Drederek Olympia, WA   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Climbed this great route 5/03/04. If you want to rap the route stop at the belay at the the top of P6. If you want to finish continue past this anchor about 40 feet to a large flat ledge with two bolts. And shade. P7 is 130 feet of solid 5.8 climbing and takes you to the top of Ginger Buttress (single bolt). We brought TCUs and a set of nuts and placed a total of three pieces. I think if I do it again I will take the orange Metolius TCU and 14 draws. There are a couple of homemade hangers on the wall above the top but it looks pretty serious up there. We felt this climb as good or better than Prince of Darkness in a much more dramatic setting. May 6, 2004

brent pohlmann San Francisco, CA

[Hide Comment] I am going to Red Rocks to climb this route. On what pitch did you use the "orange metolius TCU"? did you need a buttbag for any of the belays or were there good stances at the belay stations? did you need two ropes to rappel or was one 60 meter enough? Thanx Sep 10, 2004

Anthony Anagnostou nyc

[Hide Comment] great route. absolutely great protection. generally, bolts every body length, sometimes less. there are two 'runouts' on the route, but both are on easier climbing, and take decent trad gear. a small selection of nuts and a couple thin to finger-size TCUs, as suggested, will sew the route up. i dont really think the route is as hard as the beta would suggest. the roof pitch, IMO, is definitely not 5.10+. the second pitch was the hardest for me, technically, and a couple of very steep upper pitches might be the crux for someone with forearms unused to vertical-ish face. Mar 13, 2005

Doug Hemken Delta, CO

[Hide Comment] Delicate moves on delicate rock. One more bolt on the first pitch would be nice, to encourage people to leave the tree alone. The pitch would still go at about 5.10. There are a couple of points where 24-36" runners alleviate rope drag. I thought the final pitch was 5.8 when a partner & I did it as the final pitch of Ginger Cracks, last year. Nov 29, 2005

4fun

[Hide Comment] Good route. I found it to be better than Prince of Darkness. Not sure if I would give it a 10D or 10+ rating like the guide books, however, fun and sustained face climbing for six pitches. Gear: 15 draws, 1-2 TCUs in the finger-size range. As a side note, we did the route without placing a single piece of gear and never felt run out. There is a nice ledge at the top of pitch three with a great view. Easy rap with 2 ropes. Apr 17, 2006

Matt McMurray Castle Rock, CO   5.10

[Hide Comment] I recently climbed this route, and wanted to add a few points for others to follow: There are multiple rap anchors on this route at various lengths. On two occasions this led my partner to stop short of the "true anchors." 1) One spot was on pitch 2 where there are two bolts placed vertically less that 2 ft. apart, but if you continue up about 15 more feet you'll see the rap rings. 2) There was another spot on the 4th pitch where you encounter a set of rap rings well before the higher anchor. Presumably these where you rap to if you don't complete the 7th pitch (this is what we did and they were almost right at 60m). ALSO be sure to knot the ends of your ropes when you rap. From the rap rings shortly above the 4th roof pitch, gravity takes you left of the bolt line. IF you continue past the pitch 2 belay station to the pitch one belay station it will require you to stretch your rope. I weigh 185lbs. and I had to reach out with a runner to clip the anchors below me to make it. Fortunately, I'd knotted my rope ends as they were tight against my belay device. BE CAREFUL! The benefit of this is that we got down in 3 rappels... This is a fun route (much more enjoyable than POD), and it didn't seem too loose. I would recommend linking pitches 2 and 3, and only bring 20 draws. IMO if you are at all comfortable at this grade you won't feel the need to place any gear. There was only one spot towards the start of pitch 2 that was even remotely runout... but it was easy. Dec 11, 2006

Matt McMurray Castle Rock, CO   5.10

[Hide Comment] One more thing... when approaching this route you need to keep your eyes peeled for the tree at the start. We passed it on our approach as there is another LARGER pine tree about 100 yards up the gully towards the waterstreak (Power Failure) and you crawl under some shrubbery as you're passing the start of the climb. The start of U.G. truly does climb a tree, that is an arm's length from the wall. It seems like a simple mistake, but it cost us about 30 minutes scouring the wall looking for bolts about 100 yards uphill from where we should have been... DOH! Dec 11, 2006

Karsten Duncan Sacramento, CA   5.10c

[Hide Comment] The moves on this route are more interesting and varied than those of POD but the rock is quite a bit more suspect. If not for the overabundance of bolts I would applaud the route more. Overall this route provides a nice jaunt up several nice pitches. I would have to say I agree that the overall rating would be a bit more like .10c but who knows what will be broken the next time someone does it. I would recommend taking no gear and linking the 2nd and 3rd pitches as stated by others. We also linked the 5th and 6th pitches easily. Feb 26, 2007

SlickWilly

[Hide Comment] Overall, I agree with Brent Armstrong's comments - particularly about the rock quality, which I think remains somewhat poor throughout the climb. Pretty much every other hold you grab is hollow, and the cruxes seem to come from avoiding certain holds or pulling on them in less-than-ideal ways so as not to rip them off. I did enjoy the exposure and location on this one, but the climbing is a bit generic. Linking P2 and P3 is the way to go, however be aware that at present one of the hangers is missing from one of the bolts from the belay on the ledge(below roof). The bolt itself is still sticking out of the rock - bring a stopper. On the roof pitch, skip the first set of anchors - there is another belay just above. Apr 10, 2007

Meredith DB Boulder, CO   5.10a

[Hide Comment] I found this climb to be quite enjoyable, with lots of fun face climbing. However, I agree with some of the other posters that there is a fair bit of not-well-attached rock on the climb. (I broke off a hold, and I'm not super large.) In my opinion the climb is no harder than 10a. We took some gear on the climb and used none of it: I would suggest climbing with 12 quickdraws & anchor material if you are comfortable with the occasional runout on 7-8 moves. The 9-10a moves are well protected with lots of bolts. Apr 25, 2007

Pete Bresciani   5.10a

[Hide Comment] The Cat and I climbed this route today, April 12, 2008. We had a great time. The rock quality wasn't as horrible as we were anticipating and the weather was perfect. It's too bad the initial poster for this used Roxanne's guidebook as a reference because the description is poor. Here is what we found: Pitch 1: Chimney tree and wall to first bolt. I guess the idea is to sling some branches on the way up. :-) After 120' there is a bolted station at a stance just above two very close bolts. Although I didn't take gear on this pitch, an orange Metolius TCU would have been nice. 120 feet, 5.10a. Pitch 2: Follow bolts, passing one belay station to a HUGE ledge below a roof. No gear needed. 160 feet, 5.10a. Pitch 3: Climb out the roof on big jugs and continue to the next anchor. I did use a red Metolius TCU on this pitch. 120 feet, 5.10a. Pitch 4: Follow 12 bolts to an anchor. No gear needed. 80 feet, 5.10a. Pitch 5: Follow 6 more bolts to an anchor, but pass this and continue to another HUGE ledge with two bolts and rap slings. The first half of this pitch is 5.10a, but then it backs way off. The second half climbing is easy (5.8 then 5.6 and easier), but you might want gear since the bolts end at that first anchor. Not exactly sure of the length, but it was definitely more than 80' as stated in the guidebooks. It felt more like 110' or 120'. Pitch 6: This looks like a lichen covered mess but turns out to be very fun climbing on bomber rock to the top of the pillar (amazing view) following lot's more bolts. You may be able to find some gear at one slightly runout place, but the climbing is easy and the rock is bullet proof compared with the rest of the climb so you probably won't think twice about any small runout. 160', 5.8. From the top, make a tiny (8') rap west from 2 widely spaced bolts with slings, to the next ledge where you'll see slings around a wedged block (Ginger Cracks descent). From here make another rap (we used a single 70 meter) into the bowl. Another note: If you are going to combine pitches 4 and 5 of this description, you'll need 24 quickdraws! 20 for protection and 2 at each belay. Plan accordingly. On the day we did this climb, there were no missing hangers at any belay. We are both tall and felt no move was harder than 5.10a although if you combine those upper pitches you'll have the weight of 2 full ropes dragging you down and this might make things feel harder than they are. We had a great time. Apr 12, 2008

Will S Joshua Tree

[Hide Comment] The climbing is enjoyable enough, but the hardware could use some work. Spinners, extra belays, and a missing hanger/nut on a stud you could remove by hand at the belay below the roof. Brock topo lengths are way off, as usual. P3 is confusing when you reach two closely spaced bolts (a foot apart) near the end of the pitch which are not the belay that is actually 10' or so higher and just out of sight over a bulge. We placed maybe two pieces of gear, and one of those was for the first move out of the tree about 2' below the first bolt. Next time I'd just take a single finger sized cam and draws. While you can rap the route with two ropes (we did) the first pull is jacked, probably better to use the Ginger Cracks descent. Crux? Who knows, my partner and I both thought it was different spots, neither of which were the supposed cruxes. Very soft for 10d, even for Red Rock. Nov 25, 2008

