BETA PHOTO: Center crack: Lucille; Right Crack: Hass...
Description
This is the distinctive (and impossible to mistake) offwidth/squeeze chimney roof. Climb Best of the Blues (10b), the crack below with a small fist crack roof, to get to the belay cave for this monstrosity. Then go up. Go out at the roof, then go up when the roof ends. Be creative and you might score the 6th ascent!
Protection
Big. Very big. Big Bros, Big Cams, Big balls.And some TR chains if you don't think you're up to it.
I thought the FA on this line was Craig Leubben and he even got written up in one of the mags for it. Or maybe it was just the 2nd ascent. Either way, this is a very impressive looking route that I never want to climb.
supposedly scarpelli and luebben let jay anderson work it until he completed it (over a span of nearly 10 years). i don't know if scarpelli has done it yet (i imagine he has), but luebben did it just after jay anderson did. if i remember correctly luebben onsighted it.
Took a thorough look at this thing yesterday (my partner made it to the very edge of the roof where one starts going up again, all on TR). I don't have the words to describe it. Incredible. BTW, unless you can lead it, you need a 60m rope to toprope this thing, the rope hits the ground about 10 feet out from the base of Best of the Blues (10b). You can't start from the base of the climb proper.
Just to set some things straight. Craig Luebben was the first person to on-sight Lucille and he got the second ascent 7 years after Jay got the first ascent. This climb is a lot easier for skinny folks with skinny arms. It is just plain hard to get the necessary chicken wings in this thing if you have big guns. There are a few other offwidths at Vedauwoo that have not recieved the hype of Lucille that are probably much harder, but who am I to say. Go find out for yourself. Btw. The single most difficult move is probably getting through the roof on Best of the Blues. Don't be intimidated, this is a fantastic climb.
Congrats to Pamela! Probably the first female ascent, eh? I had a hard enough time with the 5.10 OW crack to the left of Lucille/BB, somebody should add this to the database.
Yesterday my friend and offwidth mentor Steve Su onsighted this route after warming up with his first ascent of Squat. I've definitely seen him struggle a lot harder, meaning he did it elegantly and patiently. Getting into the crack is a virtual re-entrance into the womb. A must do!