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> SOB Gully (skier's left side)
Comic Relief
5.10 YDS 6b French 20 Ewbanks VII- UIAA 19 ZA E2 5b British
Type: | Trad, 950 ft, 8 pitches, Grade III |
FA: | Webster & Dreiman |
Page Views: | 23,863 total · 113/month |
Shared By: | slevin on Dec 31, 2000 |
Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac |
Description
Comic Relief is an excellent introduction to 5.10 climbing in the Black, with clean rock, good pro, easy routefinding, and a relatively short day. The climb stays in the shade until early afternoon, so it's a good choice for hot weather. This is one of the more popular routes in the canyon. It is easier, shorter, and better protected than Journey Home.
Descend SOB gully to a white, polished slabby area under the third prominent buttress on your left. Look for a prominent left-angling feature low down (the "Vector Traverse" on Escape Artist) and a beautiful, thin, curving crack to the right of this. Head up the slab to a worn path leading to a 100 foot shoulder of broken rock. Scramble 4th and easy 5th Class up and right to a large block/flake and the bottom of the route. All pitch lengths are approximates, and like many routes here, optional belay points may be used.
Pitch 1 (75'): Begin in a nice 5.9- corner which leads to the base of the splitter crack. Variation: The thin tips crack to the right (with a little bush in it) is hard 5.10, but somewhat dirty. Belay at the base of the splitter (or keep going - you can combine these 2 pitches).
Pitch 2 (100'): Climb the splitter (excellent 5.10b, RPs at start) to a stance and belay (extra thin hands pro).
Pitch 3 (140'): Climb a left-facing corner, and move right where it ends. Climb the short wall above, or move around right to the base of a slab (optional belay at some blocks). Climb the slab (5.7), and a second short slabby/corner (5.8), to the base of an overhanging, black corner, and belay (good anchors, a little sloping stance though).
Pitch 4 (120'): Traverse straight left, to a 5.9 hand crack groove which leads to a nice ledge. Variation: Climb the strenuous "Black Corner" above (5.10), then hand traverse straight left (5.6) to the belay ledge (optional 4" cam to protect the 2nd). Note that if you used the optional belay on pitch 3, you can climb the slab and traverse left to below the 5.9 groove and belay in one pitch.
Pitch 5 (120'): Several options. Climb up and right to a thin crack at a bulge, slightly sporty 5.9 or easy 5.10; or up, then left around the outside corner to join Escape Artist, and onto a steep pegmatite wall with a crack (5.9 or so) which leads to the large, sloping shelf at the "Lightening Bolt" crack, and belay below the prominent corner.
Pitch 6 (85'): Climb the grungy-looking corner with a precarious block (5.9+ if dry) to a short pegmatite section, and a belay ledge on the right. This pitch climbs better than it looks. Variation: Climb the striking lightening bolt crack (5.11- or so) on the overhanging right wall, sharp, strenuous, but well protected with large wired nuts to 2" cams. Variation 2: The runout arete left of the corner is 5.8, dirty and best ignored.
Pitches 7-8 (300' or more): Climb the lower angle, but at times runout, wall above (some 5.6) to the top of the summit ridge.
Go to the left-most set of rap anchors, just over the edge, and above a big chockstone. A single 60m rope will take you down to a rubble ledge system. Ascend the obvious and loose gully to the north- do not take the gully to the right (east)- and hit a vague trail back to the campground. This is the "standard exit".
With the black corner and the lightning bolt cracks, the climb is a more sustained challenge. If you combine P1 & P2 and simul-climb the upper wall, the route goes fast in about 6 pitches. Watch out if you are climbing below another party, since stuff on the exit wall is loose, and a rope could easily dislodge something big.
Descend SOB gully to a white, polished slabby area under the third prominent buttress on your left. Look for a prominent left-angling feature low down (the "Vector Traverse" on Escape Artist) and a beautiful, thin, curving crack to the right of this. Head up the slab to a worn path leading to a 100 foot shoulder of broken rock. Scramble 4th and easy 5th Class up and right to a large block/flake and the bottom of the route. All pitch lengths are approximates, and like many routes here, optional belay points may be used.
Pitch 1 (75'): Begin in a nice 5.9- corner which leads to the base of the splitter crack. Variation: The thin tips crack to the right (with a little bush in it) is hard 5.10, but somewhat dirty. Belay at the base of the splitter (or keep going - you can combine these 2 pitches).
Pitch 2 (100'): Climb the splitter (excellent 5.10b, RPs at start) to a stance and belay (extra thin hands pro).
Pitch 3 (140'): Climb a left-facing corner, and move right where it ends. Climb the short wall above, or move around right to the base of a slab (optional belay at some blocks). Climb the slab (5.7), and a second short slabby/corner (5.8), to the base of an overhanging, black corner, and belay (good anchors, a little sloping stance though).
Pitch 4 (120'): Traverse straight left, to a 5.9 hand crack groove which leads to a nice ledge. Variation: Climb the strenuous "Black Corner" above (5.10), then hand traverse straight left (5.6) to the belay ledge (optional 4" cam to protect the 2nd). Note that if you used the optional belay on pitch 3, you can climb the slab and traverse left to below the 5.9 groove and belay in one pitch.
Pitch 5 (120'): Several options. Climb up and right to a thin crack at a bulge, slightly sporty 5.9 or easy 5.10; or up, then left around the outside corner to join Escape Artist, and onto a steep pegmatite wall with a crack (5.9 or so) which leads to the large, sloping shelf at the "Lightening Bolt" crack, and belay below the prominent corner.
