Routes in North America

Shares start with "Porn Star Obsession" but trends right. Used to be 11c, but a loose block was trundled making it much harder at the crux.

The right set of bolts up this face. If climbed directly over the bolts, goes about 5.7 -- but can be climbed at about 5.5 by drifting a bit off line either right or left into larger holds.

This now (fall 2012) has a chunk of rock at the bottom labelling it as "Stage Right 5.8 S".

An exceptionally popular easy route up the central buttress between the two arch features. For such a popular route the climbing isn't actually that great, with lots of rambly 4th class pitches to start, an unavoidable aid move, and some mungy bits as well. The climb is also quite linear, especially up high, so passing slower parties or climbing parallel to them isn't particularly easy.

1. 5.6 100ft Chimney. There are several variant starts, most of which are better than this pitch.

2. 5.4 200ft Walk right along ledge to short crack (5.4).

3. 4th 200ft Continue right along ledge.

4. 5.6 100ft Crack on face.

5. 3rd 200ft Continue right along ledge until it ends.

6. 5.6 or 5.7 100ft Up cracks (5.7), or the exposed corner further right (5.6) to dead pine tree (lots of belay options).

7. 5.6 150ft Up cracks and blocks (optional belay) then up sandy pin-scarred groove.

8. 5.6 100ft Sustained jamming to tree.

9. 5.6 100ft Easy offwidth trench to lovely cracks.

10. 5.4 100ft Blocks to A0 pendulum (goes free at 5.10c - slick water polished slab). Move left along ledge system to base of next corner.

11. 5.7 100ft Flake and tree, then step left around major arete.

12. 5.6 165ft 2 corners to belay at tree.

13. 5.5 100ft Angle up and left with tricky pro.

14. 4th 100ft Continue angling up and left on slab to rappel bolts. The rappel route starts here.

15. 5.4 150ft Exposed horizontal slabbing left to trees. Rim is 300ft above here.

The bolt line right of "Moje Zlato", climb the face and over the small roof.

Finish is a bit run-out, but can be protected with an (optional) piece in the horizontal finger crack.

Anchor is in a big detached block.

Climbs up a short bit of slab to a vertical wall with green streaks and bolts. Up the face to a right facing corner/chimney right of a high roof, then finishes a bit left.

Try not to be lured off route by the chalk and crumbly jugs on the far left under the roof. Stay true to the bolt line for the full experience - and grade.

Bolts replaced in 1992.

Climb over a large boulder in the wall to good pockets above.

Starts on the big separated block and continues on the head wall. Rebolted with glue ins November 2015.

There are a pair of bolted lines up a left-facing wall, this is the left-most of the two of them.

This goes at about 5.9 if you stay on the face the bolts are on, but somewhat easier if you move into the corner to the left. Probably about 5.7 if climbed to the left.

Follow the nice finger crack that widens large hands at the top.

Belay the second from the top.

Either walk down or rappel down "Crime of the Century"

The perfect warm-up, super nice climbing on mostly good holds.

1. 100' (5.7) Up the finger crack making your way up to the obvious hand crack. Gear belay (pro 1"-1.5"). A large flake takes a nice sling but puts you in a semi hanging belay.

2. 80' (5.8) Follow the awesome hand crack up to the dual crack system, move to the righthand system to finish out.

Pro to 4". 60m rap. This can be done as one long pitch.

About 100m right of Calabogie Sunset you will come around a bit of a corner to an easy-angled face with a couple bolt lines up it.

This now (fall, 2012) has a plaque at the bottom labelling it as "Stage Left 5.9 M".

This is the left-most of the two bolt lines. The first bolt is a bit high, so a placement before this bolt could help, though the climbing is also fairly easy. Also, it is bolted with the intention that a cam be placed between bolts 3 and 4 in the finger-sized horizontal crack.

If comfortable at the grade, can be climbed sport if desired, but a bit run out between the 3rd and 4th bolts (where a bolt was cut because of the readily available gear placement).

Veinte años después es un diedro que esta a favor. Es buena ruta para principiantes.

In the lower part of the cliff there is a nearly vertical about 9" wide pink dike that protrudes out from the rest of the cliff by an inch or two, and a bolt line running up it.

