Nadia's Nine 

Just climbed this route today and I have to tip my hat (once again) to Joe...what a route! Great climbing on this one- although its stout at the grade, I wouldnt call it sandbagged if you're solid on all the techniques it requires.

Also, theres a pair of over-slung rap stations that will get you back to your packs with one rope. If you go up there, lug up about 40' of webbing to resling 'em....I'll post here if i get there before you!

Fun stemming on the first pitch and great lie backing on the second pitch. One of my favorite shorter climbs in Red Rock. The climb starts just to the left of a cavernous tunnel through the rock. The rappels were from shrubs with lots of old slings.

Awesome route!! First pitch is pretty stout for the grade, but the gear is all there.
Could it be the stiff old slings and cords we rapped from yesterday are the same ones that were there in 2005?? We forgot to bring up our rings and slings, but if you're going to get on this, taking up some replacement anchor material would be a good idea, and a great service. Anchors on the top of the second pitch extend roughly 6 feet from the tree that they're wrapped around. The top of the first pitch is a more typical setup (also around a tree).

I thought it was distinctly more difficult than any of the cruxes on Black Widow Hollow, so I'd call it some kind of 5.10, but that's just me. A worthy effort. Nice prayer flags in the next alcove to the right.

If I do this again, I'll bring a #5 cam for P2. #4 was a little wobbly. Classic.

Just did the route, whoever carved in to the start "route X> 5.9+ way harder" you are a douche. IF you can't climb the grades here in RR, or wherever for that matter, stay home. I spent an hour trying to erase what you did, and you are lower then the dog sh*t i found on the approach. So if you read this, have the balls to fess up and admit your mistakes and go clean up your mess. And if you want to call me out, just message me, I will meet you wherever you want.

Kurt "Burt" Arend

Cool route, a bit of a sandbag I thought.. especially the move just below the roof on p1 where the crack in the corner pinches down to nothing...

@Tavis- remembering that the route was named Nadia's Nine for Nadia Comaneci (thanks karsten), the romanian gymnast is key to realizing the true grade of the route. Joe never called this route a 5.9....

I found the p1 crux harder than those on Triassic Sands, Nightcrawler, Dreams of Wild Turkeys, Wholesome Fullback, Fiddler on the Roof, Yellow Brick Road. More like 10c than 5.9.

We met Mark Moore on the way up to tis route (the FA was done by Joe Herbst and him), and wished we would have picked his brain for beta. Definitely harder than the grade suggests... but a really fun route whatever the rating.

I climbed this route twice. Once retreating at the top of pitch one in a snowstorm and again to complete the route. Knowing where to go the second time dropped the rating by a solid number grade. On-sighting this was a real grunt for the grade.

Awesome!!! I found both pitches stout for their respective grades.

A set of C3s was great to have on pitch 1. I found them more useful than my MasterCams on the bottom half due to their excessively narrow camming profile (you will want this). Tell your second to drag the big pieces for pitch 2 up through the tight slot. :) A #5 was a must-have while charging that big crack up higher. I thought the #4 I brought was useless until I topped out and used it as a back-up for the tatty sling anchor.

Lie-backing on pitch 2?!? In the 3-5" sections, I did a whole lot more hand stacking while moving and arm barring while resting and sussing....

There are 2 distinct cruxes on pitch 1. If you figure out the "right" way to do them I believe the grade of 5.9 to be accurate, maybe 5.9+.
If you don't...its harder.
Looki around the cruxes are cryptic.

A very fun climb.

josh

WEAR HELMETS ON THIS ROUTE!!!! The ledge below the roof on P1 has loose rock, as does the P1 belay, and while pulling the rope I took a shot to the dome from a rock that would have given my noggin' a floggin' if I had not had a helmet on.

I am very sorry to say I A0'd the lower crux of this route. For some reason, the move did not occur to me until I was checking it out on TR, which made it A LOT easier. The roof was very contortonist, but had great jams to help me work my feet around.

The grade on this thing is kind of an enigma. I thought it was 5.9 when I first climbed it (yesterday) then felt it was 9+ish when I climbed it today. Either way, my partner I climbed both this and Frigid Air Buttress with thought this had moves harder than anything on FAB. Not too sure this thing has a single .10 move on it, buuuut hell...9+ is nebulous enough that it covers just about anything :)

Get on this climb and enjoy. 10 minute(ish) walk from the car, great after work climb.

"Nadia's Ten" seems more appropriate, since that was her score. @John, it seems that Joe did rate the route 5.9, or else what is the nine in the route name for? Or is Joe's original name of the route just "Nadia's"?

George-- story is here:

pubpages.unh.edu/~lch/climb_05.htm
www.rockclimbing.com/forum/Climbing_Information_C2/Trip_Repo>>>

I was under the impression this was a clever play on words and sports about Nadia Comaneci, the famous Romanian gymnast known for scoring the first perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics. The route FA was in 1977.

You could be the stingy judge that gave her a 9 but everyone else would know her performance was really a 10. Hence this routes provenance. You can call it a 5.9 but when you climb it you will know it is really a 5.10.