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Devil's Golf Ball
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Regular Route, Devil's Golfball 

Regular Route, Devil's Golfball 

5.9 A2-

   
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FA: Unknown
Type: Trad, Aid
Consensus: 5.11- C1 [details]
Length: 1 pitch, 100 feet
Views: 755 page views

Submitted By: toddgordon on May 5, 2007


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Read about Anchor Replacement and Restrictions in Arches National Park

Devil's Golf Ball. Photo; Todd Gordon C...


Description 

This route is fun, and goes to a cool summit on a very cool looking spire. The approach is very short. The climbing is relatively moderate, and it's sort of an easy tick for a desert spire. It's a good one. The route goes up cracks facing the road via free and aid climbing, until you get to a bolt ladder to the top. I free climbed to 5.9, but you could free climb 5.10 if you wanted to.


Location 

JUST out of the parking lot of the Garden of Eden (Same one as for Owl Rock). This formation is easy to find, as from the front, it looks like a golfball on a golf tee.


Protection 

Standard desert rack. (Maybe doubles or triples of everything..)



Photos of Regular Route, Devil's Golfball Slideshow Add Photo
Happily back on the ground and heading back to the hostel after our night ascent of the Devil's Golfball.

Happily back on the ground and heading back to the...

The Devil's Golfball near sunset...

The Devil's Golfball near sunset...


Comments on Regular Route, Devil's Golfball Add Comment
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Comments displayed oldest to newestSkip Ahead to the Most Recent Dated Feb 17, 2009
By toddgordon
From: Joshua Tree, California
May 5, 2007

I climbed this route with George Armstrong in April of 1992. I didn't know anything about the climb. I'm not sure the name Devil's Golfball , is really the name of the formation, but someone told me it was, and it sure looks like a golfball. I was nosey, so I walked over to this formation to have a look;...I could see the crack system going near the top, and the bolt ladder going to the summit, so we racked up and did the climb. The climbing seemed mellow to me, and I was happy for this, because I wasn't feeling too good that day;...had the flu and was quit under the weather. I accidently left my 9 m trail-line at the base, went back the next day to get it, and it was gone. This is an easy tick, close to the road, a cool summit, and a fun climb. I haven't seen this climb in any guide. Anyone know anything more about this climb?

By rpc
May 9, 2007

This is the one, right?



Looks incredible!

By toddgordon
From: Joshua Tree, California
May 10, 2007

That's the one!

By Monomaniac
Administrator
From: Morrison, CO
May 10, 2007

There's a "Devil's Golf Ball" on kane Creek Road, a little bit further down from the Ice Cream Parlor. But I guess its possible there are more than one such formation in the Moab area.

By rpc
May 10, 2007

this is the one you speak of?

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/247654.JPG

a.k.a. "Happy Turk" per Bjornstad guide.

By toddgordon
From: Joshua Tree, California
May 10, 2007

Nah;... the Devil's Golfball/Happy Turk is the one up Kane Springs;...this Devil's Golfball is the one in Arches just by the parking lot ( Garden of Eden) for Owl Rock. Devil goes golfing alot, I guess.

By Matt Pickren
Dec 24, 2007

This route easily GOES CLEAN. Ben K. lead it under moonlight this December. He decided it was about 5.7 C1. Todd, maybe you could change the rating from A to C to abolish any question of a hammer in the park?

By Ben Kiessel
Jan 17, 2008

As Matt said I lead this recently and it definitely goes clean. I didn't climb directly up to the crack but instead followed a seam on aid that traversed up into the splitter crack. Not sure if that was the preferred way but it worked. Anyways once you get to the splitter hand crack free or aid up to the golfball. There is a drilled pin ladder to get to the top of the golfball. Anchor on top is bomber, consisting of multiple drilled pins.

By Sam Lightner, Jr.
Feb 15, 2008

The anchor is a little hard to find... its on the back side and goes of the south face. Bomber. Big bolts and chain.
I would call this thing 5.10-,C1, but I would add that the move at the start to get to the hand crack is spicy. No way to get anything in and the fall is substantial. Once you get to the crack, its mostly hands and wide fingers with good footholds... till the bolt ladder.

By Darren Knezek
Nov 28, 2008
rating: 5.12b C0

I redpointed this route around 5.12b one year ago in October. The first roof crack felt about 11a and after that the first couple of drilled angles were quite easy. The climb got more and more difficult until almost where it tops out. This is where the crux was. Great gear the entire way except for the start where like Sam said a "fall is substantial". The roof crack felt quite awkward and the face above was cool edges and small slopers. The rock is typical Arches sandstone and the face above above may get harder or easier depending if things break or not. Gear was a full set of cams from .5" to 5" with a couple of extra hand and fist sizes and quickdraws for the drilled angles.
Plus this is an awesome tower for photos!

By Tristan Higbee
From: Provo, Utah
Feb 17, 2009

Climbed this route yesterday. The opening free moves getting into the crack aren't too bad. Have a small silver Camalot (or equivalent) ready for your first real piece of pro. I used a couple C3s (red and yellow?), 3 red camalots (could have used even more but backcleaned without difficulty), 3 yellow camalots, 2 blue (#3) camalots. Placed a #4 (the new silver C4, not the old purple) in a free section right before the bolt ladder. I think singles of everything else would be more than enough. Didn't place any nuts or tricams.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this route. The climbing wasn't too hard but still engaging. The anchors are way up past the actual summit point toward the right side of the tower. The anchor is two bomber bolts with chains.

By Christian "crisco" Burrell
From: PG, Utah
Feb 17, 2009

Ok, two towers with the exact same name is 2 too many. Even though the Kane Springs Canyon one actually looks like a golf ball on a tee from all sides (and this one does not) I wil forever call the shorter one the "Happy Hoodoo." BIG props to D.K. for the free redpoint!

I belayed Tristan and cleaned. Was able to get an anchor back a ways in a crack behind a boulder against the wall. It wasn't much, but if Tristan blew off suddenly (yeah, like that never happens with sandstone) it would be something.

Tristan's gear list is correct for what I cleaned. Longer slings on some of the gear (around the roof) is helpful for the cleaner.