A long grind and a good intro to 5.10 offwidth. Considerably harder than Grand Giraffe but much easier than Crack of Fear. The crux section is fairly short and well protected, but it is followed by a long stretch of 5.7 - 5.8 chimney that is likely to be runout. This is route #2 on the Coke Bottle overview photo.
Ascend 20' easily to two side-by-side bolts which mark the start of the difficulties. The next 15' are bulgey and the crux of the climb. Several small holds on the left keep the climbing from being too desperate. A #5 Camalot cam be walked through most of this section, but be careful as the crack gradually widens. The crux is over when you grab a chickenhead on the right from which you can reach a bolt. Continue for about 20', offwidth widening to squeeze, to another bolt, using the crack and chickenheads on the right; shortly before the 2nd bolt a large chickenhead can be draped with a full length sling. After the second bolt the crack is squeeze chimney and wider; big bros provide most pro opportunities though another #5 Camalot coult probably be placed near the top; at any rate, you probably want some sort of gear plan for this section as it is 40 or 50' from the last bolt to the anchors. Eventually you reach a ledge which has bolt anchors about 10' to the right of the crack. Belaying at the end of the crack, rather than at the bolts, provides a more comfortable and directionally superior belay; I used a medium nut and a #4 Camalot for this anchor but a variety of different sized pieces would work.
From the belay either rap 120' from the bolt anchors or climb Mr. Rockbiter 50' of slabby 10a w/ 6 bolts.
Note that much of the grunting and scraping can be avoided by stemming outside of the crack, an easier but much less secure option probably best utilized by the second.
Protection
At least 1 #5 Camalot (it would be nice to also have a #6 Friend) and at least 1 #3 Big Bro. Long slings. A couple of medium nuts for a directional at the end of the pitch.
Regardless of how long it takes you Jake, it still is not a grade III. A grade three typically consists of multiple pitches,up to seven I believe. No single pitch climb could ever be a grade III.However Mainstreet is a long & difficult pitch.
You'd think I'd have learned my lesson my now, but apparently not -- sarcasm doesn't transmit well in e-mails or internet postings. I was merely poking fun at my own lack of grace and skill on off-widths, and generally agree with Edward's assessment on the grading issue for Mainstreet. I'd probably consider a Grade III a little broader, though, so as to include "all day" routes like Epinephrine at Red Rocks. The 14 pitches there definitely add up to more than Grade II, but I'm not sure I'd consider it Grade IV.
Didn't mean to bust your chops their Jake.I find these grading systems to be very inconsistent, so I always like to ask other climbers view on this matter.
Wow, a wide crack that's actually fun! This would be a great intro to 5.10 OW. There are 3 bolts on this climb... one at the start, one at the end of the crux, and one in the upper section (I find the presence of these bolts to be curious considering this is well protected with modern OW gear). 2 #5 camalots and 1 #3 bigbro worked great as the rack for this climb... anything smaller is extra weight. The crux is as well protected as OW gets, but you should be a solid at 5.8 chimneys since you have to run it out for long stretches on the upper part.
The couple bolts on Mainstreet were put there prior to big gear I believe. The first bolt used to be a hideous 1/4 that I replaced in 1997. Sure you can get gear in nearby but people still clipped it so I replaced it. The upper bolt is too far away to be part of Neverending Story and has been there a while.
Don't forget to use elbow protection (neoprene pads or strectch tape). I ground crystals into my elbow, chickenwinging and it became infected. I finished on Kopischka, an exciting face climb. Actually, i bailed out of the unprotected chimney onto the bolted climb, which was quite hard after offwidth exhaustion.
This is a great off-width experience. Don't let the second bolt on the right side seduce you into starting left side in. I tried this fell out, went right side in and felt is was significantly easier. Combined with Mr. Rockbiter, you could not ask for two more different pitches-four stars!
By Jason Haas From: Westminster, CO Jun 18, 2006 rating: 5.10a
Hey Wade: When you replaced that first bolt, (thanks for that), did you give any thought to moving it to the left wall? I asked because I aways perform an awkward clip from right-side in and then turn around to left-side in which I feel more comfortable doing AFTER I clip the bolt. Mike.
No, I actually just pulled the 1/4"er and redrilled the hole to accomodate a 3/8th inch. I think that the bolt is unecessary but if people are gonna clip it, might as well be bomber.
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