Monk's Ass

Probably the most obvious/in-obvious route on the way to summit the Praying Monk.  This route is easily visible from the parking lot.  The original guidebook (Central Arizona by Waugh, Treiber, Grubbs) has a rating of 5.7 A1X, Phoenix Rock (Waugh) does not even mention the route and Phoenix Rock II (Opland) has the route listed as 5.7 A4XX.  Wherever the rating settles climbing this route is a hair-raising experience and will have you in awe of the first climbers that wandered up this line with nuts and some pitons.  The rock is rotten, the gear (we used everything from .3 to #6) is questionable overall and while the climbing is never technically difficult, falling would be a bad idea.

Pitch one:  Climb angling and rotten rock/crack to neat alcove, traverse left under overhang and work your way up to original piton.  A new bolt is here to keep the climber from decking once the piton fails or the rock that it is hammered into explodes.  Clip piton and figure out the delicate moves required to bellyflop onto small ledge.  Original bolt and new bolt await, new bolt is in rotten rock.

Pitch two:  Follow crack, scary moves off belay, past original bolt that is falling out of wall, to two original and one new bolt belay on shoulder of formation.  Look for a key .75 cam placement that will keep the runout "bearable".

Pitch three:  Avoid the hollow, rotten, large piece of rock and follow bolts to summit.  The bolts are part of another route, do not underestimate the nature of the rock.  Feels like hard 5.9+ climbing.

Gear: We used tricams, small cams to a #6, it fits in a few of the large holes that pepper the route.

Full rack; tricams, small cams to a #6, it fits in a few of the large holes that pepper the route