Cookie Monster 

I've done Cat-In-The-Hat a few times and except for the last pitch I don't get the five star rating. Cookie Monster, on the other hand, is, I believe, a nicer line straight up to the last pitch of Cat, it has bomber pro, and it avoids the cluster fugs of people. Maybe Cookie is not so popular because it is not in Swain's book and you have to build anchors. ??

In two pitches we were able to climb Cookie Monster all the way to the base of the final pitch of Cat in the Hat.

We scrambled up from the base of Cookie Monster to a nice belay ledge and we had to stretch our 60 m rope both pitches. On the second pitch we passed the usual end of Cookie Monster (big ledge, tree) and followed a nice connector crack up to Cat.

Fun route. We encountered about a dozen young big horn on the ledge where you start (I could smell them before I could see them)! In winter the first pitch stays in the shade, but beyond that the leader can catch some sun.

We also did it in two pitches and then continued straight up to and through the last pitch of "Cat in the Hat" (so 3 pitches, total). We then continued on to the top of Mescalito and did the gorgeous walk-off (see the beta on the main Mescalito page), which adds a star to the quality of any route up this side.

Did this with MG and had a blast. We were the only two on the route: Cat was filled, had a waiting line, and traffic jam with rapping.

We also did this in 2 pitches (200 ft for the first from the big ledge) and ~100 ft for the second. The rock was VERY unstable. I had 2 handholds break, unfortunately one was on lead. Took a nice 20' fall onto a nut. Placing pro can be a bit tricky on this route as the rock is very sandy/soft. I think a cam would have blown.

thats odd, as i found the rock on this route to be among the strongest in the park. just right of the route, though- it gets a little soft. also, if you took the left exit up top instead of the right hand exit, you'd have run into the soft stuff.

overall, though- the route is quite solid. i suspect, though, that the last month worth of rain we got coupled with not that much sun probably left this route somewhat damp for quite a while- i noticed the rock was still pretty soft over the weekend- probably wont firm up totally for a few more days.

Debbie might have been off-route. Some friends and I did this in two rope teams of two and found the rock to be excellent. Like some others, we also did this in two pitches. There's one section in the second pitch just below a small roof where the protection gets a little thin, but a thin dyneema sling can be threaded around a sturdy chicken head there. Other than that section, this route is like a ladder with plenty of great holds and pro all the way. My friends and I thought both pitches of it were easier than the last pitch of Cat in the Hat. In any case, we absolutely loved this route, and can't understand why it isn't far more popular than the lower pitches of Cat in the Hat.

For those thinking of going all the way to the top of Mescalito, be forwarned: unless we were missing something, the last pitch is almost totally unprotectable 5.7 with HUGE exposure. Someone might be able to protect that squeeze chimney pitch with Big Bros, but we didn't have any.

I climbed this route with Ron and have to agree. Great route, solid rock and, in my opinion, the two pitches here are better quality than the first two of Cat.

We did a single 160+/- pitch to a large sloping ledge on the right wall. Another 170+/- foot pitch led to a belay at a tree at the behind a pillar. I thought this was one of the best pitches for the grade I have done at Red Rock!

From here, we scrambled down and did the third pitch of Cat, but it looked possible to continue up this line and connect with Cat below the large crack on the last pitch of Cat. It appears this may be a more direct and natural line.

Definitly will do this variation again, and will skip the beginning of Cat in the future :o)

Super fun. There is a fairly new BDC4 sized .4 fixed somewhere on the first pitch that my partner couldn't get out. Maybe you can. Good booty. Good luck.

Awesome! 2-3 pitches of steep jugs with pro anywhere and everywhere. Relax and belay in the "sun room" before the dihedral/layback that leads to the final and best pitch of CitH.

We did this as well in two pitches. 1st to the big sloping ledge on the right , and then to the top. Easily done with a 70m. I would suggest leaving your gear just above the main trail so you don't have to hike back up to the base of cookie monster after coming down CITH and hiking around. Great Route!

Looks intimidating from every belay you make. But, there is always a good jug right when you need it. I thoroughly enjoyed this route, although we were in the cold shade the whole day (mid February). The last pitch (Cat-in-the-Hat) pitch was intense! Mentally challenging for sure, but totally worth it.