crux of vertigo vs crux of the naked edge

Anyone have any beta for comparing these two? I did vertigo yesterday and struggled in the dihedral (i'm gonna blame conditions) but im interested in getting on the edge sooner rather than later. Just interested in hearing from anyone who's been on these routes and can make any comparisons.

I personally find the cruxes on the Edge to be noticeably more difficult. I have sent Vertigo, I am still working on the Edge.

The first dihedral pitch on the Edge is perhaps about the same as the dihedral pitch on Vertigo, but is longer, with more moves. Still, it is very approachable with good gear everywhere.
The Bombay pitch is a different beast than anything on Vertigo. It is much more committing, the moves are not obvious, and not really French free-able. Perhaps one could aid it with hooks, but in my experience until I figured out the moves, I got shut down on that pitch. The fall can be a proper whip, but there is a key black totem above the pin that lessens it marginally and provides some mental comfort. Here it also may be worth noting that you can bail down the route with a 70m.

The last pitch is also hard, but one can pull on small gear through the boulder crux, and the finger crack and hand cracks above are well protected.

In short, I found Vertigo to mostly be a well protected one or two move wonder (it took me the most tries to send the dihedral), and the Naked Edge is a step up in terms of movement, length and commitment above gear. That said, if you have a decent number of other 5.10+ or 11a/b Eldo routes under your belt, there is no harm in going and checking it out.
Curious what others think too. 

It depends on your strengths.  I think most people will find the Edge harder.  The bombay is not a jug haul, but it’s not bad with some flexibility and OW technique.  If you suck at overhangs, Vertigo might be harder.

Both 11b pitches on The Edge are harder and scarier by a good margin in my opinion. Vertigo crux pitch went second go but the Edge took 5 attempts plus a lot more 5.11 trad under my belt

i have never met anyone who thought vertigo is harder than the edge. that somebody might be out there, but they would be a rare bird. i think the thing with the vertigo dihedral is that it is harder than it looks. it looks like it is going to be pretty easy, but somehow really tries to give you the business.

For my money, the Edge is substantially harder when you take into account the technicality of the moves and the overall physical effort. Plus, it has always felt much more committing to me.

I guess I'm the rare bird that finds the moves on Vertigo much, much harder than anything on the Naked Edge! That dihedral is more strenuous AND tenuous, than anything on the Edge. And even having climbed Vertigo more than a dozen times, I haven't found roof beta that makes it feel as easy as the overhanging handcrack on the Edge.

Agreed that Edge is longer and more committing, but @MarkFranchi, just pick a nice day and take your time going up. If you can do the moves on Vertigo, you can definitely do the moves on the Edge.

I agree with Stefan! Granted, I have climbed the Edge quite a bit, but I think the Vertigo dihedral is much harder than anything on the Edge. I have heard suggestions as high as 12a from seasoned, experienced Eldo climbers (I am between 11d and 12a -- the dihedral feels really hard for me). I have heard from some that over the years many of the footholds in the corner have broken or crumbled.

OTOH, I think that Vertigo is way safer / less scary than the Edge. You can load up the dihedral with gear and flail away, knowing you're never going to fall more than a few feet. And it's easy to pull through once you're over it. On P4 and P5 of the Edge you have no such opportunity and will take proper falls if you biff the moves.

In terms of beta for the dihedral, I went up on a cold day with really soft rubber (La Sportiva Theory) and was able to get a bit more purchase smearing on the polished left wall of the corner for the opening moves. Still felt hard though..

11d/12a? that's batso crazy. i thought it was closer to 11a than 11b. (that being said it is well over a decade since i climbed it)

Ha, maybe a controversial opinion (or more likely, I just suck!). I am not calling for a change to the grade or anything -- that's just always how it's felt for me personally. And I know some others that also have trouble with that pitch also, relative to other Eldo 11b's.

I also have fairly skewed perspective with 200+ laps on the Naked Edge and <10 on Vertigo -- I bet there's a lot more I can learn from the dihedral pitch.

slim wrote:

11d/12a? that's batso crazy. i thought it was closer to 11a than 11b. (that being said it is well over a decade since i climbed it)

Bro stop spraying. No one cares. The point of the MP consensus is to take the average opinion of the grade. 

200+ laps on the edge!

that is incredible…

it is such an amazing Rte…

impressive to say the least…

be safe out there

having onsighted both, the edge was definitely harder because its more technical/varied and much longer.