Anybody know anything about the new routes on the Keel. One just left of Dumb Fun. 3 bolts and then gear up a gritty slab to a lieback? Also the two new bolted routes lower down. Close to Spotted Fever? Thanks.

Do you mean these routes?

Kings of Cribbage
Inertia Creeps
Mezzanine

Steve - here is a description of that route from about 4 years ago. Maybe it got scrubbed since then. The upper flake was flexy back then and scared me. Maybe it is 5.9+, but back then I thought it was harder at the bottom? Its been a while, but a foothold broke on me and sent me flying. It should be a pretty good line but I'd take a good brush. Mike said if that flake was bad someone could put in a bolt there but I've never gotten back to do it.

I know of a few other unpublished lines in the area that are worthwhile. If you want info let me know.


Quote:
Also, (anybody) what is the new line just left of Dumb Fun?

That's Keel Haul. The first bolt is kind of sporty - and so are the next two. Bring TCU's through hand sized cams in case you find some gear for the upper crack. There is a bomber orange tcu placement after the third? bolt that holds super big whippers from large climbers for whatever its worth. If you have a great big wire brush bring it and knock some of the choss off. I sure cleaned lots off. Mike rated it 5.9+ I think but maybe it only felt harder because I was scared. It does have cool yellow patina down low. I think its great that Mike put up a route on lead in LCC. You should know that it's seen few ascents and might be harder than .9.

A note of caution, there is a loose flake at the bottom of the upper crack that expands when you try to set a nut or a cam. Then you have to climb another 10 or 15 feet to an undercling stance in the crack with rotten feet. If you blew it at this stance and the piece in the rotten crack didn't hold then you'd deck and/or die. For whatever its worth.

Keel Haul is a great name considering the formation and everything around it. For me, a better name for this route would have been "Rotten Feet Made Me See Jesus" or "Beware Climbing 5.9's Put Up on Lead by Mega-Strong 5.14 Climbers" or maybe "LCC is a lot safer since the a lot of the choss has been scraped off by previous generations of climbers." It really is kind of a cool route and would get much better as it cleans up.

Mike was gracious enough to say that extra gear could be added - whatever it took to make it reasonably safe. I feel we should respect his ground up effort by only adding a bolt where the bottom of that crack was rotten. From experience I can say that aside from the first 20 feet you'd be reasonably safe if you fell from most anywhere else on the route. For instance, you can take a whipper from the thin diagonalling seam and not deck as long as that tcu holds. I'd think getting several opinions on this would be prudent. Maybe Tyler or James or someone with more experience than I would be willing to get on it and let us know what they think.

thanks. thats the climb, I agree 9+ or 10A only because it is quite commiting and the rock was very flaky and gritty. Also agree my feet scared me. I like your name addendums......Thanks I think it could be a 2 star route if it cleaned up.....Cheers.

"No Star Tuesday": Also a "super killer" line in the gully up and east of the coffin. It's on the left wall from the gully and is left of "Trivial Pursuit". We haven't posted it yet as it is soooooo "killer"; we're afraid EVERYONE will go there.

Yeah I put that route up a while ago. Sorry it is dirty, but I don't usually clean trad routes...I think the tradition is to leave them as you found them. Now sport routes are a different matter.... Please feel free to add bolts...BOLT THE PLANET!! that's what I say. I did that route as somewhat of an experiment to see what bolting on lead is like. I discovered that it yields an exciting experience for all involved, and generally a bad route.

I'm jealous of your battery pack belt. In the immortal words of that housewife in Napolean Dynamite "I want that".

Look at all that shubbery! Ten, are you about to whip out the roundup?