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Yellow Belly

5.10, Trad, 80 ft (24 m),  Avg: 3 from 68 votes
FA: Wade Griffith, Bob Scarpelli
Wyoming > Laramie Area > Vedauwoo > Blair (overview) > Upper Blair > John's Tower
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Description

This route is located in the corridor left of Burning Man. Hands and fingers lead up through the overhanging belly that is followed by a tricky slot with a fixed pin. Cold shuts are located on the first ledge or you can proceed up the OW above that is 5.9 awkward munge to a second rap anchor.

Protection

Small cams up to some hands sizes for the initial crack. A quickdraw is useful for a fixed pin in the slot. Bring some big gear for the O.W. above.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

The most fairly rated Vedauwoo route.
[Hide Photo] The most fairly rated Vedauwoo route.
Brittany leading Yellow Belly.
[Hide Photo] Brittany leading Yellow Belly.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

slim

  5.10c
[Hide Comment] The only thing that keeps this route from getting 4 stars is the ledge in the middle. Excellent, varied climbing on this that will test your all around skills in the mid 10 range. First pitch seemed easier than it looked (though slightly intimidating), second pitch harder than it looked. Second pitch is that 'too big to stack, too small to wing' sort of size and it is steep. Luckily there is the dihedral wall to work with, or this would be another 'big pink' sort of nightmare. You will want big pro for this pitch. Aug 30, 2010
MTN MIA
Vail
  5.10+
[Hide Comment] Well the old guidebook says 5.10c and the new says 5.10d. All I can say it is not 5.10b, and the second pitch is awesome and may look mangy, but the climbing is not and it sure isn't 5.9 either. The going rating is 5.10-ish. Jun 29, 2012
Wade Griffith
  5.10b
[Hide Comment] Yeah, I admit. The wide bit at the end may have been rated old school Vedauwoo. Remember it being pretty mungy and thought it would be easier when it cleaned up after a few ascents. Scarpelli told me once that they used to rate things low as they could without smiling. When I first met him at the base of Cupcake, I asked what it was rated. He replied it was 5.8 without a smile. Mar 19, 2013
Moritz B.
  5.10
[Hide Comment] The new guidebook gives the upper section an 11b rating. Oct 12, 2015
cstebbins024
Laramie, WY
  5.10c
[Hide Comment] Great route. The first pitch has a cold shut anchor, so I avoided the second pitch. Does it still count? Aug 3, 2016
nolteboy
Fort Collins, CO
  5.10
[Hide Comment] Interesting and varied. And clean. I wish there were more climbs like this at Blair. I also wish I had a million dollars. Sep 5, 2016
Matt Piscopo
Denver, CO
[Hide Comment] The new guidebook throws in an out-of-place 11b rating, but this is probably a typo. It would be fair to say that the first pitch is 5.10 and the second pitch is 5.9+. There is a bit of a ledgefall potential on the second pitch, but a #4, #6, and #5 sew it up safely. If you want to carry the big gear up past the 10 crux, this is a great one to do as one pitch. Or, you can clip in direct to the first anchor and drop a line to retrieve the big gear. Jul 1, 2019
Japhy Dhungana
Boulder, CO
  5.10
[Hide Comment] Great route. P1 and P2 are very different styles and a link-up makes for a classic Voo outing. I used a Merlin 8 (1st placement ever!) on P2 which made for excellent pro right where the OW kicks into high gear. Aug 12, 2019