Lost in Space 

My partner and I jokingly referred to this route as "Lost Off Route" due to the number of people who end up in said condition... including us. Study the route carefully or you'll end up on another.

I've been off route on this twice. The route as described above is how Tony and I did it, but we agreed after looking at the topo that we had mixed-and-matched various pithes. Doing it a second time, I also got off-route, but did different 3rd, 4th and 5th pitches -- a local claimed that the last two we did were correct....

It seems that the problem is where you go after the first pitch. It is obvious to go climbers right ten feet from the top of the first pitch, and up the fun corner as described. Apparently that's not right. According to the local, you go a little left, and up from the first belay.

In particular, the third pitch as described is definitely listed as a different climb, and pretty scary when the crack runs out. On my second attempt, my partner led a third pitch due left to avoid the scary pitch above us. This traverse, while well protected, was very insecure, but put us back on route.

Can anyone else shed some light on this route, or would not getting lost miss the point?

Add one more name to the list of off route climbers. We started out correctly, yet somehow ended up finishing on the last three pitches of Southeast Face (5.8). The latter is fun if you like moderate runouts on licheny slabs and a bit of loose rock here and there. The summit of Sheep's Nose is definitely worth the effort, regardless of the route taken.

Re: descent options

Assuming that the "left" in the description is referring to climber's left, this is the correct descent. I thought the downclimb looked a little hairy in spots - perhaps I got off-route. Fortunately for the weaker of spirit, there are a couple of nice big bolts in a notch just when things start getting steep. Rap straight down the S/SW face from here to a huge grassy ledge (single 60m). Hop down to a giant boulder with two more bolts, and make a double rope rap to the tree gully.

Hey, if you ever wind up here without your rock shoes, don't fret. You can follow this in tennies and you don't have to be named Chris.

I too had trouble finding the route when I first tried this. The second time was easier, thanks to the obvious chalk marks after the first belay. I distinctly remember climbing through a short/small dihedral at the end of the second pitch (somewhat long pitch). The third pitch was 5.4, the final pitch followed a 5.7 hand crack. Let me backtrack a bit...it took me three times to figure out this route, not two! Indeed, this is a good route with great views from the summit. Glad to see that I am not the only person to get lost here.

Don't worry too much about the exact line you follow, finding the fun variations and wandering around a bit is what makes this such a great route.

I've done this route a number of times and not gotten lost--maybe I can shed a little light on the issue.... I've never tried to traverse right above P1--generally we have set the P1 belay above the 5.7 corner standing in a bathtub, about halfway up the slabby section. From there, the leader can attack the vertical wall straight-on. As I recall, I moved up and slightly right above the P1 belay, then found a left-facing flake (Stewart Green admonished in his guide to watch out for a loose flake above P1--I don't think this is it. I felt it was secure enough to throw some pro into......). The sequence felt 5.8ish to me. Anyhow, you can pull up that flake and over the headwall lip to the incipient, slabby crack that moves atop the headwall up and left. There is one airy move as you swing out over the headwall, out of the slabby crack, to start moving up blocks to the 5.9 corner. Good pro goes into the bottom of that corner for the tougher crux move above. Hope this helps.

Didn't get lost somehow. After the first pitch look for a short finger sized splitter. Boulder up on top of the semi-loosish blob below it and traverse right. Pull back left not much further along and then you will soon find the shallow corner. The crux seemed to be the water groove just below the ledge as described in Green's book. The topo in hubbels book looks nothing like the route, surprise!

From the top, keep walking across the summit, and you will see a cairn on your left, pointing to a 2 bolt anchor that allows two quick 30m raps (1 60m rope - 50m will leave you downclimbing). The second rap anchor is on a totally-detached, huge boulder that must weigh more than I do.

I got lost right from the start because I used two guide books. Green's book is only textual with a photo and the topo I had was from Hubbel which has a route called Lost in Space Direct, which I now realize is not quite the same at all. We got lost after it's first, extremely difficult first pitch of 5.9 which felt more like 5.10b. After seeing the picture on the website here I realize that Hubbel calls this route the "Old Man Route", I think. If anyone can add a comment on what happened to us, please. We somehow made it to the summit and that felt worthwhile in and of itself. Send to last pitch went through a 5.8ish three piton bulge that was quite fun over towards the right side of the massif. Anyone know what route that may have been. Two of the pins had steel D rings on them???

Bo - see the description for Southeast Face.

Did this today and did Not get lost in space, mainly because of all the helpful info above. Thanks.

A thought on P1: we went out about 150 feet, and set up an anchor that is at the same level as the big tree which will be 20 feet or so on your left. This puts you right below the crack that can start the second pitch.

Another descent option: head NW from the top, then cut hard E above a very large tree. Then you can head down a gully to the ground.

Ok, Ok, Ok.

Tried this route this past Sunday (9-4-05). The first pitch/start was easy enough to find, we think. The pictures of the first pitch on this site and the Trout book's topo do match up with what we climbed. The Hubble books topo [didn't] even look remotely close so we [didn't] follow that guide.

