Type: Trad, 85 ft (26 m)
GPS: 39.979, -105.29
FA: Dan Hare and Scott Woodruff, 1975
Page Views: 956 total · 6/month
Shared By: George Bracksieck on Mar 18, 2014
Admins: Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC
Page Updates (admin only)

You & This Route


2 Opinions
Your To-Do List: Add To-Do ·
Your Star Rating:
Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty Rating:
-none- Change
Your Ticks:Add New Tick
-none-
Explore this route in 3D
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.
Previous Next
Warning Access Issue: 2025-26 Raptor Closure DetailsDrop down
Warning Access Issue: 2024 Crag Closures & Temporary Trail and Raptor Closures DetailsDrop down

Description Suggest change

Start as for Armed Forces. Clip AF's first bolt, and climb up overhanging rock, using excellent huecos and jughandles (10b). Move right, clipping AF's second bolt. Continue right and make a long reach to the bottom of the right-angling handcrack (crux). Jam and crank up the short, intermittent crack, and reach a platform that is high on the southwest corner of the ridge.

Take a breather (or belay from gear); since clipping the first bolt, the climb has been consistently overhanging. For me, the finishing moves to the platform were among the most difficult on the pitch, partly because of the endurance challenge.

Move a few feet east on the platform, and find the easiest way through the bulge to the top of the ridge. Belay from gear. To get down, traverse north, climb down (exposed fifth-class) to the double bolt-anchor atop AF, and rappel 85 feet. Or traverse the ridge crest north (belayed fourth-class) to the first big tree (where Ariel ends), and sling it for an 85-foot rappel.

Location Suggest change

Army is currently the rightmost (southernmost) route on the west side of Ridge One. The easiest climbing to the start is leftward up an easy slab, to a ledge system. Traverse the ledge system a long way to the right, passing a small juniper (where Ariel begins), to just below the first bolt of Armed Forces. Instead, you could climb awkward, unprotected 5.6 for about 25 feet to directly reach AF's first bolt. Anyway, your belayer should be on the ground, directly below AF's first bolt.

Protection Suggest change

Two bolts, two handjam-size cams, and some slings and smaller cams for the optional platform belay and for climbing above that to the ridge crest. Even with modern gadgetry, there isn't much pro. In 1975, perhaps a couple rattling hexes....

DISCLAIMER: Using the anchor atop Armed Forces, I toproped Army as far as the platform. Because the toprope would have pulled me backward, I was unable to climb the finish above the platform. So I don't really know what the finish would be like or how it would protect. It didn't look as hard as getting to the platform was.

Add New Photo Drop down
Photos

GB moving right, to the bottom of Army's obvious right-leaning handcrack. The yellow (white-looking) sling above me is hanging from AF's third bolt.
GB moving right, to the bottom of Army's obviou…
 1
Arms Reduction,<br> Armed Forces,<br> and Army....
Arms Reduction, Armed Forces, and Army....
 0
GB at the first bolt of Armed Forces, at the best start for Army (after doing the fifth-class approach). Climb straight up overhanging huecos and jugs for about ten feet, and traverse right, passing AF's second bolt. Army's obvious, right-slanting handcrack is visible near the right edge of the photo. <br> <br> To my left is the small juniper, where Ariel begins (after the doing the fifth-class approach). You could also begin Army there, moving up about ten feet, placing a small cam, then making a longer traverse to the right, to reach the second bolt on AF. The photo's perspective makes left appear more up than left, and right appear more down than right.
GB at the first bolt of Armed Forces, at the be…
 0

0 Comments