Slot Machine 

I thought 12a was the consensus. Again, and always, the desert fits everyone differently.

5.11? If Slot Machine is 5.11, then Pente is 5.10. This climb definitetly deserves a 5.12- rating if only for the pump factor.

(At considerable risk of diving into pointless internet grade-debate wankery...)

I returned to this route last week with the above comments in mind and led it. Since I am the .12a canary-in-the-coal-mine, having never succeeded on this grade without hanging, I feel I'm a good judge. It's just not that hard. Practically every move in the slot is a rest, if you know how to chimney, and none of them are harder than 5.11 by any stretch. I was able to slog my way up the thing, while bumping gear and dealing with the typical tiresome rack issues one sometimes encounters, for the entire last 40 feet of the route, without hanging. This would never be possible for me on real 5.12, where I can barely eke out the moves on toprope. So I stand by the earlier assessment: it's solid 5.11, no more. For me. With my hands (thin-average). On that day. Et cetera.

Awesome route. Hard 5.11. No move on the the route harder than 5.10+, the business is probably endurance / tenacity through the .5-.75 terrain.

cool start, hard on the pants.
definately solid 11+.
more technical but less pumpy than quater of a man

i did this thing when it was like 10 degrees, and at that time it felt solid 12-. i dont know if it was the weather.

The protection requirements have changed since part of the leaning pillar broke off. Instead of a ton of #1 Camalots, you need maybe 5 #1s and 6 #2s. Also, take a two foot trad draw for the first bolt, then you can protect the first part of the open book with a black Alien, then a 0.3 Camalot, a couple yellow Aliens, a couple red Aliens, maybe 3 0.75 Camalots.

My buddy let me borrow a knee pad for my left knee. Use that and a left knee bar behind your right foot for probably half of the route. Doing that led to a concensus in our group that the route was maybe solid 11 (11c) or so.

The crack is wider now. The pillar is slowly falling away and climbers will notice that their grabers fit into the crack way more than they used to.

If you look at the required gear listed in the old guide book it documents that the crack was smaller. Now to easy. Terrible route. I will never do it again. I am going to be presumptious and speak for everyone else and say they should not do it eithier.

I'll agree with anyone who says 11+ or 12-... with 12- being the high range of what I have ever been comfortable leading at the creek, and I thought this was tough in 2004. If it has broken, such is the way of sandstone, I hope people play lightly in the desert, even the stones are fragile.

We arrived at the res wall one day to hear the sound of sand flowing down the back of this route... and then we didn't climb it... I wouldn't recommend fissure grippin' this piece of mountain, but despite my better judgment I'll probably do it again. I mean some very unlucky person *might die on this if it fell, but what are the odds it's going to be you?!