Adam Kimmerly   5.9+

[Hide Comment] Great route! Difficult, burly, and awkward. A #5 wild country or BD is nice for the wide crack near the top. Small-med cams protect the crux at the bottom well. This thing is definitely harder than 10a and therefore deserves the infamous 5.9+ rating. Jul 29, 2009

Jason H Reno, NV

[Hide Comment] Before I was clibing more regularly I did this route with a great pair of gloves that made the hand jams easier (maybe thats cheating) now I climb much harder but im sort of stuck here in New England, missing Mission Gorge to death!! Dec 5, 2011

AlexK   5.9+

[Hide Comment] Probably the most awkward route I've ever climbed. Jan 19, 2012

Peter B Austin, TX

[Hide Comment] This is a very fun route, not awkward at all if you figure out what you're doing. One of my favorite routes at MG! Oct 5, 2014

Winterparkmg McGehee El Cajon, CA

[Hide Comment] What a fun route! We TRed this one awhile back, then led it today. Crux is totally protectable and so it the rest of the route. Small - #1 cams along with a few medium stoppers will do it. You can lug a #3.5 or 4 up to the top if you want to protect the short off width, but good gear right before it. I will climb this one over and over for the next few years since it's wild, airy, and pumpy! May 8, 2015

Adal Bermann San Diego, CA   5.10+

[Hide Comment] Are you guys serious? 5.9 - 5.10a?? The same rating as Hangman's climb just a little to the left of it, which is basically a walk in the park... Perhaps someone can share some beta on this climb that features an almost footless mantle around a roof and up a crack in a dihedral? Dec 5, 2015

steverett Boston, MA   5.9+

[Hide Comment] Adal, crack climbs tend to be rated a little lower than face, since they were often put up earlier, and because even if the moves feel harder, it is also harder to fall off (i.e. a 5.9 climber could thrutch their way up this and make it feel like a 10b; less likely they would make it up 10a face climb). This is one of my favorite climbs at MG. Some beta: don't wear a helmet! Apr 8, 2016

alex carey Los Angeles, CA   5.10b

[Hide Comment] harder to fall off? The hardest part of the route is the beginning where it is extremely easy to fall off, ya know, the roof with the hand crack to the big jug where you have to hang on with no feet. The move into the roof is harder than any move on hangmans. Once you get past the roof it might be difficult to fall out. but up to that point its plenty easy. I did it on lead and then a lap on TR and feel confident that beginning move is no 5.9+ unless we are sticking to the mantra that 5.9+ is always harder than 10a. Apr 6, 2017

Safty Third San Diego, CA

[Hide Comment] 5.9+ must always be harder than 10a! Jun 2, 2017

Mark Thomas Broomfield, CO   5.9+

[Hide Comment] Best done when it's hot out. Aug 16, 2020

Cesar Cardenas San Diego, CA   5.10a/b

[Hide Comment] Burly start, it is a fun route! Heres the climb if you wanna watch it. youtu.be/W1D3_8gmeMQ Nov 26, 2020

Zac Levy Boulder

[Hide Comment] New favorite route at the gorge. Pumpy mantle move into the pod, a high step and committing hand jams gets you in the crack, then some stemming moves gets you to the top (#4 protects the top). Mar 15, 2022

No Dak San Diego   5.10d

[Hide Comment] Super burly. Feels like getting out of the first pod is tall friendly but getting into the second pod is small friendly, then getting out of the second pod is tall friendly again. The route eases after that. If this is 5.10a I think pretty much everything else in the Gorge needs a downgrade. Quack of Ducks (5.9), another steep crack a few routes away, feels like 5.4 compared to Mariah. Mar 19, 2022

Harris Kashtan   5.10+

[Hide Comment] Super stiff and quite burly, definitely not a 10a. I put it at 10+ and involved everything from jamming, chimneying and wide climbing. The roof felt a bit like a dyno as you are full on committing to that jug. May 17, 2023

Matt Beebe Twentynine Palms

[Hide Comment] 5.9+ which, as anyone knows, falls nicely between 10c and 10d. I prefer to call it 5.9d. Just climbed it again and will say now, before the beers distort my memory, that it is in fact 11a. Aug 14, 2023

Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Foobus

[Hide Comment] Fun climb! Annoying part was me accidentally getting my brain bucket stuck once, but that was on me, the climb itself is a wonderful climb and easily one of my top 5 in Mission Gorge Apr 8, 2024

Nick Tripp San Diego, CA   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Sweet route. Assuming all other things equal (crack skills), the crux is probably easier for someone with longer limbs Jun 3, 2024