder than anything on Ruper (IMHO). The "wide crack" pitch 2 on Ruper is difficult because the crack is too wide to jam, and feels insecure. However compared to the Rover Dihedral, this pitch is pretty low angle. The Rover Dihedral is steep and pumpy, tons of gear can be placed but it will pump you out. Both ways are great fun. I don't remember and bird shit when I did the Rover Dihedral about a year ago.
Almost didn't do pitch 2, following the bird "lime"comments. Turned out that there's only one hold with some poop on it - nothing excessive at all (as ofSaturday 05-22-04).I thought this was a great alternative to p2. of Ruper -definitely a little harder, but way better protected. Not as hard as it looks.I used cams from a red Alien to a blue (#3) Camalot.
George, I agree with you about the pumpiness of this section. However, there is a pretty nice kneebar after the first little overhang, a perfect time and position for it. This allows the sub-confident leader to rest (I actually got a drink of water, more for the stage than the need), before what I feel is the real "Business" part of this pitch. I absolutely love this pitch and would recommend it to anyone looking for practice routes to break into 5.10 in Eldo. It would likely be a 5.10 anywhere else.... ~Wm
P.S. The Bird-lime situation is nearly non-existant as of yesterday (5-10-05). Of course, I may not have noticed it because I was concentrating on my feet too much, but then again, maybe you won't either... ~Wm
I did the dihedral on Sunday as an alternate to the Ruper crack. Pat "Mono Master" Finnegan dragged my ass up the dihedral. He powered through the crux with no problems flexing his prodigious pecs. The bird crap was a little problem under the dihedral and I think we intruded on some bird homes as there was quite a bit of protesting coming from inside the crack. The dihedral itself is great and not a hard .9 compared to say Green Spur or Rosy.
Did the first two pitches of this route with Danny Inman & Schwetty as a single pitch with a 60M up to the bolted belay to bypass the opening pitches of Ruper. Pretty fun and funky climbing.
Redgarden - Tower One
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