Kristian A

[Hide Comment] My girlfriend and I were in Red Rocks a few weeks ago. I was up Unimpeachable a few years ago (with two 60m ropes for the descent). We only had one 70m with us this time, and saw in the guide book that two 60s would be required. But based on the ~120ft pitch lengths and the few intermediate anchors I remembered since last time, we figured we'd try it anyway. In case we'd run short on rope on any pitch, we were planning to downclimb that pitch and go home. It turns out already the first pitch went ~15ft beyond the middle marker of our 70m. With rope stretch, and a rappel taking the direct route down, the rope was enough to get down from the first set of anchors though without resorting to any acrobatics :-). I wanted to post this info here as an answer to the question above about one 70m being enough for the route. I don't know for sure if that'll work with pitch #2 or later. But if you intend to give it a try, I would recommend ensuring your leader is comfortable downclimbing if that would turn out to be necessary. Apr 12, 2009

Sumbit My house   5.10b/c

[Hide Comment] This is a cool route for a sport climber wanting to do multi pitch. While it was fun I can't think of any part of the climb that made anyone in our group say wow. I do hope to see more long sport routes like this. It is long and sustained. Don't fall for the sandbagger comments. If you plan on leading every pitch you should be tapping 11's on single pitch sport routes, and your second should be a solid 10 climber. There is no real crux pitch just continuous mid 10 climbing with hanging belays. The third (2nd) pitch ledge is huge and both hangers were there. Do link pitch 2 and 3, and if you are going to the top don't stop at the first belay on pitch 5, we did and found the anchor on the ledge later, it would have been nice. Linking 4 and 5 would be a good idea but you do need 24 draws, we didn't. The climbing is easier here but steeper. The final pitch is unlike any of the others, easier but slabby if you have any energy left here you may want to place a nut or two, or just run it out, the rock is solid. I placed one piece of gear on the first pitch i think it was a BD .5. It was on easy ground but the rock was suspect. We had one HUGE hold hold break off on the fifth pitch. Given a few more years this route may live up to the 10d or 10plus rating as more holds break. Oak Creek parking looks much closer. I don't know for sure we didn't park there. Nov 26, 2009

Tyler Williams Flagstaff, AZ   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Did the first 3 pitches of this route on 2/1/2010. I think we were the first people to do it since the big storm and we were postholing a bit through the snow on the approach. We had hoped to get an early start and do most of it while in the sun, but a hot craps table the night before foiled our plan. The sun disappeared during the first pitch, and at the top of the second it was more like unimpeachable shivering and so we bailed. I thought the climbing was excellent and sustained. No single move harder than 5.9 or 5.9+ but it just doesn't let up. I wanted to add some rappel beta: We didn't want to bring another rope, because it looked like a 70m would get you down without too many shenanagins. For the first three pitches we found 1) the first pitch can be rappelled with a 70m, with about 1 foot to spare, which puts it right around 120 feet. 2) The second pitch would not make it with a 70m. We did a single rope rappel and biased the middle marker about 10 ft down, and then attached 10 extended slings for a pull cord. Thus I would guess this pitch is about 125-135 ft. 3) about the third pitch: there are no rap anchors, and one of the 2 bolts looks like you could pull it out with your hand (I tried and all I could do is wiggle it around) so we ended up leaving an old locker and rapping off the single bolt, which was bomber. I brought a single set blue through red aliens and we used 1 on each pitch. the holds did seem a little hollow, but nothing more than usual sandstone in my experience. we didn't pull anything off. have fun! Feb 2, 2010

bryan felkoski

[Hide Comment] just climbed first 3 (2) pitches of UG. there is a missing hanger at the top of pitch 3. and the other bolt next to it is loose. very enjoyable climbing despite the hollow rock and flexing flakes. ran out of time and couldn't finish because i'm scared of the dark. can't wait to go back. Sep 24, 2010

Ryan s Nelson Salt Lake City, Ut

[Hide Comment] Great route for intro to sustained multi pitch, The roof was very fun and the hardest pitch seemed to be the move that lead to the first set of anchors, this climb was very consistent and sustained, there was no actual point at which the climb held characteristics of a 10b, but the continual sustained face makes the grade. The best thing about the climb to me was the exposure. Mar 4, 2011

Aaron Moskowitz Philadelphia   5.10

[Hide Comment] 70m rappel beta: Don't do it. We rapped off a carabiner atop the tower, as there are no rap rings at this 2 bolt anchor. You can not rap the 2nd pitch with a 70m rope. It'd be a stretch to get to the 1st bolt on that pitch. We had to leave a locker and rap off a single bolt. The rope can get stuck on the featured rock and I think we were lucky overall and planned this rappel ahead of time. I'm glad we did not top out the route. I think it would have been a grave error. We did not need any trad gear though we brought a light rack. There is a run out at the top (5.4) terrain leading to the final pitch. The bolts are close enough and right where you need them the rest of the route. We linked the 2nd/3rd pitch easily and the 4th/5th. The most difficult climbing was getting on to the 1st belay or possibly somewhere in the 2nd pitch. The opening moves would be quite hard if you didn't have the tree to back step. Though some holds feel thin and hollow they are all solid, even the one someone marked with an X. May 2, 2011

Drederek Olympia, WA   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Climbed this route again, 8 years after the first time. We thought the p1 & 2 were harder than we remembered and the rest easier. We also rapped it with a seventy meter rope without leaving any gear or any shenanigans. P 2 used all of the rope for sure but we both clipped the anchors from above the knot. We didn't try to rap past the p4 (roof pitch) anchor to the intermediate set but this may have allowed us to skip the huge ledge on the way down and do the whole thing in 5 raps from the p6 anchors. Sounds like VS' rope is a bit less than 70m or ours is a bit longer. Either way we wouldn't have tried it without some bail gear. Didn't score the locker they left either darnit! May 6, 2011

Daniel Winder   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Topped out just as it got dark. The route itself is exposed and vertical for its entire length, very cool. Oct 17, 2011

Blake M

[Hide Comment] Did this route on 12/17/2011, its an excellent route with some great climbing on it and would recommend it. Firstly on the gear we took a single set of nuts and did not place any. There were a couple 25ish? foot run outs however I felt that they were no harder than 5.8, far easier than the rest of the route. I felt that the first and the fourth (the roof) pitch were the hardest parts. If I was to do it again I would bring a few extra draws and link the 2nd and 3rd pitches. The third pitch is only three bolts and could be easily linked. The anchor at the ledge (top of 3rd pitch)is missing a bolt but someone has made a makeshift anchor with the bolt above and some cordage. Also after pulling the roof you will clip a few bolts and come to another anchor, keep going, the 4th pitch anchor is further up. I am guessing that this is a rap anchor so you don't have to swing into the ledge when rapping the route. The last pitches were straight forward. The top of the 7th pitch has two bolts for a anchor. Finally there are a lot of loose nuts on this route someone should take a wrench up and do a little tightening Dec 19, 2011

Chris Burton Los Angeles, Ca

[Hide Comment] fwiw, the first pitch has been done (at least once) without the tree. Bill Lyons and I did shortly after Jorge & Mike finished it. We got some basic approach beta from Jorge and went looking for it. When we found the route I was surprised to see how high that first bolt was, but figured that it must be easy to that point as climbing the tree would eventually kill it...so we tried to start from the right of the tree, but that seemed awfully hard, so we tried the left side, which got us to the first bolt, which I was immensely relieved to clip. I saw Jorge & Mike at Mike's Thanksgiving party a month later and they had a great laugh when I relayed our outing. Aug 20, 2012

Patrick Mulligan Reno, NV   5.10c/d

[Hide Comment] Been wanting to get on this since Chris Burton told me about it a decade ago. While I thought there were more pumpy pitches, I found the pitch 2-3 combo to be the crux. Its a long pitch climbed this way and there are a lot of delicate and balancy moves that were far less obvious than the steeper pitches. I could see the roof on pitch four being really tough for shorter folks - and at 6' I found it to be dynamic. I broke a foothold on pitch two and there is a lot of loose stuff on that pitch especially. At times you look up a line of good holds just outside of the bolt line only to realize that there are 6' sections of wall that are hollow and ring like a gong. I know this is a sport climb, but this is climb is still a big day. Its a good hike in and out with close to 1000' of steep elevation gain/loss with roughly 850' of technical climbing. Oct 1, 2012