Mr Clean climbs the dike, and face above, to anchors.

Climb a short face to a short slab to a bulge. Pull the bulge/roof to a ledge to the right. Then up and left over another bulge, then right to the anchors.

One of the most climbed routes in North America: Almost no approach, 350 feet of moderate crack climbing and all day shade.

Warning: The first 20 feet of this climb are unprotectable and have sent many an unprepared climber to hospital.

The middle bolt line up the cliff.

Formerly an X trad route, now a very closely bolted sport route. This is a good lead for a beginning lead climber.

A very well bolted line on the climbtech hangers. Follow the weakness to the top of the buttress. Please be careful when on ledges for loose pebbles.

Start 5 feet left of cuba libre and follow the steel up the grey face to obvious side pull blocks at the 4th bolt.

1. 130ft (5.7) Jam up the right-facing dihedral with insecure footholds on slick, polished rock. Belay at the tree.

2. 50ft (3rd class) Scramble up 3rd class to a large manzanita at the base of a wide crack.

3. 80ft (5.6) Wide crack climbing leads to face climbing. Continue up and right to belay at an alcove on a ledge.

4. 130ft (5.5) Easy slab climbing leads to a large ledge.

5. 80ft (5.6) Easy slab climbing on knobs leads to crux liebacking up a flake. Continue up to another large ledge and belay at the tree.

6. 90ft (5.6) Follow the crack up and right. Belay from cracks atop the buttress. A fun 5.8 alternate finish follows the thin flakes and broken cracks up left before traversing back right across the steepest rock directly below the summit.

Walk off descent with short 3rd and 4th class exposure. Retreat earlier by rappelling with 2 ropes or escaping left atop pitch 4.

Pro to 2".

This is the classic long, easy, multi-pitch climb at El Potrero Chico. The climbing is never sustained at harder than 5.9, and the hardest section of 5.10b can be avoided by going up 5.7 jugs slightly off route. And it finishes at a lovely summit, often wind blown, with great views and a lone palm tree.

There is, also, a handy name plate riveted to the rock at the start of this climb, making it easy to find.

Rarely climbed in any of the 5.11 variations, just isn't classic at this level.

Hard variations are: Pitch 3. (5.11b) Go straight up (rather than angling rightwards), then traverse right to the anchor. Pitch 4. (5.11a) Go straight up, rather than left traverse.

1. (5.9) Find the name plate, and follow the bolts upwards.

2. (5.9) More bolts.

3. (5.9) Left from the anchor, then trend rightwards. (Straight up instead of rightwards is the 5.11b variation.)

4. (5.8) Traverse leftwards, around the corner, then up and right again. (straight up is the 5.11a variation)

5. (3rd class) Follow the fixed rope then right. Do not climb past 5th pitch unless committed to finishing -- rapping the upper pitches will endanger any climbers that might be below.

6. (5.5) Wander up the gentle slab until you (finally) spot a bolt.

7. (5.6) Keep going up the ramp.

8. (5.10a) Bolts, watching for a turn left and up.

9. (5.9) Bolts.

10. (5.10b, 5.9+ if you skip the crux by using jugs to the right of the line) Bolts.

11. (5.10a) Bolts.

12. (5.7) Up the chimney.

Linking pitch 3 & 4 can cause awful rope drag. Linking 6 & 7 needs a 70m rope or simul-climbing by belayer on easy (5.0) terrain.

Descent: descend the fixed rope to the first rappel anchor. Do 5 rappels off the back side, watching for guiding arrows. You will be rappelling over a small ravine to a ridge, then down into the Los Lobos canyon. Walk down the canyon.

One of the best 5.9 routes in the Valley! This stunning route can be identified by the twin crack system of the second pitch just left of the bear bins. Amazing climbing. Most parties rap at the top of the 5th pitch using double ropes. A 70m rope will need to be extended to reach on the first rap (top of 5th pitch).

Up, step over the gap, up trending right, then traverse left along the edge, up left of the anchors, then reach right to clip the anchors.

Climbs over the same roof as Desert Trip to its right, with more consistent but easier climbing.

Now (spring 2017) cleaned & bolted as a sport route, with a label stone as "Too Many Puppies 5.8S" - was graded 5.4 in the 80s as a trad route.

