The Grand Traverse is a classic 5.10 to the right of the Torpedo Tubes. The first pitch is very popular in itself, and many (most?) people chose to do this pitch and leave the second pitch for another day.
Climb the nice crack system right of the Right Tube and Gravity's Rainbow, good (hard) 5.9 or easy 5.10. The crack protects well, nice hand jams and stemming, with one distinct crux-like section; the rest is just the usually pump fluff. At the roof there is now a 2-bolt anchor, but to continue skip this and traverse way right (the "Grand Traverse") on slopey holds with decent gear (large TCUs to 2" cams, roughly) to a stance below a bulging fist crack at new bolts on the under side of the bulge.
From here you can lower off with a single (60m) rope, and belay your second sitting on the beer cooler that Erik brought to the crag, and later toprope Max Factor into submission, OR, belay and prepare for pitch 2.
P2 grunts up the wide fist crack (crucial crystal on left wall for foot) through the bulge and above to the top of the crag (5.10+ or so, but a short crux). Wander due S over boulders to the top of the crag above Middle Parallel Space to rap off.
Protection
Gear up to a 3 (or 4) inch cam for pitch one; include doubles in the large wireds to 2" range. Pitch 2 requires a slightly larger cam or two (4 Camalot). One rope off the raps on the other side of the formation.
If you do the burly 2nd pitch (highly recommended), there is a threaded rap anchor at the top. A rap with a single 60m rope will put you on top of the boulders at the base of Max Factor where you can scramble down easily to the left or right.
It's also possible to climb the first half of pitch one in the above description. At this point there are some threaded slings and a fixed stopper. Not the best rap anchor in the world, so we backed it up while climbing and only used it for getting down. I'd say it's about 5.8 or so.
Did this route Tuesday May 11, and here's some super-important beta. On the first pitch, you will be awed to discover what look like large piles of animal excrement, which make some of the most bomber hand-jams appear unusable. On a dare I discovered that what looks like poo is in fact some kind of fossilized plant-matter. Enjoy!
By Jeff Giddings From: Fort Collins Sep 2, 2004 rating: 5.10c
Somebody placed a two bolt anchor at the top of the crack off to the left before the traverse, thereby eliminating the need to do "The Grand Traverse". This seems a little odd.
Eric, what you have discovered is an interesting and highly misunderstood part of Vedauwoo climbs. Most people think that the shit that is found in large quantities at times is guano. Guano is bat feces. The feces that Vedauwoo is oh so famous for is typically middens or pack rat shit. The reason for it being so solid is that pack rats will nest in the same spots for thousands of years. In essence, the old poo becomes fossilized. As you observed, the majority of a pack rat's diet consists of grasses and other plants. Extinct species of grasses have actually been discovered in pack rat middens. Just a little FYI
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