Across The River From Butt Hair (5.9 PG13)

Just to the left of roof on the the famous Tagger route a slab meets a slight overhang low on the face to form a slightly open-book dihedral with a thin crack. Start up this crack or up the slab to the right to reach a thin crack and flake on the vertical face above. This feature lies almost immediately left of the Tagger roof itself.

Place a few thin nuts cams or sliders and then work up onto the top of the flake and pull onto the slab (5.8+), using good holds that are not obvious from below. This seam and flake appears in the attached picture as a faint line above the first 'g' in the superimposed name Tagger. People below 5'6" might find this more difficult, but still reasonable. Move up onto the slab and either move right to Tagger's crack (above the roof) or stay on-route and run for the tree on little or no protection (5.7). Belay at the fixed rap at the tree.

Either rap from the good fixed anchors or finish the route by moving up and right over easy terrain about 40 feet to a crack/seam through a bulge. Place a few good thin pieces and use small holds to pull through the routes crux (5.9) to another easy slab which becomes a dihedral (5.5)

Variation I: upon reaching the final dihedral, move left under it and pull though a roof (5.9). This adds some difficulty to the route, but not much more quality.

Variation II: Upon reaching the final dihedral, move far left, traversing the entire massive roof (reversing the Tagger Escape, 5.7) and move down to the belay below the Tagger Roof (3rd pitch) and continue as for Tagger. This is a good way to do Tagger when a large group has Pitch 1 clogged with a line of top-ropers.

Protection

The protection is so-so at the pitch 1-crux (8+), with some medium-to-small nuts or offsets below. Slider nuts might be of some use, but I haven't tried. There is some runout on the face above the overhang, but the climbing is easier and can be protected by moving over to Tagger, above the roof. The second pitch also protects well on nuts and offsets. The first pitch, after doing it once to learn it, becomes one of the nicer solos at the base of the Wind Ridge.

Comments on Across The River From Butt Hair

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By Leo Paik
Administrator
From: Westminster, Colorado
Mar 21, 2002

Be gentle with that flake. It may succumb to a big pull.

By Old Fart aka Dave Bohn
Sep 7, 2004

In response to "Where is Butt Hair": it is what would now be called a "Squeezed Route" between the west BUTTress and HAIR city on the Bastille, FA: Rob Candelaria & Dave Bowers, 1974 led in fine Trad form not using pro on either route = 5.9+ VS. It's listed in every guidebook I know of.

By Brent Roaten
From: Anchorage, AK
May 23, 2006
rating: 5.9

Climbed this route on Sunday. First crux is the meat of the route though not that difficult it requires considerable commitment above "so-so" gear. A fall before reaching the thank god holds above would likely deposit you on the ledge below or worse, on your belayer. Continuing straight up the slab from the ledge is a bit contrived and essentially unprotectable unless you trust small sketchy wires. The second pitch is worthwhile though not done often as I had to clean lichen and grass out of the crack to place gear. Probably not a good route for the new 5.9 climber in Eldo.

By Phill T
Mar 5, 2011

A worthy route. P1 crux has good but small pro. I had a good #5 BD stopper and then a bomber #0.4 C4 a foot below that. These are at your feet when you pull the 'roof'. You can also dodge the crux by moving right around the arete and pulling over the p1 Tagger roof on a bomber fingerlock to jugs above, a move no harder than the direct start to Wind Ridge.

P2 crux has again, small but good pro. Small stopper with a #0.5 C4 a foot below that, these at your ankles pulling the lip. It's a bit hairy, because you can't see what's over the lip until yer at it. If you can't commit, it's easy to bail left onto Tigger or right onto p3 of Recon.

By Andy Kowles
From: Longtuckles
Oct 31, 2011

Wicked fun crux. Don't yank on that flake, please! Be an Eldo gentleman like I know you can.

By Jay Eggleston
From: Littleton
Jan 17, 2013
rating: 5.8+ PG13

On the first pitch, the pro is at your feet as you reach the good holds above. You have to stand on the flake to make the move. I don't think the flake is going to fall off soon, and if it does, this part of the route will get a lot harder.

By Bill Olszewski
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Feb 13, 2013

Pitch 1 is the money! Pitch 2 is mostly cruising and is not well protected over the crux, but the crux is fun and the finish as well.

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Across The River From Butt Hair

5.9 PG13

Description

Protection