TJ Esposito San Diego, CA

[Hide Comment] If you are tall and have a long reach, this fun climb feels significantly easier (10b I'd say, at 6'1" with a +5 ape index). There are a ton of spinners. The final ramp to the summit felt a bit harder than 5.8 in my opinion. Oct 28, 2012

Pitty Marbach

[Hide Comment] No need to climb the tree, you can go strait for the bolt on the wall, maybe 5.10c but fits perfect to the route and is kind of more clean :-) We had only runners with us, did not miss any gear. Nov 17, 2012

jason sartor Tempe, AZ

[Hide Comment] I'd like to echo sentiments mentioned here and in the comments for Power Failure and Ginger Cracks. If you're going to rap the water streak through Power failure, be warned that there is so much loose rock above just waiting to be freed and sent over the edge. I won't be going anywhere near Power Failure until I know conditions have changed. I climbed Ginger Cracks on November 24th, 2012, and feel that it is nearly impossible NOT to send rocks down that chute and over the edge. Good luck. Nov 28, 2012

Zach W Squamish, BC

[Hide Comment] Really no need to use the tree at the start. Both of us freed it with little trouble, and the first bolt isn't that high off the ground. If you can do the moves on the rest of the route, you can do that start. Feb 6, 2013

w.y.hummel

[Hide Comment] When (if ever) is Groping in the shade? And is it feasible to rap with a single rope? The consensus from the comments seems to be that double ropes are better/easier, but would it be possible to do it with one? Thanks! Mar 23, 2013

Jan Tarculas San Diego, Ca   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Topped out the route this past Saturday April 13 rack only consisted of draws, no gear was placed. Apr 17, 2013

chris morgan las vegas, NV   5.10a/b PG13

[Hide Comment] This route is a blast. Great belay spots after the first pitch. Link some pitches together though(P2/3, P5/6). No trad gear needed but def need two ropes for a good rappel at the end. No where close to a 10d though. The tree in the beginning is not needed and the route is still a 5.10a/b. The hardest part of this climb was staying on trail while hiking to it. Last pitch is more 5.7. I am 5'10" so that may have something to do with my opinion. Oct 30, 2013

Alissa Doherty Boulder, CO

[Hide Comment] Highly recommend linking pitches 2 and 3 to skip the hanging belay and go straight to the good ledge. All the hanging belays on this one can get tiresome. This climb is super sustained and if single-pitch sport is what you are used to, I agree with a previous poster that you should be solid on 11's to tackle this one. While no moves are significant cruxes (besides P4 roof), the pitches are very long, steep, and don't let up which I think earns the grade. I agree that the first two pitches were just as hard as the final pitches, and all run together is probably 5.10b/c. Nov 13, 2013

John Gassel Boulder, CO   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Great route! Highly recommend doing this if you're solid at the grade, as it's pretty sustained. Climbed it without the tree and didn't find those moves harder than other stuff on the route. Also didn't use any gear and didn't feel I would have even if I had some as the short run-outs were on easier ground as others have said. As a climber from the northeast with a good deal of Gunks experience, I'd say the roof is no 10+. It's easier than Modern Times. ;) Feels like a 9 or 10a to me...but it's really fun nonetheless! Do yourself a favor and bring a few extra draws to run P2-P3 together so you can skip a hanging belay. The end of P3 is on a big ledge. Nov 18, 2013

Nick T

[Hide Comment] Did the first 5 pitches today before we ran out of heat and light. We didn't notice many spinners, but we found that one of the bolts at the pitch 3 anchor no longer exists (i.e. both the hanger and bolt are gone, leaving just a role in the wall). We backed up the single bolt with a #7 Black Diamond Stopper in the (very) shallow horizontal crack above the location of the missing bolt. I wouldn't trust that placement with my life, but it made for an ok backup in a pinch. Nov 20, 2013

Nelson Day Joshua Tree, CA   5.10

[Hide Comment] I would have given this route more stars except I hate hanging belays! The bolting doesn't even make sense at the anchor spots. On two of the hanging belays, there was a reasonable (more reasonable at any rate) spot just next to the hanging belay that would have been much more comfortable. I know, I know, suck it up right? The anchor at the top of pitch 3 is still missing a bolt. Bring 20 draws and link pitches 2 and 3. Really. Nov 22, 2013

drewford Wasatch Back, UT   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Such a classic! A couple updates and tips: - I know the Handren guide advises the Pine Creek approach, which we took. But the Juniper Creek parking lot looks a lot closer with fewer creek beds and climbs. - The route faces east/northeast. The sun was off the route by noon (Feb.) so layer accordingly. - in the description it says "Find the only big tree in sight". Well there's more than one big tree. See Matt McMurray's cautionary comment. Keep looking over your right shoulder for the pine with a big chockstone wedged between it and the wall. For those that climbed the route without the tree - rename it and claim a new FA (kidding - we used the tree). - some belays are in odd places. We linked 2 and 3 (take some long runners). We skipped a few bolts on easy ground. 20 draws (six or so double length) seemed adequate. - there is a rap station just over the roof on P4. DON'T BELAY HERE. Go another 40' to a better (not great) stance. Near the top of P6 there is another sucker belay. Go another 40-50' to a great ledge with anchors. - if you're used to steep areas, the roof is not difficult. - we did not find any missing hangers at belays. A few empty studs on the route, but nothing detrimental. Perhaps someone was just fixing bad bolts or repositioning clips. - for pro we took a set of offset wires and placed two on easy ground. Yup, it's a sport route. A few spinners? Yeah, so what. - as to comments about rock quality, yes there are a few hollow sounding spots. But IMO, that's the fun of route finding in RR. Don't be put off. For a ~750 foot route, the average stone quality is great. Feb 10, 2014

Taylor Spiegelberg WY

[Hide Comment] An awesome route, one of the best I did on my trip to Red Rocks. The roof pull above the massive ledge above pitch three is stellar and the entire climb is awesome. Lots of mini jugs and flakes. There are looser flakes that will pull eventually but it adds some fun adventures elements to the climb. Park at the end of the dirt road in front of Rainbow Mountain for sure, less hiking through washes and stuff. As far as gear goes, bring like 4 nuts to protect a couple minor run outs on easier terrain. If your comfortable on 10 sport then you really don't need them at all. The ledge at the base of pitch 4 is enormous and a good place to eat lunch and enjoy the view. Super fun and a must do! Mar 16, 2014

Moritz B.

[Hide Comment] Just climbed the route, here are some tips: - Link Pitch 2&3 to avoid a hanging belay - Right after the roof on pitch 4 are rap anchors - don´t belay from there. Keep going. - Bring about 20 QDs - We didn´t use any extra pro. Only QDs. It is only "runout" on 5.6/7 terrain. If you are conservative, bring a set of stoppers. - Do the last pitch (5.8). Absolutely worth it, great top-out. - Don´t rappell the route. Apr 2, 2014

