Honey Badger
5.13a,
Sport, 140 ft (42 m),
Avg: 3.6 from 30
votes
FA: Sachs, Van Schaack, April 2013
Colorado
> Boulder
> Flatirons
> South
> Overhang Rock
Access Issue: 2024 Crag Closures & Temporary Trail and Raptor Closures
Details
Access Issue: Closures
Details
September 4 to December 1: the NCAR-Table Mesa/Bear Trail will be closed because of Xcel electric construction work. The NCAR-Bear Connector Trail may see intermittent, full-day closures because of this work.
Per the FCC: September 5 and September 6: the NCAR-Bear Canyon Trail, the NCAR-Bear Connector – along with a Mesa Trail section from NCAR to Fern Canyon– will be closed because of Xcel-related electric work.
Mid-September through Mid-November: the NCAR-Bear Canyon Trail between Stony Hill Road west to NCAR-Bear Connector will be closed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This closure will help OSMP complete some of the department’s final 2013 flood-recovery work to repair trails and restore wildlife and plant habitats in the area.
Description
A 70m rope is mandatory, and tie a knot in the end!
Like its namesake, this 40+ m climb on the West Face of Overhang Rock is really pretty bad-ass. Honey Badger takes a more or less direct line up the vertical to overhanging face about 40 feet right of
Snake Watching.
Access the climb by scrambling up a ramp to the right of the staging area for
Snake Watching to a small tree.
From there, climb easy terrain up and right to the first bolt, then climb through a weakness in the roof and up the licheny arête (12-) to easier ground and a 2-bolt midway anchor (4 bolts + anchor; approximately 50 feet). Clip the midway anchor and set off through the first crux, a hard boulder problem that aint really over until you reach the A-frame roof above. From the rest after the A-frame roof, fire up through the big roof (crux 2) on bullet edges then jug-haul up through another tier to a pod rest. Rest up here, then fire up the steep headwall to the final crux boulder problem separating you from the anchor.
Oh, you wanna pull through so you can work the moves on toprope? Honey Badger doesnt give a shit. Youll just have to climb it.
A huge thanks goes to the Flatirons Climbing Council (FCC) and Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) for allowing yet another great route in the Flatirons.
Location
The best way to approach this climb (and all the other climbs on the West Face of Overhang) is to walk up the Bear Canyon trail until you come to the huge boulder on the left side of the trail (the
Shelf Block). Just before the boulder there is a climber's trail leading up and left into the woods. Follow the trail up past a few boulders, contouring and following a few cairns until you reach the big flat rock directly under the power line. From there, head straight up the talus (walking parallel to the cliff) for about 15 yards until you can break left through the woods onto the main talus field below the West Face. Wander across the talus to the base of the climb. The climb starts approximately 40 feet right of
Snake Watching. Start by a small tree atop a ramp.
Protection
18 bolts total (14 + two 2-bolt anchors). There are several bolts where long draws are helpful.
To descend, you can lower from the top anchor to the midway anchor (70m mandatory!), then pull and lower again, or you can rap to the midway anchor and repeat. A 70m rope is mandatory!
[Hide Photo] The endless sea of Sandstone on this 40 meter route...
[Hide Photo] The route overview relative to Snake Watching.
Las Vegas, NV
youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg… May 20, 2013
Boulder, CO
I noticed the right anchor bolt is a bit loose. I hand tightened it as much as I could, but it needs a wrench. Jun 3, 2013
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO
Comment date: 03/13/2017. Mar 13, 2017
An 80 METER ROPE will get you back to the belay ledge from the top, just barely. Nov 16, 2019
Nederland, CO
A 80 meter rope is way more appropriate for this route - will barely get you to the ground with a few feet to spare.
I removed some of the ancient QDs from the top section and left them at the base of the route, about 5 draws. The rest of the draws were in pretty good shape and remain on the route. Apr 8, 2020
Denver, CO
The crux #1 was so hard for me. I ended up taking the right variation, which was by far the hardest moves on the route. Didn't feel like I was tall/flexible enough for the standard way.
Lots of slings are key for rope drag. Backclean the first bolt, slings on the next two. Also slings on the two bolts before crux #2, and slings on the bolt before and at the big traverse right where you stand up into the pod will help keep rope drag to a minimum. Apr 20, 2020
Superior, CO
Boulder, CO