East Ridge 

Nice route description. I agree it would be easy to combine pitches 1 and 2, but if you are swinging leads with a stronger (or weaker) partner, it is nice to break things up so everybody gets some leading in. Not that ratings are all that important, but the first pitch crack is more like 5.10a in my opinion, and if you are shorter than 5 foot 6 inches the third pitch moves on the right side of the wall, reaching to the start of the leftward hand traverse, are certainly harder than 5.10- (it is a big reach). I did this recently and went straight up after the hand traverse (and not around the corner as in the route description), clipping the fixed pin, and it felt like 5.10+. Great route.

For a more interesting second pitch one can also traverse left from the belay above the hadncrack and climb the face the whole way up to the second belay. In this case a bad #7 stopper and a small ballnut are your protecion for some 'somewhat' interesting moves getting into the low angle part of the slab after a short bulge.

It should also be noted that the first bolt on the third pitch can be clipped from a reasonable stance if you are tall and have very long arms. I am 5'10" and 6'5" across the arms and I could ALMOST reach the bolt, but had to boulder to it afterall. If you are short, this is hairy, because the rock that you move up on is very poor and you will thump the ledge or the belayer. I think the move is 5.10 at 5'10".

Very good route description. For me P1 would have been easier to lead with 2 red Camalots, not necessary but less dinking with pro hanging off a hand jam. Bring tape! P3 I would consider "s" for both the leader and 2nd on the crux moves. A locking biner in lieu of Q/D at the second bolt may help a bit. I would not consider crux move 10- unless you are tall, felt more like 10C s to me. I also used a 3.5" piece 2 times. Great Route!

Thanks to everyone for correcting my slightly botched description. I usually try to account for the fact that I'm sorta tall, but I messed up this time.

As has been noted, the third pitch is quite exciting. I would have liked to see the first bolt a little lower (by the other chopped bolts). The traverse right, move up, then traverse left could be dangerous - a shorter climber (leader or follower) will be looking at a nasty pendulum fall while making some difficult moves up to the hand traverse. Indeed, my (shorter) second didn't see the point and just pulled straight up the bolts. This pitch is definitely the crux of the route.

Casey Bernal - Does anybody know if it is possible to directly ascend the final headwall just after the belay in the saddle? It looks short and the pro might be good(?). Any way it would be an excellent way to end this route. Also, if you are not above 6', the bolted crux on pitch 3 will be very very difficult. On the rappel it is possible to reach the ground with a 60m double rope rappel. However, there are a couple of rope eating teeth/flakes on the crows nest that might make a mess out of the end of your day. Might be better just to break it into two rappels. This is one of my favorite routes in Boulder.

Casey: We finished the route as you suggested a few weeks ago, we went straight up the ridge above the saddle belay rather than doing the usual (pitch 5) traverse onto the north face.

This variation involves first getting to, and then climbing, a rotten offwidth crack which breaches a roof. There really isn't any good pro on this entire section as the rock is very poor. Once you get to the crack, you crank desperately on a small chockstone, and the hardest part is over when you get your feet onto this chockstone. Bill Wright led this variation - an impressive performance. We agreed to a rating of 5.10a S, and harder if that chockstone falls out. This is NOT a recommended finish to the East Ridge, but it may be of interest if you have done the route 5 times and are bored.

I will attach a photo of this variation below.

It appears as if the roof could be climbed from the left side of the OW crack, about 5' over on buckets. Did you give that a try?

PS- Nice pants Bill!

Tony,

I don't think you could climb this roof further left. Actually, what I mean to say is that I couldn't climb it further left. I'm sure someone could climb this thing about anywhere.

It is actually non-trivial to even get to the base of this offwidth. Once there the rock isn't so good. Too bad. This would be a very nice finish with solid rock.

Yes, these running tights aren't very fashionable. To make matters worse I had a big hole in them. George fixed the whole via some digital shenanigans.

We call the variation Satan's Minions' Offwidth after our morning group. We did this climb before work (we approached via the South Face, not the East Ridge).

Bill

I just climbed this route two days ago and wanted to add my two cents. For me the crux of this climb is certainly the first pitch. This crack is awkward and funky and there are some big reaches from marginal jams. It feels 5.10+ to me. The pro isn't foolproof either as the crack is wider deeper into the crack, so pro takes a bit more effort to place. The pitch is steep and sustained. I didn't place anything larger than an orange Alien on this pitch. It is a thin, sharp crack, mostly, with some hand jams to place gear from.