Jason Albino Salt Lake City, UT

[Hide Comment] I'll agree with many of the aforementioned comments here, but will try to add a few new ones and emphasize the existing ones we found to be most important: - Overall, this *is* a great climb, but if you're into "max climbing"/"minimum hassle", long/steep approach terrain + rope hauling requirements + somewhat gnarly initial rap route from the top of the pillar might suggest choosing a different climb. - On the final portion of the approach, the Handren book suggested "going left around the base of the ramp". In actuality, once we saw the striped-rock ramp at the end of the cairned approach path, it seemed rather straightforward to just ascend the ramp directly to the route base. You'll see Crimson Chrysalis on your right as you ascend the ramp, and near the end of the ramp you'll make one low-5th class move just before you reach the route base. - None of the pitch length figures I read seemed to quite match reality, but if you go strictly by the obvious bolted anchors (other than the single-bolt anchor you can back up on the huge ledge at the top of P3), the route to the top of the entire pillar goes in 8 pitches. I'll thus refer to the pitches using this convention. - In terms of breaking up the pitches, I'd definitely recommend linking P2/3, P4/5 and P6/7 if you like long, sustained climbing and want to move a bit quicker. Be sure to bring 20 draws to do this though, including a couple alpine draws to reduce drag (which in general is good for the longer pitches, as the bolts wander enough to create drag if you don't sling any of them). - P3 will end in an enormous ledge - bring an orange metolius to back up the single anchor bolt. - Climbing from the P3 ledge to the P4 anchor is really short - definitely keep climbing to the P5 anchor. - If you link P6/7 and have a 70m rope, you can avoid a hanging belay by bypassing the P7 anchor and climbing an extra ~10 feet to a nice ledge. Here you'll need a few small/medium cams for the belay, but it's worth it to avoid the hanging situation. - From the top of P7, you can take it all the way to the top in one pitch. - I'd recommend the trailing the second rope you'll need for rapping. We'd been in the habit of having the follower carry the second rope in a backpack on lower-angle, less-sustained climbs, but it wasn't a good technique for this climb due to the weight of the backpack for the follower with sustained, steep climbing. - We topped out on the climb vs. rapping from the top of P7. While I could see the benefits of rapping from the top of P7 if nobody else was on the climb, the final P8 to the top is a sweet pitch and well worth doing. - If rapping from the top of P8/top of the pillar, I'd recommend: 1) As you top out, look to your ~2 o'clock position for a rap anchor. Do a double-rope rappel over your ~12 o'clock position from this anchor to a relatively chossy base area. We made the mistake of doing a short rap to the ~2 o'clock position to a second multi-sling rap anchor under a chockstone, which was unnecessary and had a rope-eating slot on its line. Chuck your ropes well on your double-rope ~12 o'clock angled rap, as this line is low-angle and thus rope-snagging. 2) After the initial double-rope rap, clean your ropes up well and *carefully* walk down the choss to the top of the main Ginger Buttress wall. Words cannot explain how chossy this part is, so extreme care is imperative to avoid kicking huge rocks down the buttress. You'll eventually spot the next set of rap rings here. 3) From this point, start a double-rope rap down the main face. While rapping here, carefully look to your right to spot the final rap station (it's easy to pass if you start heading straight down on the rap). 4) From the last rap station, a double-70m-rope rap will get both climbers all the way to the ground. If you have a 70m and a 60m, you'll come up a bit short and will need to do some 5th-class downclimbing. If you simul-rap, the climber on the 70m strand can reach the base, leaving the need for only one climber to do the downclimbing (or adjust the rap strand lengths after the first climber reaches the ground, allowing the second rapping climber to reach ground with a final two-strand rap). Apr 13, 2014

G Lucas   5.10b

[Hide Comment] I just climbed this and the ledge only has a single bolt hanger there, no rap rings as if set up as an anchor, but rather a continuous pitch. My guess is that the way to climb it now is that P3/P4 (as described) are supposed to be linked together and belay at the anchors 30-40' over the roof. Bring some gear to back up that single bolt if you plan on using it as an anchor (slinging a large rock worked for us as we didn't bring any gear along), but probably better to just keep going through the roof. Dec 31, 2014

Tradiban

[Hide Comment] The pitches have changed over time, my take with a 70m: -P1 to the chains. -P2 past the chains to the ledge. -P3 through the roof past two anchors to a third anchor. -P4 short pitch to final chains then rap or go up 5.8 pitch. Feb 13, 2015

Mike Rowley Traveling

[Hide Comment] This is a great climb. Super fun and well protected. My gf and I climbed it in early Feb and the face was in the shade by around noon. Made for a slightly more chilly day than we expected. We did not bring anything besides 15 draws and were totally happy with our choice. Pitch 1 is the only place you could possibly want nuts, but the small runout is on easier terrain. There is nothing harder than 10b anywhere on the climb, so don't be intimidated by the 10+ rating. Feb 17, 2015

Chris Morgan 1 Las Vegas, Nevada

[Hide Comment] Stop using the tree in the beginning. It is not needed and the climb is still a 5.10b. The tree will only grow taller and you will be cheating more Mar 16, 2015

Jeff O Washington D.C.

[Hide Comment] From the Oak Creek Parking Lot, hike in took 1:30 on the way, 1:20 on the way back. For the decent, once you do the initial rap and scramble to the top of Power Failure, another 3 raps are required to reach the ground with a 60 and a 70 (and I would assume two 60s). Just trend right as you decend (your right as you face the wall) to find the rap rings. It may be possible to do it with 2 raps if you have 2 70s, but we wouldn't know. Our rope got stuck when pulled following the initial rap, as did that of the party after us (who were kind enough to help us with ours). Be very careful where the rope is when rapping to the 12 oclock position (as previously suggested) to prevent it getting stuck on the first ledge when pulled. Rapping to the 2 oclock position might be a better way to go -- just make sure you go all the way down. As stated previously: - link pitches 2 and 3 - don't use the rap station just over the roof on pitch 4 -- go another 40 ft to a better belay. - go to the giant ledge at the top of pitch 6 to belay Apr 13, 2015

20 kN   5.10c

[Hide Comment] A number of bolts need to be tightened. Nearly all of the bolts are 3/8" wedge bolts with nuts. So if you plan to climb this, try to bring a wrench and tighten up some of the nuts. Apr 26, 2015

Ben Mackall Bozeman, MT

[Hide Comment] Tightened a few of the nuts on the way up, but there are plenty more that are still spinning. Link pitches 5 & 6. Each are about 80 feet and it makes a spectacular megapitch (20 or so draws?) Second the opinion that there is absolutely no need for gear on this climb, other than to build an anchor/ supplement a belay bolt on the HUGE ledge atop P3. Not sure why there is no anchor there anyways... seems totally pointless to have it 40' below the ledge on an uncomfortable hang when you can make it to the ledge comfortably with a 60m from the P2 belay. Never felt runout, not even once. May 15, 2015

David Bruneau St. John   5.10

[Hide Comment] I thought the first two pitches were the hardest, I guess that some holds have broken since the FA. Linked 3 and 4 due to no anchor on the ledge, rope drag wasn't bad with a long draw under the roof. The last couple of pitches were the best, really exposed and excellent climbing. Jul 20, 2015

Gerry Egbalic Vanlife

[Hide Comment] does anyone know if one 80m rope would suffice for the rap down if NOT climbing pitch 7? Nov 2, 2015

Guy H. Fort Collins CO

[Hide Comment] Yep... A 80M works... Nov 2, 2015

Matt Enlow Wyoming

[Hide Comment] Tradoholic's pitch beta was a good time for us. Makes for an epic third pitch, where I used all 23 of our draws and skipped/backcleaned three or four bolts. Nov 12, 2015

Ben Pontecorvo Seattle

[Hide Comment] I linked the last 2 5.10 pitches as we were running out of daylight... maybe the best 160 feet of sport climbing I have ever done, you will feel like a hero way up on that headwall- skip bolts or bring 20+ draws. Jan 8, 2016

Zak Munro VT,CO, Bar Harbor ME, SLC

[Hide Comment] Having not done any other longer multi pitch bolted routes in RR this was a great intro. I thought the first three pitches to be so so with the second pitch being the crux, and then the upper pitches being absolutely stellar. No gear really needed for the route except to make some of the belays a bit less awkward and if so bringing a .4,.5,.75 would be a good idea. Jan 16, 2016

Thomas Gilmore Where the climate suits my…

[Hide Comment] Thoughts/Beta: This route is a good candidate for a re-bolting. Over half the bolts are spinners and one anchor is dangerously close to pulling out all together. All the belays except the big ledge are hanging and uncomfortable especially in a party of three. There are two extra anchor setups making the pitches confusing/unnecessarily short if you don't know which ones to hit. Extra gear isn't mandatory but can be nice. Bring two ropes, 10 draws/6 alpine, .75 camalot, yellow and green alien, and a medium/large brass offset. Yellow alien protects runout to first bolt. .75 Camalot protects easy runout on second pitch. Skip second anchor and go for the big ledge. Make anchor using single bolt and yellow and green alien (blue will also work). Skip first anchor after roof and head for second anchor just a little further. This should set you up to skip the sketchy ass anchor. If you do end up at the sketchy ass anchor, it can be backed up with a medium/large brass offset or potentially a yellow DMM offset. You can link pitches from the second to last anchor on the face to the end of the 5.8 pitch with a 70M rope but you will probably have to skip bolts on the 5.8 pitch and it is a rope stretcherrr. If you top out, rap power failure. If you rap from the top out straight down to the big ledge you will probably get your rope stuck. There is an intermediate rap 15-20' down behind the top out...look for the tat. We rapped from the top and got out ropes stuck. You can free-solo up to get them unstuck but it is probably 5.5 climbing and you definitely wouldn't want to be doing it in the dark. Rapping from the tat may set you up to not get your ropes stuck. Mar 24, 2016

