[Hide Comment] This is, IMO, the best of the routes at Turkey Perch. Sustained, varied climbing that will require about every size piece on your rack (except perhaps a Bigbro). Two distinct cruxes - the OW bulge and the off-finger crack right before the ledge. Both are solid 9, with sustained 8 the rest of the way. May 24, 2001

[Hide Comment] First ascent by Steve Cheyney in the early 1970s. First as a top rope and then a lead. Very dicey pro with hexes and stoppers! Named of course for the Herman Hesse novel. May 20, 2003

[Hide Comment] Wow. Amazing climb.Note: Watch out for a bat that lives in the off-fingers section (as of 10-11-03), just below the face climbing part. Oct 13, 2003

[Hide Comment] Are there any bad routes here? Haven't found one yet. I got worked by the fingers section but stuck with it. Jun 2, 2004

[Hide Comment] There are decent anchors on top of this one- a cord and a sling from which you can top rope or rap with a 60 meter rope. This anchor is shared with Gobble Up. If rapping be careful to find the center of your rope as a 60 m cord will put your tails about 4 feet of the ground. Sep 7, 2004

[Hide Comment] Hey everyone, notice how in the picture above, the route Honky Ass Jam Crack is listed hilariously as Honky Jam Ass Crack. Oh god, that is funny. Sep 20, 2004

[Hide Comment] Excellent route! The offwidth was the crux for me, although the hands section got me pretty pumped. Absolutely beautiful moves through the hands and onto the face. Mar 29, 2006

[Hide Comment] Placed two #3s (Camalot) and a #4. Bring big stuff if you want to sew it up. Nice route. Jun 12, 2006

[Hide Comment] This is a great route and it may be they are all good on the south face. Second the gear recommendation for two #3s and a #4 Camalot to keep your mind easy through the wide part without back cleaning or leap frogging. I am sure some people can do without because the wide part is not the crux. I figured that came in the upper finger crack, which protects well with finger-sized cams (which finger cracks so often do). Jun 26, 2006

[Hide Comment] This route was great! I got pretty pumped a couple times and wasn't sure if I would make it first go but I kept fighting and made it through the OW crux, the slim hands and fat fingers crux was tough too but I sturggled less there.

2 #3s, a 3.5, 4, 2 # 2s 2 #1s and that's about it, I still leapfrogged gear though.

I was sweatingh at the top, my face was so drenched I felt like I was crying or something. Jun 11, 2007

[Hide Comment] IMHO, I think that this is a good route to gain confidence making the crux move with gear below your feet. The gear is good and the fall would be pretty clean. For the crux, I had a bomber yellow Alien and a #0.3 BD Camalot right above it. Very fun route requiring every technique in the book. Jun 18, 2007

[Hide Comment] I felt the crux was the awfulwidth (my nemesis) and am in general very weak on it. However, I felt remarkably safe with just 2 #2s and one #3. There is a decent placement for the number 3 before the ow gets hard, and there is a bomber placement for the #2 at the crux, just reach deep in that crack. May 24, 2010

[Hide Comment] High-top shoes will save the ankles some wear and tear on this one. Feb 26, 2012

[Hide Comment] The OW crack section can be protected well with a 3, 4, and 5 cam. Sep 24, 2012

[Hide Comment] Super fun climb! The wide part is tricky but not as bad as it looks, so don't let it intimidate ya! Super stoked to get the onsight on this one, have at her! Mar 17, 2014

[Hide Comment] What a stellar line! This is my favorite at The Perch. I'll second the motion to bring a #5 Camalot, as I found it protected the OW section perfectly. Apr 4, 2016

[Hide Comment] Such an amazing route. There's such good variation in the type of climbing. Hand jams, offwidth, wide fingers, and then some face moves.

1-2ft of the top of the offwidth was just as cruxy for me and the face crux move. Do this climb! It's all there! Especially for the crux move - not gonna tell you exactly where the holds are tho ;) Jul 22, 2019

[Hide Comment] The OW section felt pretty easy honestly. I thought 5.7 with good technique. The finger crux was a little heady, but power through it quickly! It’s all there. Sep 30, 2020

[Hide Comment] Hey! I left a trad anchor at Turkey Perch this past Saturday (11/07/2020) above the climb Gobble Up. The anchor was a #3, #1, 0.75, 0.5, a green quad, 5 lockers, 5 carabiners, and another sling. The cams have red and yellow nail polish dots on them. The lockers have pink nail polish (I think). I came back on Sunday (11/08/2020), and it wasn’t there. If you have it, please let me know at 724-866-5219! I will buy you so many beers for the safe return on my poor anchor :(

Also, there is a large tree on the road now about 1.5 miles from the trailhead for the whole Turkey Rocks area (coming from Denver). It’s blocking the whole road, but you can get around to the left if the conditions are dry. I believe only 4-wheel drive will make it. The tree fell on the road the morning of 11/08/2020. Nov 8, 2020

[Hide Comment] Beautiful, varied route with a fun, heady move before it eases off considerably. I will come back to this again and again. I found the fingers at the top smooth sailing, but the offwidth pod at the bottom was heinous until I came back with more OW experience. Sep 7, 2025