Type: | Trad, 1800 ft (545 m), 9 pitches, Grade IV |
FA: | Earl Wiggins & Katy Cassidy, May 1984 |
Page Views: | 694 total · 24/month |
Shared By: | Skyeler Congdon on Sep 24, 2022 |
Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Description
A worthy line for the aficionado ready to wade into Black Canyon obscurity, The Ripe Stuff deserves recognition and traffic! I thought this route was every bit as good as Ghost Dancer Arete, if not better, and its steep crux stem corner is one of the best pitches I've done in the canyon! That being said and because it receives a fraction of the attention, expect slightly more loose rock (but nothing to worry about) and some real deal, R rated climbing on 5.9 terrain.
P1: about 75' right of the start of Russian Arete, RS and GDA climb either sides of an obvious roof that lead to ledge. Ripe Stuff climbs the left side on uninspiring 5.8 terrain. I recommend climbing the 10- first pitch of GDA instead which is actually pretty good climbing on solid rock.
P2: off the ledge, a bolt on the right marks the line for GDA. Instead, move hard left and up on bullet rock aiming for a shallow, offset seam that leads to a big, undercling roof. Follow the roof left to another shallow corner, this one right-facing. Stay in the good granite as long as possible until you can access a flaky peg crack, then traverse hard right (if not slightly downward) into larger, right-facing peg corner. The traverse is approximately 15' above an obvious green bush at the bottom of the corner. Belay wedged in a lousy stance wherever you find good gear, excellent 5.9 R.
P3: crappy peg becomes much better in a nice 9+ corner. Belay left on good stance at the base of the big corner.
OPTION: instead of exiting left to the belay stance, nest some gear, and then quest up and right on bullet rock, skipping the chossy corner, and meeting the first roof exit linking the next pitch for a rope stretcher, 9+/10- PG-13, recommended.
P4: if not linking, climb the chossy corner, and traverse the big roof, being careful with rope management. Pull the exciting second roof, and stem up a solid peg groove to a belay ledge at the base of the steep corner, 10-.
P5: the money pitch: an overhanging stem corner that takes great gear. This route is 100% worth doing for this pitch alone. Above the steep section, climb hands/wide hands in corner to a good belay stance on the right, 11-.
P6: heady, difficult-to-protect 9+ R leads to ledge; step right to clean rock in open corner, then trend back left aiming for obvious "Pink Corner" (5.8R) (an optional belay at the base of the corner). This corner is surprisingly solid but has zero gear.
P7: head slightly right following your nose. Eventually you'll hit the "Past Epics Bivy" ledge. Belay once rope drag becomes annoying, 5.7ish.
P8-10. At this point the route merges with Ghost Dancer Arete. There's about 800' of 4th Class with brief little sections of easy 5th. Don't let your guard down! There are plenty of ways to get off route and lots of loose boulders. Follow the easiest line, but look for an exposed 5.7 slab above a short chimney high on the route following some false summits.
Don't underestimate this one. Catch that heady second pitch before it goes into the sun (it wont go back into the shade until 4). The crux pitch goes into the shade early.
"“After all, the right stuff was not bravery in the simple sense of being willing to risk your life. Any fool could do that (and many fools would no doubt volunteer, given the opportunity), just as any fool could throw his life away in the process. No, the idea (as all [climbers] understood) was that a man should have the ability to go up [sic] and put his hide on the line and have the moxie, the reflexes, the experience, the coolness, to pull it back at the last yawning moment—but how in the name of God could you either hang it out or haul it back if you were a lab animal sealed in a pod?”
― Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff
Location
Go all the way to the river, avoiding the temptation to climb a steep gully that will ultimately slow you down. Wrap around the toe of the buttress close to the river, and immediately go up a scree-filled wide gully. Take a steep gully/chimney up the left side at the top of this, which brings you to a 4th/easy 5th chimney scramble to the base of Russian Arete. The start of Ripe Stuff and GDA]] are to the right approximately 75'. The big, right-facing corners and roofs of Ripe Stuff, pitches 3-5, are obvious from the ground.
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