Evan Hopley Flagstaff, AZ   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Climbed in March. I completely agree with everything Thomas said except I didn't try his link ups to avoid the sketchyness(I wish I had). I think at the top of the fourth pitch I was able to screw one bolt with just my hand and the other bolt was sticking out a quarter inch and the hanger was just loosely hanging there(sketchballs). The gear I brought was a red C3 .3 .4 and .5 C4 and a red, orange, and yellow metolius TCU and a set of stoppers. I only ended up using the red C3 and I placed one nut. Absolutely follow the beta for rapping off the tat(Again I wish I had known that) rope got stuck. Also if you're rope gunning up someone who's inexperienced the last pitch is stellar but has a little run out bolts for those who are newer leaders. Also be aware all hanging belays except for the last pitch. Apr 27, 2016

Ed Keller   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Climbed on Oct 7 2016 with Craig Berman. Great climb, moderate, fabulous position and views. About 90 mins to hike in- we took it slow as I'm not not great hiking shape. We felt the route was in the easy 5.10 range. Pitch one crux was just before the anchors and in the 10a range, with some slightly cruxy passages lower. We linked P2 and P3 for a longish single pitch to the large ledge at 10a/b. The pitch through the roof was in the 5.9+/5.10a range. The roof was very easy compared to Gunks roof cruxes and would be in the 5.8+ range in the Gunks [as per other peoples' comments]. We thought the 4th pitch [80'] was the 10b crux. The anchor we used at the top of our 4th pitch was definitely sketchy [as another climber points out in the thread above]- one bolt seemed solid, the other was about 1/4" out of the rock. I was not happy at that anchor. The 5th pitch for us [80'] was around 5.8+; it was steeper and more intimidating but the climbing was no harder than 5.8+/5.9; we rapped from the double rap anchors just before the large ledge, instead of climbing one more bolt and 20' to the ledge. If one has a 60m+, these last two 80' pitches should be easy to combine into a 170' 5.10b pitch, with steeper jug pulling on easy terrain in the second half of the pitch. Notes on the gear and rap: We brought about 24 draws and also a rack of small to medium stoppers and camalots from finger size to 1 1/2 inches [even though the recommendation was to bring only a couple of finger size units]. We actually did end up placing pieces on p1 and p3. There were runouts on easier terrain but slightly suspect rock which we appreciated the gear on. A strong trad leader confortable climbing at 5.10+/5.11 would probably not have slowed down to place that gear, but we were happy to have it. The rock did improve as one gets higher, but even on the first pitch [which has some hollow flakes] it was pretty good. Just watch out for the flakes and the great boomy sounds they can produce. The 'quality' of the rock never impacted our sense of the quality of the climb- just added a tiny bit of caution to movement. All the belay/rap stations were ok, except the one we belayed from at the top of the 4th, with one very suspect bolt. However, as we had only one 80m to rap, we would have had to use that anchor regardless. Parties climbing with double 60s might consider linking what we did as two pitches- p4/p5- together in one longer 5.10b and then rapping to avoid the sketchy anchor. On the upside, The bolts at the ledge belay just below the roof had cord on them already linking the first bolt on that pitch, which was convenient. We rapped the route using a single 80m and it was fine. I would NOT recommend a single 70m. 80m on one of our raps- to the top of the first pitch, IIRC, was close using an 80. KNOT YOUR ENDS! Cheers- Oct 11, 2016

L Von Dommelheimer Anchorage   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Good candidate for a rebolt. Many of the bolts are a little spooky. Nov 28, 2016

Natalie N Bishop, CA

[Hide Comment] Great moderate multi-pitch sport climb. Here are some things I wish I knew before doing the route (all the referenced pitch #'s below are the same as the ones in the MP description and the Jerry Handren book): -In my opinion, the most efficient way to link the pitches with a 70m is to do P1, P2+P3, P4+P5, P6+P7. The pitch lengths are a bit shorter than reported in the Handren book, as evidenced as my group's ability to rap from the top of pitch 6 to the ledge with 2 70's with rope to spare, which shouldn't have been possible. -ALL the belays are hanging belays, except the ledge, which is the reason why it would be good to set up one of the belays at the end of P3 for some relief. This is especially true for a 3-person party, which we were. -GEAR: I only used one piece (BD #2) on Pitch 1 on this somewhat runout spot between bolts, but the climbing there is easy if one does not want to bring gear or feels very comfortable on that grade. Given my above recommended pitch link-ups, I would agree with the other commenters in that one should bring extra draws. We brought 19 and felt like a few more might've made things easier. Also I would bring some alpine draws to reduce rope drag, especially over the roof. -I think the ease of the roof is height dependent. The roof felt a bit committing for me (5.11 climber, Height: 5'2) on lead, but my follower (5.10 climber, Height: 6'5) had no issue. -My partners both felt that some of the rock on Pitch 6 was chossy. One partner pulled off a good sized rock (it was several days after any precipitation so it's not weather related). -The ledge is missing a proper rap station. There is a missing bolt, and instead, old tat (that was significantly worn after close inspection) was used to connect the first two bolts of Pitch 3 with a quicklink. My partners decided to replace the tat with new cordalette off of two lockers. But if someone could replace the missing bolt and put some rap rings to set up a proper rap station, it would be a more permanent solution given the winter inclement weather and its wear on cord. -We didn't make it past Pitch 6 because it was already dark and my partners wanted to go down. We managed to get down in 3 raps with 2 70m ropes: P6-P3, P3-P2, P1; our ropes almost got stuck on the first rap so I'm not sure if I would recommend this rap combination. One can rap from the top of any pitch (though note the previous point about Pitch 3's lack of a proper rap station). -Lastly, I agree with an above commenter that the follower(s) should be at least a solid 5.10 climber, with the added factor that s/he should have enough fitness to do the hike in (took us 1.5 hours) without it affecting their climbing ability to the point wherein they would struggle on 5.10. Enjoy the climb, it's a ton of fun! Dec 31, 2016

Jeff Witt   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Bolts are in great shape and some improvements/replacements have been made. Bumping it up to classic status, for excellent climbing and great position. Excellent route! Apr 9, 2017

Daniel Melnyk Covina

[Hide Comment] IF YOU FIND AN iPHONE 7 IN THE BOWL ABOVE POWER FAILURE LET ME KNOW... I STUPIDLY DROPPED IT OFF THE TOP OF UG. Super amazing route but get there early. Out of about 15 people, only my partner and I were able to top out because of some slow parties. No gear needed but can be nice. I brought a DB C4 .5 and .75. Only placed the .75 twice (pitch 1 and above the roof). All bolts were in good condition. The anchor below the roof has 2 bolts now. Do the last pitch. totally worth it. Also the more alpine draws the better. Apr 17, 2017

Where's Walden   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Rap from the top of pitch 6 with a single 70. Rapping pitch 2 was TIGHT but we made it. May 11, 2017

Alice Chiang Cambridge, MA

[Hide Comment] Didn't get to finish this route because we were held up by several parties of 3 that were trying to learn multi pitch on this route. Please be cognizant that this route has several hanging belays, so a party of 3 is probably going to slow and uncomfortable. If you don't have multipitch experience but want to do a multpitch bolted route; I'd highly recommend tackling something shorter first so you can practice rope management and transitions on a less popular climb. ALSO - If you don't top out it to rappel down nearby routes you would need to rappel the actual route. Since this is an extremely popular route, it's worth planning for. At one point we had about 5-6 people hanging off an anchor (myself and my parter and a party of 3 that decided to rappel down the entire route). My partner and I were able to do the first 4 pitches. P1 was surprisingly harder than expected, and P2 and P3 felt pretty sustained as well. The P4 roof felt surprisingly easy (didn't feel like an upper 5.10, closer to maybe a 5.10a move). We had to bail after the 4th pitch due to time. I agree that the face climbing felt more like a upper 5.10 with some reachy moves (I'm 5'-1") May 25, 2017

Erik Dutilly 1 Boulder, CO

[Hide Comment] Climbed this on 3/28/2018. Lead every pitch. I don't think anything is harder than 10c. 10d, seemed generous. The roof has nice holds and if you study it before climbing it, there are many ways to solve that little puzzle. Protect it with extended alpine draws I agree with another poster here than an additional bolt at the beginning of the route would be nice. You're really high in the tree (may be 30 feet) before you get near the first bolt to clip. Regarding bringing traditional gear, it's optional. I left a set of nuts in my pack at the base and didn't miss them. I brought a light rack of cams and only placed one .75 bd on the first pitch. The rest of it climbs safely without it. Maybe bring a .75 and #1. Another poster said there was a bolt every body length. Maybe this is true on average but you'll be disappointed if you expect that to be true everywhere. It is well bolted though, especially in the tricky sections. We used the ginger cracks descent. Worked out nicely. First rap off the summit we did was with a single rope off the summit block back kind of toward the tower of rock that is just out of reach, aiming for the back end of the bowl. Next rap was off a slung block and was a double rappel. We saw another party rap more directly toward the bowl from the top of the route and made it to where we were after our second rappel but they did it in one rap instead of two. Mar 29, 2018

