Type: Sport, 240 ft (73 m), 2 pitches
FA: Kurt Smith & Adam Knoff
Page Views: 5,377 total · 29/month
Shared By: Josh Janes on Jan 18, 2009
Admins: Rudy Peckham, MAKB, Greg Hughes, Mauricio Herrera Cuadra, Ricardo Orozco

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Description Suggest change

Mothership Connection is the sweet tufa route up the gently overhanging face left of the Bronco Bowl and right of Time For Livin'. Begin by scrambling up the large flake/left-facing corner in the center of the Outrage Wall. From the teetering blocks on the top of this flake, reach up and clip the first bolt. Don't be confused by the left-hand bolt line which is British Invasion (12a); though that route still allows access to the same belay and offers higher quality climbing.

The original first pitch is 11d, 100' long, and follows a grey streak to a stance belay below the tufas. The rock is like velcro, and up high is a stout, thin crux moving left a ways above a bolt.

The second pitch is the money pitch. Move up and left off the belay as the wall steadily steepens above. A series of brown and white tufas leads to a cruxy traverse move right to a black tufa. Immediately after this a pumpy shake precedes a V7/8 boulder problem off an undercling that ends at a flake-jug. This is unquestionably the crux and may be easier for longer wingspans. From here continue up outrageous tufas passing a few rests and a final steep section to the anchor, which is located in a large hueco.

Make sure to have a 70m cord for lowering off the second pitch. A 60 is fine for the first pitch. The whole thing has been climbed from the ground in one 230' pitch; this requires over 25 draws, plenty of slings, and is best done by starting with British Invasion.

The history of this route is interesting: The first ascensionists used several glued-on holds to help with the rightwards traverse and also the boulder problem crux and rated the route 13a. Knowing the climb still went without those holds, sometime between 2009 and 2015 a Mexican climber went up and chiseled them off upping the grade of the route to mid-5.13. In January 2016 I climbed a variation that completely avoids the epoxied/chiseled mess and conveniently returns the grade to 13a - though the price of admission is a rather spicy bit of 5.12 climbing: At the pumpy shake after the crux traverse, clip the boulder problem crux bolt and continue traversing straight right 10' to a previously unclimbed, and fragile (pull very gently - don't be the one to break these holds!!!) tufa system. Climb up this for 10' to a smooth, sloping blob and perform a difficult move (now way out from the last bolt) to gain the far right end of the post-boulder problem flake/jug - which is just crimps at this point. From here traverse back left and downwards to find yourself back on the original line just above the boulder problem. Done this way I like to call the climb "Mothership Correction" at 5.13a (with 5.12 PG13 - potential for a horrifying but completely safe fall). It is my wish that no new bolts be added to this variation.

No matter how you do it this route is superlatively spectacular.

Protection Suggest change

At least 15-17 draws for the second pitch. Less for the first.

Photos

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