Gary Hann on the massive open book 3rd pitch of Pe...
Description
Possibly one of the all time classic routes of its grade, Perversion fires up the central tower in three pitches of glorious climbing on some of the best rock in the Front Range. Below the central tower is a large block - scramble over this on the right side for a cozy belay that looks up a system of left facing dihedrals, all the way to the top.
P1 starts off the right side of the block in a rough finger and hand crack. This is largely 5.7/5.8 until just before the next ledge where the line kicks up a bit of 5.9 on very good gear.
At the ledge (with a tree), scramble right to a point below the shallow dihedral. Fire up the dihedral from right or left hand variations, the left is a bit easier. This is a long pitch that will be taking you to the huge roof above and on the right. Presently, the best belay option is to cut right just below the roof to a double bolt belay station.
P3 will head out either left, through the Captain's final face, or stay right in the bomb proof dihderal. The face has the harder move at 5.10a. The dihedral never gets harder than 5.7, but it is a gas. The target in the dihedral is the square-ish roof at the end of the corner. Swing out right on jug-o-rama holds with bomb-proof gear in the corner. Save some gear for the belay over the top.
In years gone by, we would hump around the North tower to get off, and this is probably still the best option unless you opt to rap below the roof at the top of P2. I'm happy that I got to put Perversion up on this site. I've gone back to this route half a dozen times, and I'll always remember it as one of the best 5.9s anywhere. Ten stars on a three star scale.
Yes, this route has been under the Peregrine falcon restriction ever since an ascent of this route by some friends of mine. As "Ilana" and "Britt" (not their real names, these are randomly chosen pseudonyms) climbed the route one summer, they were continually pestered by a frantic falcon. They called the open space managers (or is it JeffCo managers) and reported the incident. The next week the cliff was closed. The thing that upsets me is that I don't think they check yearly to see if the nesting pair is still there, and do they really need to close the entire crag?
Richard, I'm surprised you didn't mention that getting off the ground is tricky on this climb, I remember it being a 5.9 move for sure. It's a weird step through an overhang. A short move and you can place a bomber stopper here.
George's point was well taken, however, each time I enter a comment onto this entry it finds its way to a different climb....Thanks George, your point was well taken!!!
You can descend in three single-rope rappels to the same block where Perversion starts. From there it's an easy scramble (north) to the ground. The top rap anchor as of 10/20/01 is about 10 pounds of junk webbing, a rope that belongs in Neptune's museum, and one decent loop of spectra cord. The second anchor is not much better (it got a new sling yesterday, 10/20/01). Take some big *leaver* sling material, a knife and a garbage bag if you're going soon.
If you're doing this route (as everyone should) and you make it through the last corner feeling strong, there is an exciting roof-exit option called Vulcans Don't Lie. It's so short it isn't really worthy of an entry all its own; however, it is worth doing if one is courageous enough. I had the luxury of doing it on TR and found poor gear and big rattling flakes. Starting at the base of the roof at the end of pitch three it climbs up, out and left. There is/was a small fixed cam here (I'm sure it's retrievable for all you gear hounds). The new Eldo book rates this .10b, I found it to be a little easier than that, but once again, I wasn't looking at a nasty fall onto the slab. Definitely, a fun alternative for an adventurous second.
I would have to agree with Richard's description of the route. This was my first trip to Mickey Mouse Wall and it was good. The route follows a system of dihedrals then cuts across a roof to an awesome view of the plains. Do bring extra gear for the belay anchor at the top. Three rappels took us back to the bottom. I would recommend a set of cams, stoppers and medium hexes.
Do not miss this route. It is one of the best climbs on the wall. The third pitch is absolutely beautiful! A long sling or two seems to help a lot on the second pitch if you decide to put a few pieces in.
Rap info: from the rap route, added two new slings and one biner to the top rap (the slings go around a rock and over the edge); added a new sling to the next rap, the one with 3 rings on it; added a sling and biner to the belay tree at the top of the first pitch of perversion. And cut off lots of old stuff. As of September 14, 2002.
By Ben Mottinger Founding Father Sep 29, 2002 rating: 5.9
Very good.
The moves on P1 are stout and exciting, but no harder than a route like Green Spur. I thought the last pitch was more 5.8 than 5.7.
What a great route! The first pitch is rather devious for the aspiring 5.9 leader (like myself). I found it trickier than most of the other 9s I've led in Eldo.
Dave-I agree. I found P1 to be one of the more 'thoughtful' .9s I've been on. Good (albeit small) gear for the first crux, right off the ground. Also, Chris mentioned "Vulcans Don't Lie" for an exciting finish to an amazing climb. Excellent choice! The variation is short, very steep, and (I found) protects well until the last 3 moves, which are as juggy as they get! Careful of a huge block in the middle of the roof that is extremely enticing, but extremely loose. Hauling off that could end badly. Trend slightly left to positive holds after pulling through the roof.
An exciting route, perhaps even more so there is a good chance you might have the entire area to yourself! Found pitch one to be definitely on the tricky side of 5.9. Probably 3 distinct "cruxes" the hardest being just getting started, and then trying to finish. Didn't find the route finding on pitch two to be all that obvious. After heading up the initial very steep crack and a bit more (and sustained at the grade) traversed right and set up an intermediate belay to help avoid rope drag. From there, it continues to be surprising sustained (maybe even a bit of 5.8?) at the grade. Everybody raves about pitch three and that is certainly justified. Best pitch of the climb, with the somewhat tricky crux coming at the end of the crack before heading right. As of today, rap stations were in good state. Simply scramble north to the obvious notch and big tree.
"Possibly one of the all time classic routes of its grade"--- this route has 1 move of 5.9 right off the ground, the rest is all 5.7 or less! Not that this is a bad route, but this quotation is a real stretch!
Mickey Mouse Wall
RSS Feed