We climbed a slabby/broken ramp to start, gained a face with a funky move right into an easy slabby handcrack. This handcrack led to what I have read/heard described as anything from a .5 corner to a .8 corner. We both had to pull a move which was tough, it felt .9+ish at least.

Now, my real question is where in the jack do you go from here?! The leader built a belay in some left leaning cracks on a slabby stance just after the corner. It was not clear to me AT ALL where the hell I should be going at this point. There was a slabby corner system (sorta) that continued up from the belay for about 50 feet or so. There was also what looked like a way directly up over the face that the leader [built] a belay at.

I climbed what felt like some .9 face up directly over my belayers head for 15-20 feet and then traversed right (as I thought I was supposed to) on slabby mini-mini-bathtub type rock. It now looked as if I had 3 options. I could enter a slabby left facing dihedral, which formed the left side of a triangular roof, climb about 20-25 feet to a roof and try to exit the dihedral somehow (which [didn't] really look possible). Secondly, I could climb a tough-ish looking face for 15 feet unprotected (risking a serious ankle breaker) just to the right of the dihedral in an attempt to bypass it. Finally, I could continue to traverse right under the triangular roof past some SERIOUSLY loose human-crusher boulders that were perched on a ledge above a rap sling, and use this approach to gain a broken crack system that seemed to pass the roof on its right and allow you to access the face 20-25 feet above.

After looking at the Trout Book's topo, it would seem as though you are supposed to take the 3rd option that I mentioned, but I was not about to attempt that traverse knowing that I had 100 more feet of vertical left to the pitch and the drag both for me and belaying the second would have been psycho, and I am very used to dealing with drag. Regardless, as I was trying to figure out what to do with myself the weather hit us hard so I donated a nut to the rock gods and we accepted defeat. Unfortunately, the comments listed here and the info in Stu's book really [don't] help me. What I find most confusing, is the "steep fingercrack" I am supposed to find immediately after the first belay. There was no "steep crack" anywhere that I could see, unless this confusingly refers to the face I climbed above my belayer which I guess I [don't] consider a "crack."

Was I in the right spot to begin with? Was our first belay set to early? It is really eating me up about this route and if someone out there can help me in any way, that would most certainly be bitchin'.

(I know I'm long winded, [can't] help it)

Chris -

The way that the route is described on this site and the way that it is usually done are different. The line is the same, but the belays are in different spots. That said, here is the way that it is usually done:

It sounds like you got the first pitch right, although the corner is only 5.7 or.8. If you belayed right after the corner where it gets slabby - that's the place - you can sit your butt in a nice depression . You can put in small stuff all the way up to a 3 or 3.5 Camalot for the anchor.

From there, you traverse right about 5 feet and go 15 feet or so directly up a steep wall with decent pro to a small stance. The finger crack is hidden, but it's there. From here, the line goes pretty much straight up the edge/arete with a nice drop-off on your left. Follow this to to a thin left facing corner which is the crux, and belay above.

The next part goes up a broken corner to a vertical wall that is covered in bird crap but is only about 5.4. Belay here. After this corner, you have two options - continue straight up in a 5.7 or so hand crack or go slightly left and finish with Ozone Direct which is a slabby thin crack problem protected by an old buttonhead that goes up to a roof and passes it on the left.

Also- on the West side of the rock there are two sets of bolts just in case you do not feel like walking off.

AC,

Just so I understand you, the "crack" in question is right in front of my face and this is the part I climbed up right off the belay? If this is true, then the crack only lasts for 15-20 feet tops. Correct?

Also... I was to stay as left as possible after I gained the stance above the crack and climb along the rounded edge passing a roof on my right? Then I will hit the crack?

I looked at a picture I took of the southeast face on the approach, and I think I can now see where I was supposed to be.

Thanks!

Chris - Your question is a little confusing since you don't say which pitch you are talking about.

Anyway, take a look at the first two photo's with the route description. The first one was taken from the depression that I described as the belay for the first pitch, looking down at the second, who just came up the vertical corner that I called 5.8. The second picture is taken from the same spot, but instead of looking down, it is looking up and to the climbers right. You can see the crack in this photo, and the climber is on the arete. If you continue up the arete, you will eventually wind up being deposited in the crux dihedral, which is pretty short - like 10 feet or so.

From there, pick whichever way you want to go - 5.7 or 5.10....

AC,

Thanks for the info. To clarify, I am referring to the second pitch. This is where I was the most confused. As I said, we didnt even make it to the 3rd pitch because we ran out of time.

As I look at the second picture, I think I understand where I was supposed to go. The other features up there just suck you in I guess. If you look at the fourth picture below, you can see the shadow of a medium roof and dihedral at second pitch height above the large corner of the first pitch. Am I correct in saying that I should be to the LEFT of this system while on pitch 2?

Thanks!

The route goes as so.
Pitch 1 ascends a right traversing hand and finger crack to a easy 5.5 corner, exit left and belay at the base of the obvious flake.

Pitch 2 ascends the finger crack in the flake for 15 feet to an awkward mantle. From here start aiming left around the roof for roughly 20 feet using great flakes for hands and gear. Step left around some slab to a low angle hand crack. When this crack dies there is an open book of slab to the left, crank the crux move and run it to the right facing corner where you can set up a spacious belay.

