Approach as for Tunnel Vision. From the base of TV, work right about 100' to an alcove with a pine tree.
P1: (140', 5.5) Climb up a ways toward the massive cleft above (Healy's Haunted House) but then swing left onto a well featured face. Climb up through an easy bulge and belay on ledges at the base of a prominant off-width that splits the yellow face above. This crack is easily seen from the ground as you approach.
P2: (140', 5.6) The crack soon turns into an offwidth in relatively low angled rock. The moves are pretty easy if you use wide crack technique (heel-toe time!) but this section is fairly sustained. Thin flakes in the side of the crack offer somewhat insecure pro. A #5 Camalot could probably walk up this whole section. Belay at a ledge where the crack thins down again.
P3: (110', 5.5) Climb up the crack and work left before it ends, moving to an obvious crack system coming down from the large roof above. Belay in ledges.
P4: (110', 5.5) Continue up to an area of bushes in the crack. About 20' of easy simulclimbing combines this with the previous pitch.
P5: (180', 5.7) Work up the widening crack to the roof using the slab on the left side. The roof looks improbable but by working in (for pro) and out (for good holds) you can surmount the roof without too much effort. Continue up the crack / chimney into a big alcove and belay.
P6: (150', 5.4) Climb up another 30' or so then avoid the wide crack above (a 5.8 finish) by traversing left on a ledge system to easier ground and the top.
P5 is classic Vegas climbing: an improbable line through a big overhang that looks far harder than it is. You'll need a few big cams (or hexes) to feel comfy on this pitch. We didn't have much big stuff (#2, #3, #3.5 camalot) but the pro seemed adaquate. Just use little stuff whenever possible. The easy part of the chimney below the belay was runout but not scary.
This route was a lot more fun than Tunnel Vision. Plus less waiting in line.
Protection
Standard Vegas rack with some extra big nuts. A #5 Camalot would probably make pitch 2 much more secure.
this climb is a great alternative if there are people on tunnel vision. the day i went to climb tunnel vision there was a party of three just starting the 1st pitch so we went and did group therapy. route finding was alittle tough at times(we had very little beta) but its a great day out. go check it out; real fun
i walked right to the base of TV figuring id just move right to the pine tree and find the start of GT, but it wasnt so obvious to me. after a little bouncing around between possible alcoves with pine trees, i guess it is the first alcove past TV with a Big pine tree. I guess i should have scoped the route from the ground as reccomended.
A little easy simulclimbing links the first two pitches, as you can with p3/p4. The roof is fun, unless you have a pack on. The bushy ledges to belay below the roof (top of p4)- we belayed at the upper, lefter, bushy ledge, and had to traverse right to the crack off the belay. Should we have been at the lower ledge by the wide crack that becomes the roof weakness?
The 5.8 straight up variation is kind of sketchy. It looked like flour-y rock, with loose bits and pieces to stem off of. I pulled over anyway, but it's just a bit sketchy IMHO, compared to the relative solidity of the rest of the climb.
By J. Thompson From: denver, co May 29, 2005 rating: 5.7
It should be noted that instead of escaping on the last pitch by climbing up and left, there is an awesome 5.8 crack that continues straight up. Some of the holds feel a little shaky, but it goes and puts a little more icing on the cake than simply escaping.
Jason
By Danny Inman From: Westminster Nov 27, 2006 rating: 5.7
Great route. Climbed this in four pitches with a 70-m with no problems at all. The 5.8 roof on the last pitch is a great finish. Descended the first gully (i.e., the northernmost gully) following cairns takes 30-40 min approx to get back to the base of the route, no raps, no down-climbing.
You might find it worthwhile to take a couple of #5 Camalots along to help protect yourself in the roof crack and in the slabby chimney leading up to it. Generally, this route eats up gear if you bring the right stuff. I highly recommend using a 70M rope to do the 3rd and 4th pitches as a single long pitch (it's such an easy and fun lead you don't want it to end!), but you'll need to bring along some extra long slings to help reduce rope drag. I did the route with two other guys and we found the belay stances to be quite comfortable for all of us at the transitions. This is a good multi-pitch route for a group of 3 or 4 climbers.
Did this route on Nov 4th, entirely in the shade. We used a 4.5 Camalot at the crux. Oddly enough there were no chalk marks anywhere. Route finding is obvious after the first pitch, tho. Well worth it, IMO.
i just did this route again for the first time in years and its been far too long since i've done it- what a great little route!
i actually lugged up the #5 C4 and used it once- at the roof crux, which was nice to have, although if you're strong and solid on the wide, gear to the #4 C4 is probably plenty, just be prepared to run it through the crux.
on another note- i did the 5.8 finish as described in the handren guide (the right hand of the two cracks above the final belay), and i would say its more like 5.7 and is the natural finish to the route. the crack on the left looked much harder (nice job, john!)- i passed on it because it looked kinda rotten and a little harder than 5.8, but i guess i was mistaken.
finally for those considering this route- its a solid step up from Tunnelvision in terms of gear placement and anchoring techniques, and its definitely more run out than tunnelvision, although if you have a #5, its not dangerously so.
This was a fun line... I did the 5.8 finish and was disappointed to see the graffiti there! Why would anyone think it is OK to write "no" with an arrow on the rock?!
I was worried at first that the only reason someone would deface the rock like that was that there was some sort of death block ready to come loose and kill climbers. I found the climbing to be normal 5.8 climbing with nothing particularly loose and decent protection. There is no excuse for the graffiti on the 5.8 finish!
It's a great route. If you don't like run out climbs than bring a few large cams. Be sure to give your self plenty of time to climb it, as there are no bolted rappels so you have to topout and hike down.
The climb is probably a little more than 100 ft. right of Tunnel Vision. Photo #6 above helped us find the start with no problem. We took a #5 Camalot and used it enough (2 or 3 times) that we thought it was worth towing along. The 2nd pitch is easily stemmed; no heel-tow OW technique needed. As mentioned above, with a 70 meter rope pitches 3 and 4 can be linked. We did the route Nov. 2 and had sun on the first few pitches of the climb till about 10:00 a.m. The right crack finish is highly recommended and definately has a 5.8 move at the start of the crack. I thought this was a great route. Different climbing (wide cracks) than Purblind Pillar but equal quality to make it a tie for the best route on Angel Food Wall.
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