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Occum's Razor

V5, Boulder,  Avg: 2.6 from 32 votes
FA: unknown
Washington > Central-E Casca… > Leavenworth > Icicle Creek > * Bouldering in… > Mad Meadows > Peephole Boulder
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Description

For me, the beta on this one was having someone to hold the pad underneath you so that you didn't slide down the hill while attempting to start the problem. Climbing it without this assistance was, no kidding, much much harder.

It starts with a visually attractive section of polished crmips, a nice jug, a crimp sidepull, and a cruxy throw into a slot. Use your feet well.

You may find that the climbing above is still stopper, as there isn't much chalk, and the holds and sequence is inobvious. It is a bit heady up there. Aim for the crack on the left, and make sure you have a good spot. There are decent fingerlocks in that thing.

Judging by the chalk, most people don't get past the jug. I'd give it more stars, but it kinds of sucks to work on this problem unless you have someone to help out with the pad, and the top out is really not all that fun. Also, it's fairly temperature dependent, because it's so slick. Do it if you've done basically everything else in Mad Meadows. Most areas this would be a good climb. In the pantheon that is Mad Meadows, it feels kind of turdy.

"Occam's" is one of the ways this cognitive device is commonly spelled, but the philosopher who developed the idea was William of Ockham: “plurality should not be posited without necessity.”

Location

Just left of Peephole, across the trail from the Hueco Room.

Protection

One or two pads. To start, have someone standing at the base of the pad to keep it from sliding down. Once at the top out, have them reposition, as it trends left to topoout.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Erin on Occum's Razor
[Hide Photo] Erin on Occum's Razor

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Eli Staggs
Olympia, WA
[Hide Comment] Awesome route. Bunchy feet so it helps to be short! Jul 13, 2016
Harlow Huber
Central WA
  V6
[Hide Comment] youtu.be/M-fOZOEg-2Y

I've seen some ppl use a crimp to top out pretty smoothly, but maybe it broke cuz I couldn't find it? There's this weird diagonal edge that is useless b/c it's facing the wrong direction too. Either way, getting to the jug was crux for me. The top-out was just weird. May 27, 2021
Vepa P
Bothell
  V5
[Hide Comment] Tricky job for the spotter, this one. For the first half, they’d have to hold the pad in place. Once you match the jug and start to think about the topout, the spotter has to move over to the left. Move left on the ledge, hand low in the crack. Chill from there. Jul 12, 2024