Pitch 6 (85'): Climb the grungy-looking corner with a precarious block (5.9+ if dry) to a short pegmatite section, and a belay ledge on the right. This pitch climbs better than it looks. Variation: Climb the striking lightening bolt crack (5.11- or so) on the overhanging right wall, sharp, strenuous, but well protected with large wired nuts to 2" cams. Variation 2: The runout arete left of the corner is 5.8, dirty and best ignored.
Pitches 7-8 (300' or more): Climb the lower angle, but at times runout, wall above (some 5.6) to the top of the summit ridge.
Go to the left-most set of rap anchors, just over the edge, and above a big chockstone. A single 60m rope will take you down to a rubble ledge system. Ascend the obvious and loose gully to the north- do not take the gully to the right (east)- and hit a vague trail back to the campground. This is the "standard exit".
With the black corner and the lightning bolt cracks, the climb is a more sustained challenge. If you combine P1 & P2 and simul-climb the upper wall, the route goes fast in about 6 pitches. Watch out if you are climbing below another party, since stuff on the exit wall is loose, and a rope could easily dislodge something big.
Pay close attention to rope drag if traversing over to the 5.8 finger cracks on Escape Artist on P5. I foolishly did not, and paid the price by doing 100 lb leg presses up the finger cracks and onto the sloping ledge.The original line looks much nicer. Jun 10, 2002
Tucson, AZ
Near the end of pitch 6 there is a very small little overhang cave thing that is just big enough to keep two people from getting rained on as long as you are about 12 years old. Otherwise you have to like your partner a whole lot. And enjoy knees/elbows/etc jammed in your chest/legs/etc. ;-)
Slightly better than Escape Artist IMO.
The second pitch is sustained and while no single move may be 10c, the entire pitch feels about 10c to me. May 27, 2003
Parker, CO
The black corner pitch is better than it looks with excellent climbing and adequate pro (10b-pg). May 25, 2004
Steamboat Springs, CO
Fort Collins, CO
Boulder, CO
Also, even though it is rated 5.10, it seemed hard. I think that the thin hands crack on the second pitch (splitter), and the 4th pitch were definitely the cruxes. The 4th pitch openbook hands crack felt much harder than 5.9 to me. I had a harder time on this pitch than I did on the 5.10b splitter crack of pitch 2. I followed the 5.9 and lead the 5.10b.
Overall, this is a great climb with solid rock. Very enjoyable. May 17, 2006
Very good route description by SL. May 25, 2006
Buena Vista, Colorado
I liked Journey Home better. Aug 29, 2007
Carbondale, CO
Also, I dropped a bottle of Vadge body spray somewhere on this route. If you find it, just go ahead and use it. Sep 27, 2008
Carbondale, CO
From the ledge atop ~p3, where the black dihedral is on the left, scramble down and right for 35' to a flat ledge on the right margin of the buttress. The pitch is obvious, and takes excellent, fingers-to-thin-hands gear. This is described in the guidebook as "Perfect Art".
After ~70' of stellar crack climbing, we beefed up the in situ anchor. The next pitch of 'Perfect Art' is described as "5.12 dynamic friction"... we demurred and rapped back down to Comic Relief. Sep 16, 2010
Weatherford, TX
Durango, CO
Pueblo West, CO
The first pitch variation is excellent and checks in at about same grade as the 2nd pitch crux, the only thing is the gear is a little harder to place. From the ledge, it looks thin, but there are good locks where you need them.
The black corner is amazing and with good pro, the hand traverse is fun in its own way, but do your follower a favor and protect the traverse otherwise they could get slammed hard into the 5.9, right-facing corner if they fall.
The lightning bolt crack is splitter and is not as hard as some suggest, if you know how to jam off fingers and tight hands. The pitch starts out as big fingers and goes to tight hands and then gets to a good stance with easier climbing above. There are great edges for the feet through the hard section and takes 3 x 0.5 and 3 x 0.75 Camalots. May 29, 2013
Taos, NM
A couple additional comments for future readers:
- We never needed the 3.5" piece. I presume it's for the 4th pitch/groove, but constrictions in it allow #3 placements.
- If you end up rapping from the upper slings, you'll need to hike down the rap gully a bit. The chockstone in the gully can be downclimbed (4th class) by starting on ledges to climber's left.
- The exit gully is the one staring you in the face as you come down the rap gully. It has some 5th class and some loose rock. Be careful and do your best to hit this with some daylight left, since the easiest path is a little circuitous. Aug 13, 2013
Golden, CO
Ridgway, CO
Chamonix
Notes: I think a block might have fallen out of the last 5.9+ dirty corner, some new dirt and a harder move than I remembered right before it eases? Aug 15, 2016
CO
Denver, CO
If, as my friend and I did, you mistakenly take the rightmost of the two rappels from the summit, you'll end up in a short, narrow gully above the huge chockstone mentioned previously. In this case, scramble down a relatively short distance to the chockstone, downclimb the easy fifth class steps behind it, and you'll find yourself on pretty level ground right where the better rappel would have landed you.
If you're now on the path below the unmistakable chockstone, and you're still wondering which gully to take, just follow the path of least resistance until you arrive at the base of the steep, sketchy-looking gully that obviously leads back up to the canyon rim. Don't let its looks deter you; it's the way back up, and it's not as bad as it appears while you're approaching it. As another poster mentioned, this gully is "staring you in the face" from the moment you summit to the moment you begin climbing back up toward the rim. Jun 8, 2017