Clayton MacBride Austin

[Hide Comment] Here is a link to a video I made of my accent of Unimpeachable-groping hope you enjoy :) youtube.com/watch?v=l_pbUtB… Apr 3, 2018

Lianna H

[Hide Comment] Climbed this route on 10/27/18. My comments (most have already been said): -Link pitches 2-3 -Link pitches 5-6 -Everything is hanging belay besides pitch 3 ledge -Most bolts are in good shape, few spinners -I brought up 4 pieces of smaller pro. I was happy to place it on the run out areas. They are easy and I can understand why many people do not use it. These pieces saved our butts later on the rap when the rope got stuck. -Rapped off the top of the buttress via power failure. We threw our rope off the 12 o'clock position. We both rapped and upon pulling the rope, it go stuck (despite serious attempts to flick for 20 minutes). We used the 4 pieces of pro to climb just left (climbers left) of the rap on easier terrain. There was a boulder with cord around it that we ended up rapping off of after cleaning the gear. Based on the comments, we used double rope raps on THREE more raps after the first one (4 total). I am not sure if the double rope was necessary on all three, but it was dark, so we decided to play it safe. We stayed RIGHT during each rap. -SUPER fun climbing Oct 30, 2018

Trundle Foot

[Hide Comment] Seems like an anchor has been added 20 feet left of Power Failure. Now you can rap down with a single 70m rope. Hopefully this will speed people's climbing up on this route, and assist/encourage more parties to send the whole route (as opposed to being part of the cluster and slowing other parties). Nov 15, 2018

Eugene Kwan Cambridge, MA

[Hide Comment] Great route! Bring plenty of draws (>20) to link pitches. Note that the seventh pitch begins at a ledge past a rap anchor for the sixth. There's a 5.8 slab that goes off the left. And sorry Lilly, I didn't seen any ropes this morning. Nov 23, 2018

David Shiembob slc, ut

[Hide Comment] Great route! A bit of rappelling info for those with a long rope - an 80m rope would get you down the route, even off the top pitch I believe, although there would be a difficult rope pull in that direction. I also think I left a pair of 5.10 gambit shoes at the base, so please let me know if anyone comes across those. Nov 27, 2018

Tim Heid AZ   5.10b

[Hide Comment] I think if you're going to use (1) 70m rope, then rap All You Can Eat. I left details in a comment on the Ginger Cracks page that should hopefully help. always taken 1 rope and rapped AYCE. Mar 18, 2019

Big Ears

[Hide Comment] Only climbed up to pitch 5 due to multiple parties ahead of us and lack of daylight, so I cant speak for the upper pitches, but roof move on P4 is maaaaaaaaybe 10a. Id put the whole pitch at 5.9+. I think a bolt should be added to the start. Out if the 8 people i aaw start this route, all of them used the tree to the first bolt. Gets enough traffic to warrant a bolt. Save the tree. Also, its great movement Apr 1, 2019

Alexander White

[Hide Comment] Only did the first 4 pitches due to daylight constraints. Can rap these with a 70 m rope, but rapping the second pitch BARELY makes it (like 50 cm of rope left). Definitely link pitches 2 and 3. Apr 11, 2019

Taylor Krosbakken Duluth, MN

[Hide Comment] If you have 18 draws or back clean a little, like Alexander said, definitely link 2 and 3. Pitch 3 is 3 bolts and MAYBE 30 ft. This gets you to a giant party ledge instead of a hanging belay too. In the middle of P4, maybe 20 ft after the roof is a set of rap anchors. Don't stop here keep going up. Linking pitch 5 and 6 would work but you would need a shit ton of draws. well over 20? If you are planning on rapping the route, stop about 20 ft before the shoulder on the right side of the wall, and rap from the rap station there. If planning on summiting, continue to the shoulder to a 2 bolt belay (no rap rings). I am pretty sure you could rap the route with w/ 70m rope. based on pitch lengths and intermediate anchors. Last pitch is 5.8 PG-13. No places for pro, all bolts, run out but pretty easy when run out. There are 2 bolts on top of Ginger Buttress with tat equalizing them. We rapped from the top into the bowl to the south. We then rapped "all you can eat" and you can do this with a single 60 according to the guidebook. also less walking around on all the loose rock down to "power failure". its a very short walk from the first rappel. The route was super fun and just felt like sustained 5.10- the whole way with very little let up and no real crux, which I thought was really cool. When it did let up its a bit run out and I was glad to have some nuts and a couple cams. Nothing bigger than .75 I don't think. and probably only placed like 4 times or less. Also the roof is well protected and I definitely thought it was not the crux at all, big holds everywhere. The route faces east and gets sun until maybe 2 or 3pm. last pitch faces north. The start is weird and the first bolt is kind of high. I climbed the tree and then reached out and placed a cam before committing to rock climbing. 1st bolt is after a move or 2. Could also sling the tree for pro. Apr 18, 2019

Ben Wright San Bernardino, CA

[Hide Comment] Excellent climb! We climbed with a single 70m rope. We linked pitches 2&3 and pitches 5&6. The pitch 5/6 link was fantastic, if a little pumpy right after P4. It only takes 21 draws total (not including whatever you need for the final P6 anchor, but including clipping one of the P5 bolts). If you're tight for draws, you can easily back clean the first draw on P5 without down climbing. The pitches are very direct and vertical, so drag wasn't really an issue. Oct 28, 2019

Seth Wiggins Bend, OR

[Hide Comment] single 70m option: after the standing ledge belay, climb the fun low angle 5.8 pitch to the top. rap off the backside (tie knots), then easy down climb the last ~10 feet. pull your rope, then keep walking down the gully to the right - like many others have written, take extreme caution with the loose rock here. once you reach the water streak there are two sets of anchors, we used the farther ones. it takes four raps - the last one is short but a tad sketchy as you're in the area where those loose rocks on top land. Nov 19, 2019

ATLWY

[Hide Comment] Climbed this route 10/22/20. Intentional late start and casual pace put us at the base around 11 then hung out for about an hour waiting for shade. Route went into full shade around 130 and was a dream to climb on an 85 degree day! This climb would be an absolute gem if not for the bolt positions on pitches one and two. They are just off of good clip stances by a move or two. Its like the bolts were installed by a 7'er lol. Honestly these pitches will get in your head but keep climbing because pitch 4 is everything you came for! In addition, the bolts themselves are in POOR condition!!! Numerous spinners and the roof bolt on pitch four is bent and has all but come out. It WILL break soon and someone WILL need a rescue because of it! This route simply needs rebolted! That said I absolutely loved this line and would gladly make the hike to do it again. Pitch 4 is absolutely brilliant! I was absolutely giddy climbing it! Possibly the best 10 I've ever climbed! 5 stars...when rebolted! Oct 23, 2020

Serge S Seattle, WA

[Hide Comment] Not that sustained - a lot of 5.8, especially after P4. I did find P2 tiring. Though a 70m rope may be long enough to get down from the top to the bowl in 1 rap, doing that got our rope stuck. Stopping at the intermediate rap station 10-15m below the top prevents that. Nov 3, 2020

Trevor Faxon Las Vegas, NV

[Hide Comment] Awesome Climb. P1, link P2,P3 to the huge ledge, P4(pass the rap anchor just above the roof), Link P5,P6 passing two anchors to the big ledge w/anchor (used most of a 70m). P7. Rap down the back, then All You Can Eat no gear, ~20 draws Nov 15, 2020

Sergey Shelukhin Seattle, WA

[Hide Comment] Nice climbing, I thought the beginning of P1 with the impaled-on-the-tree-fall potential was the mental crux. .5 was a nice to have to step off the tree as early as possible and still have some pro. Linking 2-3 is a no-brainer. I linked 4-5 to avoid another crappy belay; 5-6 might be a better option, the stance on top of 5 is even worse, plus your follower will be pulling the roof with 300 miles of rope stretch. We did the rap from the top into the bowl in one with an 80m Nov 16, 2020

