[Hide Comment] Warning! The new City of Rocks guidebook is great, BUT for this route is has the potential to set you up for a dangerous situation because:

1) It says the route is "soft in the grade" for 11c.
2) It shows the route as being entirely sport (blue line on the picture which is supposed to mean no gear needed).
3) It describes it as two pitches with the first being 5.3. This implies an anchor at the top of the first pitch, although the picture is accurate in not showing any bolts here.
4) An 11c leader may not have read the route description for the adjacent Too Much Fun (5.8) which explains that you need two ropes to get down.

So here's the deal:

1) A couple days after climbing Bumble Pie, I onsighted Loch Ness Monster - 11c on Bath Rock West. On Bumble Pie I took 3 or 4 times due to its very sustained nature and because the beta took some figuring out. Overall, the route may not have a super hard single move, but it did NOT feel soft for the grade. This is significant because the guidebook comment about it being "soft" is likely to lure in climbers who are just breaking into the grade. It is very important to note that the first three clips are quite pumpy and intimidating as you launch up a bulge way off the deck, above a landing that you could potentially hit if your belayer is not attentive.

2) The "way off the deck" location of the second pitch belay / first clip is particularly significant because THERE IS NO ANCHOR! You need a blue Camelot for a gear anchor, or you and your partner are going to be relying on a single bolt (the first clip is easy) 60 feet off the deck, with the possibility of the leader whipping before clipping the second bolt if they get rattled.

3) The first "pitch" is not 5.3 - It's a highball, unprotectable 5.7 slab boulder problem, followed by a long section of 4th class (with maybe a little 5.3) to get to the headwall. I probably would have had no problem downclimbing the boulder problem at the start, but I was very glad to avoid it by traversing over to the Too Much Fun anchor and borrowing a second rope from our friends who were climbing that route.

The bottom line is that 5.11 climbers should be comfortable soloing to the base of the route, and if you bring gear for the anchor and two ropes to get down this will be an exciting and enjoyable climb. Highly recommended! Jun 26, 2017

[Hide Comment] Super sick overhang patina crimp-jugs. In a pinch, can 4th class off the north ridge if descent is an issue. An anchor at the base (midway up the cliff) would make a lot of sense... Oct 16, 2017

[Hide Comment] An 80m rope gets you to the ground from the anchors atop this climb. This implies the climb can be done in a single pitch with an 80m rope. That said, the climb is not easy for the grade as the Bingham guidebook states, and rope weight/drag would obviously make it harder if done as a single pitch. Jun 22, 2020

[Hide Comment] The "Approach" pitch is really just a V1/V2 slab problem followed by 50-60 feet of class 3/4. Barely got down from the anchors with a 70m rope. However, not all 70m's are created equally...
Personally I just climbed the whole thing in one pitch, I didn't find rope drag to be that bad doing it that way.
Rope got stuck on the "approach" pitch when we pulled it so I soloed up to free it. This being said to highlight that the climbing / down-climbing isn't much to be concerned about if you are leading the route in the first place.
2nd and 3rd and 4th bolt are somewhat strenuous clips but once you've got the 2nd bolt clipped it's highly unlikely you would hit the ramp below in the case of a fall as the bolt spacing is fairly close. Likely given the "soft for grade" comment because the business is in the bottom 1/2 of the pitch where you should have some gas in the tank. Having said that I think this is full value 11b/c climbing with great moves on great rock. Just gotta blast through the first 20-30 feet and then just keep it together to the top.
GO DO IT! Apr 7, 2021

[Hide Comment] Oops. Sorry for the sandbag. I think this was originally rated 11d, and when we printed the new guide it got down-rated without removing the soft in the grade" notation. Bringing a light rack is generally a good idea at the City, especially on something like this with no anchor. I can't recall much of the approach "pitch", other than we just scrambled up and down. An anchor would be great - except that it's very difficult to get a permit from the park. Jan 8, 2024