Bearcat Goes to Hollywood 

WARNING: There is a 20' runout or so between the 3rd and 4th bolts. There are big scoops, but they are sloped. I got pretty gripped. Recovered, got gripped again, barely downclimbed. Then did a Houdini escape by hooking a chain of 3 long runners over a very dubious nubbin and monkeying down to the 3rd bolt. Coincidentally, shortly after this fiasco, I ran into Mark Rolofson, whom I had never met, and who did the FA in '82 with 3 bolts, and then retrobolted it in 2000. He was amused at my story, and said he has debated adding another bolt, but originally thought the retrobolted route should retain some of the spice of the original runout FA. He says the runout section is about 5.8, so for someit will feel casual. Mark promised to tell me if he adds another bolt, so that I can go back.

I see we have another unacceptable instance of a climber getting scared. What are we to do? Oh, that's right, you do what Ivan did: devise a way to retreat and find a route that won't cause you to poop yer britches. I'll make the crazy suggestion that this pitch has already been lowered to a sufficient level, even for Boulder Canyon. Mark, I believe you've done enough.On a lighter note, this is a kick-ass slab pitch with intricate climbing and plenty of bolts. My hat is off to those that got to do it before the revolting-bolting.

Having just climbed this great route on Saturday, I thought the section between the 3rd and 4th bolts was a little spicy, but not serious, unless you seriously screw it up on the 5.4/5.5 waterdishes to clip the 4th bolt. The 5.8ish mantle comes a few feet above the 3rd bolt. For those who don't like runouts of any kind, the 11b first pitch of Divine Wind is perhaps better protected and is one of the best trad pitches in the Canyon. Masochists who enjoy #3 Camalot sized jamming can finish on Wounded Knee, at a very hand-size-dependent 11b.

For history's sake, where were the original locations of the bolts? Looking at the Rossiter topo it looks like there was a bolt at the start of the upper hard slab climbing (at the present 5th bolt), then one at the crux (present 7th bolt), and then some fixed stuff in the seams below the anchor. Presumably the lower section was protected by RPs in the seam to the left of bolts 1, 2, and 3?

I see that Bob D is slyly giving me some grief for getting scared. Well, I'm nowhere near an 11d climber, but I have gotten up some "11c" sport routes (a sly dig at some of Bob's ratings at Plotinus) in good style, and also the nearby Y2K (supposedly 11d) clean. So I thought I'd give Bearcats a try. I consider myself a mid-10 trad climber, and a lousy slab climber. I hate having to rely on my feet, and I freak if I don't have anything for my hands. That's from learning to climb in the Gunks and spending most of my long climbing career there.

I asked Mark Rolofson about where the three bolts were originally. He seemed a bit unsure, but thought one was where the third bolt is (sketchy trad gear to that point), and the other two higher. The 4th and 5th bolts are side by side an arms's length apart. Mark said that Dan Hare put the 4th bolt in, I think to protect the linkup from Divine Wind to Bearcats? Not sure about that though.

The first ascentionist, and current guide book author, upgraded this climb to 12a. I'll take it. One of those 11d/12a kind of climbs. Best slab pitch in Boulder County.