Em Hinteregger Boulder, CO

[Hide Comment] Climbed P1-7 in 4 pitches with a 70m. Linked 2+3, 4+5 and 6+7. Lots of comments say to link 5+6 but the only belay that is comfortable on the whole route is the ground and the base of P4 below the roof, so I was happy to climb it in as few pitches as possible. I didn’t place any gear, but the first pitch is a little run out. I climbed the tree and stemmed out from it to the wall to clip the first bolt. There is a worse run-out a few bolts later but it is very easy climbing. You could place a .5 or .75 if you wanted. With linking 4+5 you’ll have a bit of rope drag at the end but it wasn’t terrible with extending in the right places. make sure to have enough slings. Be aware that there is an intermediate anchor above the roof - this is NOT the end of P4, so if you are linking 4+5 you will pass two anchors before you get to your next shitty hanging belay. DYou will either need to bring a lot of draws or backclean/skip some bolts. I think we brought 18 draws and I needed to skip or backclean 4 bolts. I remember skipping two of the last three bolts on P5 and could almost touch all three at the same time. Linking 6+7 leaves just a couple feet of extra rope with a 70m. Pitch 7 is easy, but a little run out, but hey, that just means you'll have enough draws. We rapped the back side to the bowl with a 70m. It **almost** reached. Worked fine with minimal shenanigans - about 4 feet of downclimbing. Worth it to skip the intermediary rap. There is a ton of loose rock at the top of Power Failure, so be VERY careful. You’ll end up about 100ft uphill from the start of the route! Nov 17, 2020

Justin Wallace Salt Lake City   5.10+

[Hide Comment] When it comes to beta for this climb. You definitely don’t need any trad gear unless you plan on aid climbing this thing. If you’re worried about the one or two (5.7) ~20ft run outs you probably shouldn’t be doing this climb in the first place. Don’t be fooled and think this will be easy because you can lead climb 5.11 in the gym. Several hundred feet of 5.10+ with the addition of multi-pitch logistics proves to be quite a challenge for many. If you plan on linking 2+3, 4+5, 6+7 (they all go on a 70m) bring at least 20 draws and be prepared to run it out and skip some bolts. You’re gonna want at least half of your draws to be alpine draws. Also my partner and I used pretied mini quads ( northeastalpinestart.com/20… ) for all the anchors and I highly recommend this. They are the perfect tool for the job. Nov 30, 2020

Allie Northey Rohnert Park, CA

[Hide Comment] roof pitch felt strenuous on lead, me being 5'3. more of a mental challenge than physical though. Fantastic climbing in general. An awesome sport multipitch in RR Jan 2, 2021

Brendan Vaughn Las Vegas, NV

[Hide Comment] Climbed this route on january 12, 2021. We used an 80m to rap the route. There was a entirely loose bolt at one of the belay stations, not safe. Maybe pitch 3 or 4 I can not remember precisely. Facing the wall it was the belay bolt on the left. Jan 13, 2021

Bolter Bot

[Hide Comment] The failed bolt on P3, the bolt in the roof with the bent hanger, and the failed anchor bolt have been removed and replaced. Jan 17, 2021

Stephen Lander Salt Lake City, UT   5.10b/c

[Hide Comment] Climbed on 2/14/21. A .5 camalot would've been nice to protect the moves before the first bolt. P1 felt like the crux to me but maybe just because my hands got numb from the cold shady rock in the first 30 feet. P4 and P5 were both an absolute joy, but every pitch had at least some fun movement. We had 20mph winds out of the NW all day but luckily the route was completely sheltered until P7 (which still was partially protected). Feb 18, 2021

Charles Yang

[Hide Comment] Approach: We climbed Crimson Chrysalis first and got there from Oak Creek in 55 minutes. The trail is cairned and mostly well travelled. With a little help from Google Maps, it was straightforward. I think it'd be a similar time to the base of IG. Near the end of the approach, turn right through the chockstone tunnel thing and not up the chimney. Rack: 15 60cm draws. 6 regular sport draws. BD 0.3 and 0.75 cams. Single 70m. Getting up: P1: tree start, place the .75, then clip the first bolt. Crux is getting to the anchor. Good holds to the right. Hanging belay. P2/3: balancy and technical. Crux pitch for me but my partner cruised it. There was a crux 50ft from the first anchor and then moving through the crack near the end of P3. Ends at a giant ledge. P4: roof was one hard move to jugs and super fun! Skip the first anchor you see. Comfy hanging belay. P5: lots of positive holds, crimpy crux near the end of the pitch. Another hanging belay. P6: slightly easier than P5 and more positive holds. Skip the first anchor you see and run it out on easy terrain straight up to a large belay ledge at the base of the last pitch. P7: chill, slightly runout at times on easy terrain. Large belay ledge. Getting down: Make a short 25ft rap to the slinged chock stone to the right. Then a 35m rap to another ledge. Other thoughts: If I were to do it again, I'd climb it as P1, P2/3, P4/5, P6/7. Send whoever is good at technical and slabby stuff up P1-P3. I'd bring the same rack. Full shade on March 28th. The bolts all seemed fine and were there. Timestamps for Crimson: 6:20am: Hiked from Oak Creek. 7:15am: Arrived at the base of Crimson. 11:47am: Topped out. 10 minutes for summit pictures and snacks. 1:04pm: Finished rapping. Unimpeachable: 1:46pm: arrived at the base of IG. 2:09pm: started the route. 6:30pm: Top, started first two raps and scramble. 7:07pm: Started rapping 7:45pm: Finished rapping. 8:50pm: Arrived at Oak Creek and got Thai food. Mar 29, 2021

Sage Bedell Seattle, WA   5.10c

[Hide Comment] 8 hours car to car. Would recommend linking P2&3 and 5&6. Enjoy! Apr 15, 2021

Connor Yartz   5.10+

[Hide Comment] Awesome sustained climbing. Would recommend bringing BD .3-.5 along with some small to medium nuts for the first pitch. Linked pitches 2-3 and 5-6 with no issues. It's very easy to get your rope stuck in a crack below the second rappel going to the bowl, I think two parties in front of us had that issue. Once in the bowl, be extremely careful not to knock loose rock down on climbers below. May 20, 2021

J G	[Hide Comment] An 80m allows you to get down the water streak left of Power Failure in 3 raps. Oct 4, 2021

Robby Parsons Bozeman, MT

[Hide Comment] The opening moves on P1 can be climbed without using the tree and are protected by a black totem or cam of a similar size. The moves felt about 10b/c without it and are quite reasonable if you're confident about the rest of the climb. Nov 20, 2021

Connor Pargman Woodbury, MN

[Hide Comment] Awesome climb, I highly recommed. All the bolts seemed good on it in March of 2021. If climbing the tree you do not need to bring any nuts or cams, all the bolts are not to far apart and nothing seemed spicy. There is one large gap on pitch 7 I think but it is on very easy terrian where you could add a nut if you wanted. Also recommend link pitch 2 and 3. Jan 3, 2022

Esther P Mostly CA 5.10b

[Hide Comment] Definitely recommend linking UG to Blade Runner if you're making good time. Makes for an incredible day. To get to Blade Runner from UG: after UG P6, we scrambled down climber's right, belayed off some bushes and could traverse easily into the middle of P1 of Blade Runner. Placed a #1 before getting on the BR arete to clip the next available bolt. Started UG without using the tree and didn't find a place for a .4 or a black totem, but I traversed in from slightly left of the tree. Feb 17, 2022

Sam Boyce Changes with the seasons

[Hide Comment] Another multi pitch sport route for folks to check out: Contagion Feb 19, 2022

