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Wench

5.11+ V4- X, Boulder, 30 ft (9 m),  Avg: 3 from 1 vote
FA: Bjorn (5/16/10)
Colorado > Golden > Clear Creek Canyon > Postcolonial Crag
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Description

Wench begins on crimps on the R side of the arete L of Hagseed. Get a good slopey rail on the L side, get good feet and lunge for the good crimp that marks the start of the crack traverse. Make do with smearing, sometimes crumbly/licheny feet low, using a high right good on previous crack handholds as you go. The moves are actually reasonably solid, but by this point your head is bound to be talking to you. Though this feature is a crack, it is offset at many spots, so most movement is on crimps on the downward side of the crack. As the crack reaches the lip, it demands a few harder moves before rounding the lip with a few deep but slopey dishes for holds from which a final rock up gains a solution jug on a big boulder perched up there.

Location

Wench begins at the base of the arete left of the Hagseed fissure. Begin on crimps with ledgy feet, pull gingerly on the wide open, two sided flake, then traverse the left-diagonalling crack to a topout of considerable difficulty. This route has hard moves well into the no-fall zone.

Protection

Pad it all you want. No falling allowed.

This route could conceivably be climbed as a gear-protected route. Just know there will be no gear till you're well off the ground, and you likely won't pause for gear toward the top of the traverse, so a falling climber would likely swing into the slab. Could be top roped, but most gear atop is a bit grimy. Still, top rope is the only way to make this not a death route.

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Wench. 30' of hateful love-machine.
[Hide Photo] Wench. 30' of hateful love-machine.