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Neon Madman

5.10a, Trad, 50 ft (15 m),  Avg: 2.6 from 10 votes
FA: Paul Piana and Todd Skinner, 1979
Wyoming > Laramie Area > Vedauwoo > Fall Wall
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Description

Gain the largish, wide ledge above Fallout. From the left side of this ledge, climb the thin crack/flare that gently angles right and terminates into chickenheads. Belay on the big, honking ledge above. The crack takes excellent stoppers for all but 6 some feet up high and the last short section of chickenheads to the top. It is very sewable, mostly. It is lots of fun, and it would be 4 stars if it were any longer.

Location

The route starts directly above Fallout. Rap off the bolts 20 feet to the right and climb Mickey Mantle!

Protection

Finger size nuts and smaller, more emphasis on smaller but not tiny. A small cam might be useful down low but the nuts are great. Finger to thin hands cams work for the belay.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Looking up the start of Neon Madman.
[Hide Photo] Looking up the start of Neon Madman.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Mitch Musci
Estes Park, CO
[Hide Comment] I followed my buddy up this route and must say that the description is a bit misleading. This crack takes good gear for the first 3/4, but the last 15 ft of the crack is just a seam/flare with no inspiring pro. My friend was spooked and led out left and around to the top, from which I followed straight up the crack. Great climbing up the flare to some small face holds (felt mid 10ish). Very cool! Oct 4, 2010
Tom Kelley
  5.10a PG13
[Hide Comment] I agree that the description can be misleading, since the quality of the gear, and to some extent the climbing, depends on how well the crack has been cleaned. It can get filled with dirt that seams (pun intended) to get washed down from above during gully washers. Years ago, this climb had a fair bit of grass growing in it, but this has dimished with traffic. It had been pretty well cleaned out in the recent past, but I hadn't climbed it for 2-3 years. When I was up on it yesterday, I definitely had to poke around and clean a fair bit of dirt out of the crack to get placements, especially in the top half. This is not an easy task while standing on smears on a hot day. A task made worse by the fact that I wasn't carrying a nut tool and had to clean the crack with a small brass nut.

A good route, but consider adding a nut tool to the gear list. Aug 13, 2012
prpiana
[Hide Comment] FA 25 October 1979 by Paul Piana and Todd Skinner. You definitely want a nut tool to find nut placements. If you are planning on climbing this fun climb, it would be best to rap from above and begin gardening! I recall the last bit has no/sparse pro. Jun 23, 2019