Ian Saucy Anchorage, AK

[Hide Comment] What an awesome route! I've never climbed something so sustained for so many pitches, great fun though. The hanging belays are really not all that bad either. The approach is the worst part in my opinion but still not that bad. The trail listed on CalTopo to almost the base of the wall is a pretty good guide. You should be able to follow a cairned social trail most of the way -- no bushwhacking required. Unless you're a solid 5.10+ leader I wouldn't attempt this route. The grades are accurate and or actually a little stiff, no soft grades here just because it's a multi-pitch. A normal day of sport climbing has me working on 11s normally and I found this climb quite hard -- although I did do it without falls. Pitch 1: Very stiff pitch in my opinion. Slung the tree for some pro off the ground. Placed a black totem in a small crack about a body length above the last bolt leading into the runout as I didn't want to pull the moves without it. Once on the almost ledge of the middle of the runout I placed a yellow totem in another crack to protect the left traverse and climb up to the next bolt. The climbing really isn't that hard between the two bolts but I had the pro so I figured I mine as well use it. If you don't like runouts then you'll want it. Pitch 2-3: Linked these like everyone else does, can be done with a 60 and you'll have enough to get to the big ledge. Personally I thought the moves on pitch 3 were the hardest of the route but only a few and not as sustained on the pitch in general. A few runout sections that could take some pro but my leader opted to climb through without placing gear. Pitch 4: WOOH what an epic pitch. The roof is not that hard -- maybe 5.9/+ and very well protected. After pulling the roof make sure you pass a set of rap anchors before arriving at a hanging belay for the top of pitch 4. The rest of the pitch is pretty easy but still 5.10ish. Pitch 5-6: I thought these were the hardest pitches because they were so sustained. Until the very end there was not much to rest on and you've been climbing none stop for 40-50m by this point. Make sure you pass the rap anchors and go all the way to the next ledge/large boulder thing below the final pitch. You should not be running a hanging belay on the top of pitch 6, if so you didn't go far enough. Technically the final part from the rap anchors to the ledge is runout but it's super easy. I think total you'll need 20-21 draws for this section. But you can back clean 1-2 or runout some of the easier section if you're running short. Can be linked with a 60m without issue. After Pitch 6 you could transition over to blade runner. We didn't but I would love to next time! Pitch 7: Just straight fun, nice 5.8, bolted in accordance with the grade(ie not much) but it's less than vertical and easy so it's not a problem. Two anchors at the top. The one with tat higher up is probably a good one to use. Since I had two ropes I built an anchor avoiding the tat and going direct into the bolts that are separated by ~4 feet. Rappelling: We rapped off the top of the pillar using the anchors on the very edge of the pillar. We played it safe and belayed each other down to this section. From this anchor you can make it all the way to the bowl/start of the scramble with double 60s. With a single 70/60 you'll need to use the intermediate anchors on the intermediate ledge. No longer is it a slung block, someone has put in glue in bolts to rap off of now! Once on the ground, you'll be a few hundred yards up canyon from where you started. It's an easy walk/scramble back down to the starting pine tree then a long walk back to the car (: I do NOT think it's possible to rap the route direct from the top of pitch 7 as you've traversed over a bit from the route up. But I didn't try so maybe it is possible. Enjoy (: Mar 10, 2022

M _

[Hide Comment] If you're climbing on a weekend or in peak season, it's worth packing a rack with you so you can do another route if this is busy. We entered the gate at 6:10am and had two parties in front of us, and ended up waiting at the base for a couple hours. By the time we were on the route, three parties were waiting behind us, and a few more had decided not to do the route because they didn't want to wait in line. If you want to be first on the route, you should probably be at the gate before it opens. Mar 15, 2022

Ben Chaloupka Eugene, OR   5.10b

[Hide Comment] Beta for the start without using the tree: If you start just to the right of the tree on the boulder, you can climb straight up to the first bolt without increasing the grade of this pitch. Yes, the first bolt is a bit high, and yes, there is a slot that takes a BD .4, but you can either reach high and place this from crimps, or step up and clip the first bolt from jugs. Therefore, I recommend skipping the gear for this section. Also, you are doing yourself a disservice if you climb this and don't finish on Blade Runner. While listed as trad on MP, Blade Runner is basically a sport route and offers incredible position and fun climbing with excellent exposure. All of the pitches of Blade Runner felt easier than any of the first six pitches of UG, so don't let that stop you! Mar 27, 2022

John Allard San Francisco, CA

[Hide Comment] Did this April 15th, 2022 - we were sure glad to have our trad rack with us though we’re just normal mid-10s sport climbers. We ended up placing some gear on pitches 1, 6, and 7. Pitch 4 is wicked fun, 5 and 6 are pretty vertical, very sustained, and very good climbing. Apr 16, 2022

Matthew R Fresno

[Hide Comment] P1 is pretty in your face and stiff, unlike the rest of the route. Maybe it was the direct sun and 75 degrees, but that felt like solid 5.10/10+. The rest of the route was casual in comparison and a boat load of fun. For what it’s worth, I took a single rack and placed one cam on P1 and could have done without it. If linking pitches 5 and 6 bring 22 or so draws, I had to back clean to link them. Oct 18, 2022

Justin Martucci Los Angeles, CA

[Hide Comment] Such a great climb. Bring one yellow totem (or a bd.4) to get to the first bolt (not hard, but if you fall you’re taking a massive fall because of the belay start) and just a ton of draws to link pitches. Link pitches 4&5 instead of 5 and 6 to avoid a terrible hanging belay. Absolutely No need for more than that one cam. Dec 13, 2022

Lucas Fritch Springfield, MO

[Hide Comment] If it is wet in Red Rock a great alternative to UG is Contagion at the Lake Mead Buttress. It is about a 20 min drive from RR and has 6 pitches (3 of them are 5.10). Jan 7, 2023

Mitchell McAuslan Spokane, WA

[Hide Comment] Personally, I am glad that I brought some gear. I placed gear on the first pitch run out and the second pitch runout. The first pitch run out is easy climbing but would be about 20-25 feet of unprotected climbing. Need to to use two ropes if going to rappel the route. I brought a C4 0.75, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1 and that seemed good to me. Mar 22, 2023

Wilson French

[Hide Comment] The last bolt on the first pitch was loose in its bolt hole and should be removed/replaced. There are some microcam placements nearby (BD 0.1 or 0.2) if you're like me and don't want to trust it... Nov 29, 2023

Robert Dizzle Fullerton, CA

[Hide Comment] you can rap down from the top of the last pitch if you want to rap the route with an 80m thanks to an intermediate anchor. Just make sure your lines trend skier right since there is a nasty pinch at the lip that will get your rope stuck. Jan 24, 2024

Abel Jones Bishop, CA

[Hide Comment] Critters ate my food at the base, luckily my pack already had holes in it but they added some more. Keep that in mind. Mar 27, 2024

Gee Monet Las Vegas, NV

[Hide Comment] Critter bags (Ursacks, RatSacks) should be standard gear if you're leaving food unattended in RR. This is a wilderness area, so there are wilderness things going on. If you don't have a critter bag, don't leave any food at the base, just climb with it. Leave no trace and all that, pretty simple stuff. Oh, and squirrels and chipmunks can actually climb trees it turns out, so simply hanging your pack 5' off the ground doesn't quite cut it. Mar 27, 2024

Joanne Urioste LAS VEGAS

[Hide Comment] Safety alert: someone posted on "Las Vegas Climbers" Facebook page that they removed half of the bolts on pitches 4, 5, 6. They did this without consulting the FA team. The ethical issue can be discussed later. But right now there is a pressing issue of safety: the bolts are 25 years old & are rusty. Thus, taking 30 to 40 footers on a rusty bolt can zipper out a whole pitch. The entire route needs to be considered "closed" until the route is re bolted. Jorge Urioste wants the bolting job to be done as it was in the origjnal route: bolt for bolt. The bolt removers are cowards to not have discussed this with him prior. These bolt removers ought to establish their own route with their own standards, rather than attempting to gain fame by destroying a route that others treasure. May 1, 2024

Joanne Urioste LAS VEGAS

[Hide Comment] There is rumor that the de bolting facebook post was a prank. If anyone finds out what really happened, please post here. Thank you. May 3, 2024

Chandler Baldwin Las Vegas, NV

[Hide Comment] After getting in touch with the people responsible for the de-bolting comments earlier this week, they told me that it was intended to be a prank (for which reason I cannot understand) and that the incident did not occur. I have not been back on the route since to confirm this though. May 6, 2024

Garçon Rouge Nashville, TN

[Hide Comment] Not sure if this has been mentioned, but the first 6 pitches can be rapped with a 70m, but why not finish the route? Also it would be messy and inconvenient to rap if anyone was climbing the route still. The first pitch can NOT be top roped though because 70 is too short if the rope is still running through the draws. Oct 19, 2024

Ben Tipper Baltimore, MD

[Hide Comment] Goes at 10.b sport w/o the tree or trad gear. The approach scramble and descent takes time. When rappelling down All You Can Eat there are a few false bottoms - keep rappelling until you're fully down, stretching rope to get to a shitty approach climbing section if on a 60m Oct 23, 2024

David Kaplan

[Hide Comment] We climb it today. No bolds are missing. Few of them are moving. I would say it is a little harder than 10b. Or at least be very sustainable for the grade. I wouldn't pick it as my first 10b. If you want to link 2 & 3 third pitches to avoid one hanging belay bring 22 quick draws. For the trad gear, you don't really need that. When there is a placement spot it doesn't really make sense. Either it is in a easier terrain where few moves will get you to the next bold or it is in harder terrain where bold are close anyway and it is better to climb it through than to stick around placing gear. Great route. I would recommend it to my best friend. Nov 14, 2024

Andy Gonzalez

[Hide Comment] Cool route worth the hike. Light pack with just draws and make your way up. Rap route wasnt hard to find. Jan 30, 2025

J Flossy

[Hide Comment] Such a wonderful route - 5.10 doesn’t get any better than this. Pitch 1 might be missing a bolt, as there is a 40ft or so runout about halfway up it. It’s not a difficult section but bring hand size gear if you’d like to protect it. Mar 31, 2025