[Hide Comment] I climbed this on toprope in 1986. My partner David Abrahamson was attending college with me at UW Platteville and had a great idea to do this with a 50 meter rope. I was pumped because I had new Fire rock shoes and wanted to get 'em smeared up. I met Dave on a gorgeous fall day and he had the toprope set............only one problem: Rope was too short. We tied my rope to his and away I went. Right at the crux pull, Dave informs me he has to undo his belay to bypass the rope connection in the belay device....I was scared sh..less. Refastened, I kicked my right leg up above 2nd roof and amazed myself that I tried that move. Mounting the roof I prayed it would not peal from the main face and I completed the easy scramble to the top. To this day it looks like some large rocks could peel from this face....Be cautious. Keep belayer well to the side. Feb 26, 2015

[Hide Comment] That is quite a story! Thank you so much for sharing.

I have seen some sizable chunks come off this climb. Setting a rope up was always very interesting.

Would you agree with the 5.9 rating? That second roof is pretty delicate...maybe 10a.

I do miss Castle Rock. Gorgeous views of the land and never any climbing pressure! Feb 26, 2015

[Hide Comment] 5.9 is solid. The hornets and asian beetles can really intimidate a climber in the fall season. Wish the midsection was more concrete. Can't believe we did australian rappelling off this in the dark!

Lots of climbing pressure now with sport routes established and Gibralter closed in Lodi. Feb 28, 2015

[Hide Comment] You can use the first few bolts of the project in the center of the wall to protect the traverse left. There is also now an anchor within reach of the top of this climb, which makes it much easier to set a TR (with only a minor swing if you fall in the middle.) After the traverse you can plug a .5 or .75 behind the big solid flake just before the roof. Im not sure about the middle section, but the hand crack at the top looks like It would protect really well. The rock quality is surprisingly good, and I would absolutely trust gear on this route. I cleaned the lower finger crack section, some great climbing with a low crux that protects well with a .3 and .4 (in really solid rock). There is still some loose rock left of the crack so use caution. The blocks just to the right toward the top of the lower crack section which create some great holds, seem very loose, but I pulled as hard as possible and couldnt get them to budge. Wear a helmet, but dont be afraid to use those crucial holds. Im not sure why this is so poorly rated as it seems to be one of the better trad (or mixed) lines at the crag. Mar 21, 2021