A Little Shake, a Little Tingle

Saying that this route is the premier vertical edging test piece in all of Santa Cruz is like saying that Shaq is the best former NBA center to advertise for GoldBond. In truth, he is the only former NBA center in this esteem but that does not diminish the pleasure I take in his performance. I don’t care about championship rings, that man was made for the silver screen.

Start 15 feet down and left of "Under the Moss" up the slab to the bulge. Surmount this easily with a surplus of good holds. The business of this pitch comes the moment your feet leave the horizontal. As the angle steepens and the feet disappear, this fierce crux follows a series of diabolical edges to a low percentage coordination throw for a large rail on the right side. The highly technical movement and marginal clipping stances offer up a full body pucker for the modest price of all your skin. Despite the natural line traversing this rail to the right and finishing up the series of right facing sledges, the rock quality proved to be inconsistent and thus the line trends left once sticking the rail. The difficulty greatly eases up at this point so enjoy the satisfying movement through interesting features as you trend left from the rail, then up and right to the top. To top it all off, dead point or dyno to the finish jug above the chains. An exciting pitch from start to finish!

I don’t think it matters that Shaq is the only 15-time all star, 3-time finals MVP to appear as the spokesman for a foot powder company. He’s the best there ever was or will be. Now I’m not saying this route is the best there ever was or will be but it’s also not just good BECAUSE it’s the only one of its kind in Santa Cruz. Is Shaq a prodigious giant lauded for his offensive power in the paint who happens to appear on television in support of everyone’s favorite brand of talcum? Or is he a thespian of the highest caliber trapped in the body of an all time NBA heavyweight? The only thing we can say for certain is that both Shaq and this route are great despite their singularity. If this was in Squamish and 30 feet longer it’d get 4 stars. The crux is that good. But alas we are in Santa Cruz with only 50 feet to work with. 3 stars to you, giant man. Shine bright, Shaquille O’Neil.

Begins on the smooth slab down and left from "Under the Moss".