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Saturated

5.8, Sport, 90 ft (27 m),  Avg: 3.2 from 337 votes
FA: Mike Moore and Darryl Bornhop 2012
Tennessee > Foster Falls > 08. Jimmywood
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Description

This is a long and fun jug-haul that is really well protected. There are a LOT of bolts. It's possible many climbers of the grade won't have enough draws, but if you are a 5.8-5.9 climber this is not to be missed. Easy climbing to the little roof and then things get more interesting from there. If you are more experienced, you can easily downclimb a couple moves and grab your draws from below you when the bolt spacing is close together so as to have enough draws to protect the whole thing.

Location

This is a new 5.8 line toward the left end of the Jimmywood area, between Flim Flam and Finger Puppets. It's one of the tallest routes for the grade and is a fun gym-like jug haul. Starts on a slab below a tree on a ledge above the trail and goes up into a roof.

Protection

12 bolts, bolted anchors. Full rope length is needed. You can scramble up the little slab and belay from the ledge if you have chopped your rope at all.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Saturated 5.8
[Hide Photo] Saturated 5.8
Saturated was dry
[Hide Photo] Saturated was dry
Sunday Saturated sends (Saturated is the route being climbed in the right - dark red shirt. Ruben is the climb on the left - pink shirt).
[Hide Photo] Sunday Saturated sends (Saturated is the route being climbed in the right - dark red shirt. Ruben is the climb on the left - pink shirt).
Leading saturated. The small roof feels like the crux. Nothing is that overtly hard, it's just fairly sustained. There's a good rest below the roof, and one just after. Commitment is key for the new leader on this one. Really fun route!
[Hide Photo] Leading saturated. The small roof feels like the crux. Nothing is that overtly hard, it's just fairly sustained. There's a good rest below the roof, and one just after. Commitment is key for the ne…
Bottom of the route is on this little shelf by the tree.
[Hide Photo] Bottom of the route is on this little shelf by the tree.
Rope showing the route. Lots of rope drag if you use 12 cm quick draws.
[Hide Photo] Rope showing the route. Lots of rope drag if you use 12 cm quick draws.
Happy days pretending to be a golfer with a purple quick draw.
[Hide Photo] Happy days pretending to be a golfer with a purple quick draw.
The rope is going up the line of this 5.8!
[Hide Photo] The rope is going up the line of this 5.8!
I was a few quick draws short so I put together some alpine draws with what I had and it helped with rope drag quite well
[Hide Photo] I was a few quick draws short so I put together some alpine draws with what I had and it helped with rope drag quite well

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] Chatt steel says "destined to become a popular moderate." This is true as it is one of few routes below 5.9 at Foster and has generally enjoyable climbing. That being said, the couple of detractors are the number of bolts/placements and the number of features that are loose or flexing and prime to be ripped off. Particularly when lowering down the route, I encountered several loose features that I was worried about dropping on those below. Wear a helmet, bring some 24" slings to clip the odd bolts so rope drag doesn't get heinous. Apr 6, 2014
Mello Onsight
Alpharetta GA,
 
[Hide Comment] Great route! Can be led on trad as well - tons of gear. Tall climb and fun for all. Apr 14, 2014
saxfiend
Decatur, GA
  5.8
[Hide Comment] Very nice, almost as much fun as Ruben just to the left. I didn't run across any loose or suspect rock when I led it. Jun 8, 2014
Semi Sendy
Chattanooga, TN
 
[Hide Comment] Mostly good, but not "great". Pulling the small roof and the rest of the line to the anchors make up for the less than stellar rock below. Mar 20, 2017
Jackson Wright
Milledgeville, GA
 
[Hide Comment] A real jug haul. Choosing what to hold is a struggle. Rope drag is real - extend draws or skip bolts. The crux at the roof/arete isn't bad, the holds are just shit compared to what you've been holding on. Lots of x'd rocks. If this was shorter it'd be 5.7. Mar 22, 2019
Kyle Hutchens
Allen Park, MI
[Hide Comment] Climbed on 10/9 and saw no bees. Did notice a sketchy loose block under the roof. Oct 9, 2021
David Wieder
Salt Lake City, UT
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] This route is way, way better than the other .8’s at Foster Falls. Also, there aren’t too many bolts, the bolts aren’t even that close together. Believing that “too many bolts” detracts from a climb is ridiculous - go climb trad, or bolt your own routes - it’s a 5.8, it should be bolted for a 5.8 leader. Apr 10, 2023
John Ottenlips Franke
East Nashville
 
[Hide Comment] The rope drag was pretty ridiculous, use an alpine draw potentially. A few small rocks under the roof had a hollow feeling so I avoided them. Sep 11, 2023
Belay Dre
DeLaZona
 
[Hide Comment] Rappel rings are starting to get worn in. This might pose a problem rather quickly since it sees so much traffic. Oct 15, 2024