Note, some of these cliffs are often closed (Mar 3 - July 31) for raptor nesting. MORE INFO >>>
Closed areas, from March 3-July 31:
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The route follows the large grey dihedral to the o...
Description
Located between Coyote and Anaconda- West Owl Direct was 1st free climbed by John Bachar and Douglas Snively in the 70s and renamed Silly Putty. As a freeclimb its still a Lumpy Ridge runout testpiece, but it's still an enjoyable aid climb, as well. West Owl Direct is a step up in difficulty from Anaconda; however, the quality of the rock is not as good. Much of the way you're dealing with banged-out pin scars yet this climb also places you in one of the best positions on Twin Owls.
Protection
If aid climbing, bring a standard clean aid rack and extra TCUs. Lead one long pitch (60m?) to the roof, or belay on the top of the 5.9 flake and then fire to the roof from there. Anchor below roof has old bolts but one can back it up with a crack above. From this belay, escape out left and continue up above the Wolf's Tooth column. PS- Don't use the bunk anchors half way up to the roof!
The first pitch of this route is an excellent 5.9 flake crack. Definitely worthwhile by itself. In addition once installed on top of the flake, you can toprope the really cool (but not very protectable) dihedral to the right, which is about 5.11+.
One can rap with a 60m rope from the anchor below the roof down to the top of the 5.9 flake. Plus, the anchor below the roof now sports a spankin' new bolt as of 02/2002.
I wasn't too happy with the rap anchor at the top of the 5.9 flake. It's a bunch of decent slings over a big horn, but there is a horizontal fracture line at the base of the horn. Beware.
Twin Owls
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