The Owl 

From the belay atop P1, you can also take the 5.10/9+ hand crack that exits the roof 15 feet up and right from you. It's somewhat awkward, in that it's half roof / half hand traverse, but an enjoyable and well-protected exit variation.

The roof on the second pitch can be made very easy by getting a wide (but not too wide) stance in the chest high shelf that starts below the horizontal part of the roof and leaning a bit to the left.

I must have missed the easy way around the roof. I thought It was another boulder classic sandbag route. What a great climb. Both pitches have good moves. Not a good beginer lead.

I left a 7 BD hex and a carabiner on 4-12-03 to lower from when I got off route. If anyone wants them they are about an inch up and to the left of the woman's head in that picture of the two people at the base of the owl. Once I figured out the route it was really fun (the two roof sections are awkward, but well protected).

This was a lead I feared for a long time, in fact I hated following it because I always muscled through the pigeon poop crack and had to take on the roof...a couple nights ago a friend showed me new techniques and it made all the difference. Tonight on lead I learned this route can be easy but I agree it is not a beginner lead. On lead I found (being short 5'2") that reaching for the chicken head on P1 was the hardest move since I was a bit above and right of my last piece. The crack and the roof protect well and in a relaxed state are oh so very fun. Now I gotta find the nerve to lead P1 (over the bulge) of Cozy Hang.

I agree it seems like another classic boulder sandbag. Don't go climb 5.8's at Happy Hour and think you've got it easy. Great climb though. Bomber gear. Tricky but rewarding crux moves. Not a beginner climb, go do east slab.

Fun climb that protects fairly well too the summit. Seems like rope drag could be a real problem on the second pitch if you don't a have a least 1 extra long runner (especially in the dihedral slot). Anyone ever test the pin on p2?

I found a stopper below the first belay on The Owl / Cozyhang. I think it's a #11. Give me a call at 303-929-2041 if you want it back.

I've lead this twice now, and it surely feels stout for a 5.7. Definitely not a good beginner lead. That old pin on p2 looks fairly manky (the ring is pretty rusted), probably a good idea to back it up.

Watch rope drag on the 1st pitch, and stay on route. 5.7 roof move on the last pitch is committing. Aliens, 1 set of hand-sized cams, and nuts (BD stoppers #4-8) sufficient.

I've done another 5.9 (?) exit variation to the ending that slips around the left side of the final roof and climbs a steep face to a frictiony dihedral. Not in the Rossiter guidebook that I saw.

If 5.7 is around your leading limit and you're looking for climbs in this area, I personally found this to be a little harder than the Standard Route on the Elephant Buttress and a little easier than Cozyhang. And the ten minutes or so that I spent gathering the nerve to grovel over to the chickenheads rank as perhaps the most humbling that I can remember off the top of my head.

I'm with Nick on this one. I plugged a Grey Alien in the crack before the chicken heads then spent 15 minutes thinking about going for it. The move is really easy once you grab them but if you have trouble reaching them it can be intimidating.

The roof at the top is pretty easy though, skip the piton and sink a number 2 BD to your right to keep the rope out of your way, climb up high, stem super wide, jam and arm, and it's over. I personally found grabbing for the chicken heads to be a lot more commiting than the roof. Overall a great and varied climb but I would have been very unhappy to tackle this as one of my first 5.7 leads.

Left lots of booty yesterday, if anybody cleans my stuff I'd love it back. My partner could not unclip a BD Neutrino QD in the old mangy pin I clipped just for the hell of it. Also, in the final hand crack, I tried and tried and tried until my bloody hands gave up to fish out a green Metolius cam. If found and returned, good beer is your reward. Thanks.

A 70m rope will get you to the top in 1 pitch with bad, but bearable, rope drag (finishing via the p2 .10 handcrack variation). Accidentally did an interesting variation on p1. Instead of jogging left under the bulge and traversing back right, I went straight up to get into the small dihedral before traversing right to the chickenheads. If you look in the photo with the description "Ran is traversing..." the line I did goes up the small crack about 10 feet right and a little bit down from the climber. An insecure layback over ok gear was fairly exciting and felt more difficult than .7.

Fabulous route! Climbed it with my wife on Friday. Probably the toughest "short" 5.7 trad climb I've ever led. Protects well, but had to think through the zig-zag bulges and roofs. The moves through the A-frame roof seemed harder than 5.7 to me -- especially on my first attempt! Second try went better after my wife graciously pointed out a good place to stem with my right foot. Despite (or maybe because of) the challenge, I loved the route. I'll be back!

"The moves through the A-frame roof seemed harder than 5.7 to me -- especially on my first attempt!"

The key to that move is the infamous "head jam", makes it a piece of cake :-) (see pictures on CozyHang)

No need to worry about the manky pin on P2: the ring and eye are gone. I wonder if someone accidentally tested it. A grey/yellow Alien fits below the pin. Along with the #2 BD, this felt well protected, as long as your belayer keeps you off the slab.

This was my first climb after moving to Boulder to go to school. Fond memories indeed.

Tonnes of fun. Excellent pro. Great fist jamming and some awesome committing moves. Zig-zaggy route, so draw placement and extension were tricky. Nuts and cams, varied to 3". We did 3 pitches to avoid rope drag at the cruxes. This felt pretty natural, except the 3rd pitch was quite short. Communication was difficult on this route (and all of the Dome), especially with a rushing river.

Yesterday I on-sight free soloed this route. After soloing the slab for the second time and on-sighting the leftmost problem on the East Boulder, therefore finishing the boulder's problems in the on-sight, no-crash pad style, I began up the Owl. Cruising and criss-crossing, I traversed right confronting the "chickenheads". With a quick jerk and snag, I latched a distant knob. My right foot then naturally slid urgently to the lower knob. Pulling over I felt relieved. This initial sequence was over, and went smoothly at that. With a simple yet high step, I was beneath a roof. Confident on hand jams I proceed not knowing the shit show my sight to feet ratio was going to be. Looking back I should have smeared right more, but once I felt the awkwardness set in, I reverted to classic foot below hand jams. Unfortunately the position greatly hindered the sight, feel, and movement of my foot jams, so I put as much body to the wall as I could and powered my hand jams over into the depth of the "V"-shaped slot. Groveling into easy territory, I quickly became free and danced the slab to the final roof, which I found to be the crux. After a few attacks and subsequent retreats, I committed. Right hand jamming high in the right crack, I stood up with my left completely this time, hoping to find a jam or something to sustain gracefully through the obstacle, yet to no avail. I resorted to grope around the left roof arete. Finding what seemed decent in the heat of the moment, I crimped. Matched feet for balance symmetry, and somehow, after a bit of desperation, found a perfect little knob that seemed to be directly above the apex of the roof. Wish I knew that was there. The next few moves appeared to be weird but turned out to be an amazing, exposed, almost completely horizontal rest directly above the roof. Feeling refreshed, I began the escape from my rock bed and stretched my way into the final hand crack. I spent probably ten minutes in the crack feeling the wind and thought before ending the route. Awe inspiring experience. Oddly I felt good about my climbing despite the moments of adverse distress.