Best Mostly-Gear-Protected Face Climbs

Little Wing on the Old Big Oak Flat Road is a classic, one of a kind Valley steep face route, with a few fingerlocks

Kevin Worrallwrote:

Little Wing on the Old Big Oak Flat Road is a classic, one of a kind Valley steep face route, with a few fingerlocks

Excellent. Having to choose between a good lock and a gear placement is a hallmark of the kind of route I refer to here.

Part of the reason I started this thread is because it seems that the prevailing practice of rockcraft has taken a turn away from adventuresome climbing with tricky gear.

Perhaps it's regional myopia, but it seems like most people I meet are most fired up for redpointing gymnastic sport routes, or muscling up very predictably-protected Wingate routes with a cam every body length. 

I love all climbing, even bouldering and plastic. (Well, maybe not America Ninja Parkour Warrior American Gladiators WWE Xxxtreme Red Bull Laser Tag Bowling Alley Blacklight Special comp bouldering, but whatever).  

But there's a special thrill I get from barely squeaking by a focus-intensive onsight with cryptic, committing moves above gear. I try to keep the routes I develop as exciting in this way. Hopefully not all other developers bolt their new lines into total submission.

(It's worth pointing out that this style is not a fluency of mine. When I first fell in love with climbing ten years ago it was on Wingate, and I have been very crack-focused since then, to the detriment of becoming a well-rounded climber. Routes like the photo I posted above at K.C. Baum's playground in the land of crying sheep are helping me grow as a climber in that regard).

Oh, one more to add ... the nutting pitch on Moonlight! Superb movement and a bit of effort to place gear.

Beware of Nesting Egos in COR is a good one

Any non-crack climb at Devils Lake. Even then, many of the crack climbs have face moves 

F r i t zwrote:

  Perhaps it's regional myopia, but it seems like most people I meet are most fired up for redpointing gymnastic sport routes, or muscling up very predictably-protected Wingate routes with a cam every body length. 

But there's a special thrill I get from barely squeaking by a focus-intensive onsight with cryptic, committing moves above gear. I try to keep the routes I develop as exciting in this way. Hopefully not all other developers bolt their new lines into total submission.

Speaking of regional myopia, this thread so far has been all US and Canada. Not talking about UK areas here seems a serious omission, since it is the center and homeland of this adventurous thin gear protected face style. Pembroke looks particularly intriguing. Too bad it rains so much.

Not the best by any stretch but Team Jesus at the NRG has pretty good placements and an EXTREMELY committing crux move above some pretty sturdy gear and is a very enjoyable route.

F r i t zwrote:

I find it very rewarding to suss out cryptic moves and work hard for intermittent gear placements.

Eldo.

Jackson Wrightwrote:

Not the best by any stretch but Team Jesus at the NRG has pretty good placements and an EXTREMELY committing crux move above some pretty sturdy gear and is a very enjoyable route.

one move 5.10...good line to impresses people if you're a novice gear monkey. 

Jackson Wrightwrote:

Not the best by any stretch but Team Jesus at the NRG has pretty good placements and an EXTREMELY committing crux move above some pretty sturdy gear and is a very enjoyable route.

There's so many good ones at the NRG!

Many of quality in NC....

I remember brass nuts on Chips Ahoy on Thumb Butte, Prescott AZ.

There were other thin gear face routes in AZ but I don't remember them. I became addicted to crack. But the runout tricky gear stuff definitely caught my interest for a while.

Is there anything in J-tree like this? I don't remember.

Carbs and caffeine, while not exactly a face, more of a series of roofs fits the bill for what i think OP is looking for. At 5.11a it is ridiculously exposed, airy, slightly runout, although the crux does have 2 bolts so it is not a pure gear route. 

As mentioned, Party in My Mind at the NRG is a good one.

Jason ELwrote:

As mentioned, Party in My Mind at the NRG is a good one.

Nice snaps! Looks rowdy.

Not the same caliber as Party in My Mind, but Wall of Horns at Sand Rock, Alabama, is probably worth a regional mention.  Comfortably Numb, as well.  The latter offering better exposure.

Wall of Horns runs up the face on the left side, opposite Dreamscape, on the right.  And as the name suggests, plan on slinging a few chicken heads on Wall of Horns.

JCMwrote:

Speaking of regional myopia, this thread so far has been all US and Canada. Not talking about UK areas here seems a serious omission, since it is the center and homeland of this adventurous thin gear protected face style. Pembroke looks particularly intriguing. Too bad it rains so much.

I think all of Europe is underrepresented here on Mt Project. I know there is a lot of routes and areas with thin, techy gear intensive climbing. Some of the boldest climbing areas in the world are there. Would love to hear more from our relatives across the pond. 

Surely the Dolomites have a number of contenders for the best - the Comici, Messner, and Schubert routes are life-listers for me, and that's just in the 5.10s. Where else do you have hundreds of 10+ pitch steep face climbs across such a wide variety of grades with such easy access?

FrankPSwrote:

Correct - that is a trad route. Even with no gear placements. There might be serious runouts because the stances to drill were far and few between.

So I can get 12d trad points for climbing Lactic Acid Bath in the New? In an interview Doug Reed said he put that up on lead via aid rope solo.

Nope!

No aid allowed on FA to be a traditional traditional ascent/route and therefore to be a traditional free climb. If he led it ground up, and drilled from stances, I’m guessing it would be a little “sportier”, and a different leading experience.

Kevin Worrallwrote:

It’s important to note that “trad” face climbs were originally dubbed “traditional” because the bolts that protected them were placed from stance, strictly ground up, as opposed to sport climbs. At that point in climbing evolution, “traditional” had nothing to do with what gear was used, and everything to do with style and methods of placing it, gear being protection, and including bolts.

But that’s just the traditional definition of traditional climbing. As irritating as it is to a climber like me who witnessed and participated in that evolution first hand to hear climbers use the abbreviation to describe climbs with no bolt protection, or even with some bolt protection, I can accept the definition that disrespects true tradition in favor of brevity. I just don’t participate in it’s use.

Kevin, I don’t think that a redefinition based on a lack of understanding of the word deserves to be accepted without pushback. There’s actually almost nothing “tradder” than heading up an unknown smooth crackles face with a hammer and a drill and little if any ability to predict whether one will be to get hands-free. Ok, hooks too.

That said, trad is eroding into “sport on gear,” and that’s where the brave new future lies.