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TenSleep Must Do's: 5.10's, 5.11's, 5.12's

Original Post
Robert Daniel · · Golden, CO · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 225

Heading up to TenSleep for Memorial Day and have never been to the area. Looking for route recommendations from people who have spent a little time there and why thy are your faves.

Thanks. Seeya out there!

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115

It's hard to name individual must-do routes; Ten Sleep is an absolutely massive area, and that is a pretty wide grade range (5.10-5.12) that encompasses a substantial portion of the good routes in the area. You're looking at probably over a thousand routes in that range, several hundred of which are very good, and at least 100 that are must-do classics. Obviously too many to do in one trip. You won't get bored in Ten Sleep...

Instead of naming routes, here are a few walls that are worth checking out:

French Cattle Ranch has the pretty Euro-like blue-streaked stone. The climbing there is very crimpy and footwork-intensive. At 5.11/5.12, the best options are probably found at Sector Shinto, which has a lineup of really nice technical routes on vertical to barely less than vertical rock, mostly in the 11d/12a range.

Slavery is probably my favorite wall there. It is a bit steeper that most of Tensleep, with bigger holds and more athletic/gymnastic climbing than the usual Tensleep crimp/tech fest. Slavery has a great grade range, with good routes from 5.10 through 5.13. Happiness in Slavery (12b) and EKV (12c) (although EKV is probably the easier of the two...) are both excellent must-do routes.

World Domination is just left of Slavery. For whatever reason, it doesn't see as much traffic, but the climbing is outstanding. Long, sustained, slightly overhanging routes in the 11+/12- range.

Superratic has the beautiful white pocketed rock. A lot of very hard routes there, but some must do's in the 11/12 range include Great White Behemoth (12b), Pick Pocket (12b/c), and Big Yellow Butterfly (11a). These are some of the best routes in their grades in Tensleep, so expect a line for them on a busy weekend.

The Ark (part of the Mecca zone) is a unique feature; it is a apartment building sized freestanding block, separate from the main cliff. Very cool ambience. Very fun routes int he 5.11-5.12 range. Longer hike than most of the other TS cliffs, and potentially a bit tricky to find.

There are other good zones, but that should get you started. With a long weekend, I'd choose 3 of these walls and visit a different one each day of the trip.

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115

Other notes:

-Buy the guidebook. It is entertaining (and a bit offensive). Tensleep would be a hard place to find your way around without the book, due to the size of the area. I think Neptunes carries it, or you can buy it up int he town of Tensleep

- Grades at Tensleep have a reputation for being soft. This is only sort of true. There are some very, very soft grades, but also some slap-in-the-face stiff grades. It is a new-ish area and grades are not consolidated, so take the numbers with a grain of salt, and don't let a high number discourage you from getting on a classic route..it may not be so bad.

- Most areas go into shade at 1 PM. If you seek shade, laze around all morning and hike up to the cliff after lunch. This time of year, you may be seeking sun. Generally, on the long main cliffline, the far left size (Dry Walls, Downtown, etc) is sunnier and warmer, holding sun till ~ 3pm, while the right side (French Cattle Ranch, SUperratic, etc) gets more shade (~ starting at ~ 1 pm) and is cooler.

- The usual camping along the old road will likely still be closed at this point in the season. Alternative options do exist.

wendy weiss · · boulder, co · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 10

I've only been there once, but I wouldn't miss beer bong and bikini girls with machine guns.

Robert Daniel · · Golden, CO · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 225

Cool. Thanks!

EthanC · · Bay Area, CA · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 253

Limestoned, (10d/11a) is one of my favorite routes of all time. (of all time)

Nick Stayner · · Wymont Kingdom · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 2,315
Best routes for me in this area

Sweet feature, use it! It will literally answer each part of your question. Set quality to 3+ out of 4 stars, then sort by quality and grade. Distinguish by seeing how many people have given star ratings to the route (more=better).
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Wyoming, Montana, Dakotas
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