The third pitch feels much easier to me. I'm 5'11" and I can easily make the reach after the traverse. My ape index is probably negative. The hardest move on this pitch is the move off the belay. This feels like maybe a 10b/c move. Unfortunately, you can't clip the bolt before doing this move. If one was worried, I think you could stand in a sling clipped to the belay, clip the first bolt and then step back down to free it. Once this move is done the rest of the pitch isn't that hard, as once you get the rail above, it is quite good and gets better the further you go left. If you can't reach this rail, then I'm sure the move is quite hard.

Going straight up to the piton looks hard and I opted to traverse further left instead - not wanting to blow it. The final move is a cool iron-cross type move from one jug to another, but marginal feet. Fun stuff. I'll try the straight up version next time.

A 60-meter rope rope works great on both rappels.

This is an awesome route!! The first pitch seemed harder than 10a to me, quite strenuous and not so straightforward. It is possible (although less aesthetic) to go around this pitch at a much easier grade by climbing one of the cracks to the right of the prow (see Rossiter).

Most of the moves on the third pitch seemed easier to me than those on the first pitch, but I am 6' tall. The move off the belay I thought the crux move, it didn't seem possible to clip the bolt from a free stance below this crux, Tony. However, I believe one could clip this bolt simply by standing on a sling attached to the belay bolts. It is not a long fall without this bolt, but it is right onto a sloping ledge and the belay.

OK, I think the first pitch was easier for Jo and I, because we have small hands that help us on P1. Furthermore, being a shave short, P3 was even harder. At 5'10" tall and 6'5" across the arms, (maybe I climb like I am 6'0" after all) I found myself 2" short of clipping the bolt from a reasonable stance. That "reasonable stance" was not from the good stance below the opening moves of the crux, but was before pulling onto the broken sloper feet above it. I'd hazard a guess that guy who'd 6'2" or taller should be able to reach that bolt from the stance I tried to do so from.

6'0" isn't what I ment by 'tall', it's in the average range, for the climbing partners I've had.

I guess in the end it didn't matter. I got it without getting hurt and it sounds like you guys both flashed it too. Seems like a solid 5.10 leader should do well on it.

Webmaster:

This route is open if accessed from the east. It was not closed at all this winter/spring.

Yes, this is a problem with how the database is structured on this site. I don't think the Maiden has ever closed for bird nesting. The closure usually includes Shadow Canyon, which is over the ridge from the Maiden. The Maiden doesn't quite reach the ridge so all routes on the Maiden remain open.

I would give the first pitch a 5.10c rating. The jams are off fingers in the hard spots, the crack bulges in a couple spots, and the stances for placing gear are pumpy. The "crux" 3rd pitch felt like 10a, but I am tall.

I thought the first pitch felt like 9+, good jams and locks the whole way. What is the direct start with the sportily placed bolt protection? The rock was a little grungy, and felt difficult enough to be an alternate crux to the route. Nice moves and a little devious.

I believe the bolted direct start left of the regular start is "Rowland's Horn" 10.something. It is in Rossiter's guide but I've never been on it. It has brand new bolts replaced by the ASCA in 1999.

My partner and I did this route then rap to the Crow's Nest to do the West Overhang. This made for a great day of climbing. We did the East Ridge in 3 pitches. The first pitch up to the 2 bolt belay for the start of the orig 3rd pitch. We both thought this was the crux pitch of the climb. I would say 10+ on this pitch. The jams are sharp and painful and not on all that great of feet. It was warm out, too, so that made thing a little greasy. The start of the orig 3rd or our 2nd pitch I believe is the head crux. I am 6'2" and had to make a high step and a pull on a crimp to make the clip to the first bolt. After that, some good, fun climbing, but keep your head you still need to make some solid moves 10-. We took this pitch up to the saddle to the 2 bolt belay. For the 3rd pitch, we went right around the headwall and up through the huecos and right to the top. This took all of the rope to get to top and a little more. After doing the West Overhang, we did one single rap down to the base of north face on 2 60m ropes.

Agreed with Dpurf. 5.10+ on the first pitch, .10- on the third pitch. I followed the first two pitches (which can be easily linked) and led the third and fourth pitches (again, can be easily combined). Following the first pitch was more 'heady' than leading the third and fourth pitches.