Hammer of Thor heads up from the second bolt (not including the pin at the start) of Velvet Elvis. The climbing is nothing to write home about; Velvet Elvis and the nearby Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love are both better routes. My partner and I both felt that this climb was more difficult than the crux of Velvet Elvis (which is 11a), but it may have been that we were tired and hot.
Rap off the last bolt or scramble easily up to the anchor above Velvet Elvis (from which, incidentally, you can rap to the ground with a 70m rope - a 60m is likely to get you down in one rap as well).
By Tony Bubb From: Boulder, CO Aug 18, 2003 rating: 5.10d
The route was full of what I called Kryptonite... rounded cobbles of white kryptonite. While Red kryptonite turned superman into a hairy monster, & green kryptonite sapped his strength, I am pretty sure the rounded white kryptonite must have made his hands sweat and forced him to overgrip. CLimb the cobbles when it is cool out.
From the 3rd (?) bolt of this route you can continue straight up the wall, skipping the left-hand traverse and last 3 bolts of Hammer of Thor. The crux as such is pulling up onto the ramp above and felt like 5.11-. The move is 20+ feet over the last bolt and is a little exciting. Call it 5.11a, S. Above that, you run another 30' of easy slab to the anchors up and left (5.5, VS). Probable FA of this variation: T. Bubb, 8/16/03 (?)
Either way, beware the wasps in a deep pocket near the 2nd bolt.
There are better climbs around. This one might have been more fun with less heat/sunshine.
I cannot believe that both comments on this route were negative! Both my partner and I found the climbing to be of excellent and sustained quality. If the anchor situation was better I would even go so far as to say that this beautifully cobbled and pocketed face is one of the best sport routes around Boulder. To the single lower bolt at the top of the slab is a hundred feet of unrelenting pebble pulling and high stepping on a beautiful vertical sea of knobs.
East Ironing Board
RSS Feed