Pitch 3 Ascend the right facing corner for 25 feet. On top of the corner you have 2 options either set up a belay and do the Ozone Direct .10b or continue climbing to the right up easy cracks and slabs to the summit.

This is a great route so enjoy the Granite.

Definitely a fun route with pitch 2 being nice and airy with a pretty intense crux, but the gear is good. If you follow the pictures and route description from Stewart Green's "Rock Climbing Colorado" you should be right on.

Cheers and enjoy the fun hand jams and exposure on pitch 2.

P.W. and I climbed the route this weekend. A party was just starting when we arrived, so we warmed up on the Southeast Face. After running up that (just under an hour and a half) we had time to sneak in an attempt before the afternoon thunderstorms moved in. The first pitch of Lost in Space felt like easy 5.9. The little tree sticking out of the crack on the first pitch mentioned in Green's book was burned in the fire, so it is now just a stump... but it's still there. The second pitch was airy, but still went around 5.9. The key was moving right about 5 feet just above the first pitch. A thin finger crack unfolds on the second pitch along the corner at the left, along with a big drop off to the left. Great exposure! The last pitch was easy and a fun cruise to the top. Lead left up easy 5.4 to a little ledgy overhanging corner. Still at 5.4 or so. From atop the corner move right and mostly up along the 5.7 crack. These last sections can be done in one pitch. Stewart Green's guide was pretty accurate, and staying on-route wasn't too tough. The most helpful route-finding tidbit for me was the picture in Green's book that showed a little jog in the line to the right above the first pitch. The granite is fantastic and I will definitely be back to climb this area again.

Did this route today, lead pitch 1.
Pretty easy for the most part but a little awkward, the upper dihedral is definitely harder then 5.7 IMO, the 3 other ppl climbing it today also almost slipped off through that section at one point in time (we had 2, 2 man teams). Up above, I headed left for a nice belay spot. From there, we (not my lead) headed almost straight up toward a crack that looks nice up higher passing a fixed nut on the way (the other team went right above the dihedral and set up a belay around the corner, but they were envious when they saw where I stopped). But the base of the crack was total mank and non-existent. Another nut was placed and then we fired out an airy traverse 5.8 or so on good chicken heads to the right (on a ledge system). We found the small crack, topping it out seemed to be the crux (delicate movement liebacking a flare/ sloppey edge of the tiny crack feet high with smears). The third pitch is really obvious, and after being humbled on Ozone Direct I promptly sent the main line clean.

Climbed this yesterday with Joe Chorny - it is a great route.

We both thought P1 was harder than 7 and more like 8 or so. Near the top of the P1 dihedral (after the easy 5.5 section) is a harder move that is best done by moving onto the face.

We had no trouble finding pitch 2 based on everyone's good beta (especially Monty's). I did indeed traverse around the arete to the right because it looked a little easier than going straight up the finger crack that is above the flake. The flake above the belay is solid and didn't even flex with a 200 lb guy yarding or standing on it. Once around the arete continue up near the left edge on flakes. Be mindful to not place gear too quickly on the other side of the arete to not create rope drag. There is a fixed stopper on P1 and P2 that could possibly get retrievable. When the left-leaning crack ends, look up and right to the low angle handcrack Monty describes. At the top of that, I traversed left about 6 ft to the base of an easy, right-facing crack. Take that up until you are at the base of the thin 9 corner. The corner is only about 10 ft long. It helps to be tall leading this pitch as you can stand on the big jug on the right edge to place gear up and left before committing to the crux move. Joe couldn't use the jug for a foothold and with just the face the moves looked quite difficult. I set the belay just above the corner at a nice ledge. The ground at the bottom of the large corner on P3 is sloping so I didn't think this would be as good a belay spot.

P3 is easy 5.4-5.6 chimney/wide crack for 80 ft or so. There decide to do the regular finish or Ozone Direct (which we did and was great!)
As described under the Ozone Direct route, the crux move is a mantle, so it is definitely easier if you are shorter.

From the top of the route, go to the summit and traverse down and look for the raps. Two single rope raps with Metolius rap hangers gets one down.

Does anyone know if anyone has climbed straight up the slabs above the small roof above that last piton on the last pitch (above the 5.7 crack)? My partner Ryan said he has never seen Lost in Space finished that way, as everyone goes to the right at the piton and then up. I pulled over the roof and then ran it out with only two placements in some small horizontal pockets/cracks. The line is a direct continuation of the last 5.7 crack and the roof is cool, but the upper slab is very runout.

Sara:

My partner Annette and I climbed this yesterday and finished similar to what you describe. After pulling up through the little roof, though, I wasn't entirely sure where to go, so I went sharply left for 10' or so, and got to a little left facing corner/flake. I climbed up this, then went back right to get to the base of the slab you're talking about. I flipped the rope around the corner/flake so that it ran directly up from the little roof to the slab, and Annette could follow the rope directly up.

The slab was runout like a Flatirons east face, but was a fun way to finish.