Yes, that right had is comfy... no, i doubt it's n...
Description
If you climb 5.12 or if you are looking to grab your first one, try this route out. Very cool and fun moves carry you up and over a prominent roof on an obvious line up the Clock Tower's Upper Wall.
The climb starts directly in front of the tree that's about 10 feet out from the wall, at the bottom of a prominent triangular flake covered in bat crap. If you are wondering why there are no branches on the tree on the side that faces the wall, just fall off the route while on TR. Swinging out from under the overhang and into its upper branches will give the term "tree hugging" an entirely new meaning. Once you tire of battling the tree while trying to swing back onto the rock, clip the rope through the bolt just beneath the roof. This should keep you from swinging out while practicing the lower part of the route. The tree will thank you. Again, I'm sorry to report that there is a chipped hold in the middle of the route below the large horn.
For chipped holds, you might want to add the large horn itself and who knows what else between the start and the lip of the roof. I would like to know what was there before it got hacked. Maybe a really hard climb instead of a height-dependent chipped 12b.
I'm not trying to be pretentious when I downgraded a few routes on this site. It just seems that the newer routes that have gone up in the Front Range in the 5.12 range are grossly overrated. Compare some of these routes to some of the older established climbs. Do you really think "No Doze" is as hard as "Powerbulge"? Steep doesn't mean hard.
Jim Redo makes a good point. Is someone really trying to make the case that "No Doze" is as hard as Smith Rock's "Chain Reaction" (12c)? Absolutely no way.
If you were to drop Rifle's "Pretty Hate Machine", VRG's "Mentor", or Cave Rock's "Fire in the Hole" (all classic sport climbs originally rated 12b) at some of the newer Boulder Canyon crags, it seems to me they would all be rated 12d or 13a.
I guess it comes down to the question of whether or not the old timers were just sandbagging, or whether grade inflation is a problem around these parts.
At any rate, there is value in trying to keep consistent ratings, and I appreciate knowing when people think a rating is out of line.It doesn't make the route any less fun (if you thought it was fun in the first place), so there is no need to get upset over the rating issue.
From CA here - Haven't climbed this route but my experience with the Sport Park was that the grades were pretty damned soft. And routes like Mentor or Easy Skanking (two of the most famous 12b's I've been on) aren't particularly rough for the grade. You can find much harder 12b's out there if you go looking - MUCH harder.
Welcome to the Sport Park, this is the place to go to grab your "hardest" ascents. I still think some of the routes are fun despite the grading/chipping etc.
Hard-12a or soft-12b. To whoever mentioned it, this is nowhere near as hard as Lucid Dreaming. 2-3 star route if this were the BRC, so some will like it, but pretty blatant chipping on this one.
I really think this is a great route. The branches are not missing because of the climbers...the hold was comfortized which sucks, but the climbing is great.... I posted that this route was comparable to Lucid Dreaming, and after doing both in the same day, I have to say that they both fit my style, feel easy and are probably both 12c. They both seem just as hard as the more bouldery 12c routes at Rifle like Drunken Monkey and harder than Ruckus.
Possibly the most "comfortable" route ever. Almost every hold on this route seemed suspect to me, but it is what it is so enjoy it. To boycott it or complain about it would be to even further disrespect this poor piece of granite. Two enthusiastic thumbs up to the manufacturer...er...route setter... or whatever.
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