Big muscles will power you over the technical cruxes through the roof section, but save something for the hairy, airy, and crimpy headwall. Splendid position, long route, cool moves.
To find this route, look for the trail that goes along the base of the cliff and follow it until you find a wooden post at the beginning of Post Moderate. Grape Ape is the bolted line just to the left of this route.
Protection
Bolts, around 17(?) to bolt anchors. Two 50m ropes required for the descent.
Excellent climb. Crux going over roof. Watch out for thin top. If you get pumped on lower part the top will get your attention if grip is weak on crimpers.
By Monomaniac Administrator From: Morrison, CO Mar 5, 2007 rating: 5.10c
This route is awesome. Best 5.10 I've done at Diablo. For some reason the rock is several grades better than all the other routes in the canyon.
Great climb. The quality of rock is some of the best in the canyon. The over abundance of chalk takes a bit away from the onsight experience. But what else can you expect from one of the best 5.10s in the state!
By George Perkins Administrator From: Los Alamos, NM Apr 21, 2008 rating: 5.10c
The name Grape Ape reportedly originated from a hairy belligerent purple-fleece-wearing Santa Fean who was working on a nearby trad route at the time of the FA, and wasn't too psyched about the LA crew drilling a 17-bolt sport route right next to it. You can see the purple fleece on the ground in Bradshaw's photo from the FA ----- If you don't have a 2nd rope, you can get down from this climb with 1 rope by rappeling first to the anchor for Highly Caffienated then down from there; it involves some swinging (not too bad, but not straightforward). ----- This is the best 5.10 sport climb I've climbed, anywhere.
George's story on the name is sort of close to the truth but significantly more entertaining so I won't spoil it. I think Ken Kisiel came up with the moniker after a brief encounter with the hairy gentleman when we were working on establishing the route. We changed the line a bit to accommodate his concern, which actually made the route a bit better. The name made us laugh so much we named it after him.
Most of the verticle climbing here can be super scary and loose. Warm ups are mostly heady and not physical. The majority of really good climbs can be found in the sun cave. Sapian is a super classic as is Lucy, cro-magnon, and clovis hunter. Free camping, no water. Lots of rich santa fe tourists/part time habitants moroning around in brand new SUV's. Watch for fallingh rock!!!! Always assume that pieces will come off any given climb, even the overhanging ones. Enjoy!
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