Start 5m to the right of a small cairn (yeah, right, like it's still there) and at the base of a steep slab facing right, 75m past the start of "First Flight". A short face leads to the base of the slab. Follow the slab to the top, generally keeping to its left edge, bypassing a cedar. The crux move involves stepping left onto a bulge (6m above the base of the slab) while using a horizontal break for a hand jam.

Climb easily to a high first bolt, then follow the glue-ins past a couple small roofs using a sharp arete.

Name-stone at base.

Probably the most climbed-on route at Down Under, often used as a warm-up. Below and to the right of the small cave at the top is an interesting no-hands rest.

From 'Flaky Flake', walk left along the cliff face, up and over a pile of scree then down again. There will be a slab with a wide zig-zagging crack going up to a ledge about 3m off the ground, with a small overhang about 1.5m above the ledge and a first bolt just above the overhang. Crux is pulling over the overhang, much harder if you are shorter than about 5'8". Then nice climbing up past 3 more bolts to a 2-bolt anchor.

Super classic crack climb.

The obvious twisting off-width crack to the right of the cave. Anchors.

The grade has inspired much debate.

220m. A generally easy and un-sustained, but sometimes run-out climb across and up the Apron.

1. (5.4, 20-30m) Climb easy but unprotected slab to a horizontal break, then traverse right until a pair of birch trees.

2. (5.easy, 30m) Continue right along the horizontal break, slightly up then curving back down until a stand of trees.

3. (5.5 R, 15m) Stem up a tree, then step onto a slab. Friction up the unprotected slab to more trees.

4. (5.7, 30m) Climb unprotected slab above the trees towards trending leftwards, then step right to a bolt. Pull a couple 5.7 moves past the bolt, then more unprotected slab left to a corner. Surmount the corner and bulge above, then traverse up and left to trees.

5. (5.4, 15m) Move left to an obvious flake then up into a groove. Make a gear belay.

6. (5.7, 30m) Pull up onto the slab right of the belay and angle up and right on un-protected slab to into a corner, follow this for a bit, then left and up to trees.

7. (5.4 50m) Climb up into a water runnel; follow this and obvious cracks until you find a stance with small gear behind a flake and belay.

8. (5.4 50m) Continue up the flake above past a detached piece of slab, then up the easier slab to the trees.

Climb up blocky ledges to a slabbier head wall.

(Retro-bolted trad route, with FA's permission.)

A nice lead, though many seem to skip the first bolt, and start right of it to climb to 2nd bolt.

Start 3m left of the obvious Ein Kleines Nacht Klettern.

Climb up flakes to and crack to an overhang. Pull over the bulge (crux) and up the headwall to anchors.

(Retro-bolted trad route, with FA's permission.)

4th class approach. Descend via 100' rappel. Pro to 1".

Solid 5.8.

Climb the finger-to-hand layback crack through a bulge to easier climbing above.

Esta ruta es muy clásica y es de las mas escaladas en esta pared. Es muy cortita y es buena para calentar.

Easy sport climb on the slab a couple meters right of stage right.

Has a sign posted naming it and giving a grade of 5.8 -- but this climb is no harder than 5.5. (It is considerably easier than Phasers on Stun - 5.5.)

Starts from a tree up the same 3rd class ramp as Munginella, but after having traversed further across the ledge the ramp reaches. Or can be reached from right as well by descending, then re-ascending around the foot of the cliff.

Located in the leftmost dihedral of the five open books area, this route begins with a 4th class scramble up to a bush. Then it's two or three pitches of varied climbing with corners, cracks, friction slab, and a bulge. Be careful of loose rock at the top, and consider belaying from the trees to the right instead of the left. Walk off left to descend with an optional single rope rappel.

Protecting the boulder at the bottom is a good idea. Nice mellow climbing to a vertical section heading left into a great crack to the anchors. Good protection

This Potrero classic was bolted entirely on the weekends. Starts just north of the pavilion. Loose rock. Helmet recommended. Please be careful of the partying Mexicans below. This route has been climbed in 2 1/2 hours, car to car. Take 20 draws if you combine pitches, works well for 1&2, 3&4 and on top.

Start below the large thin flake. (It feels really solid, but I wouldn't put pro under it, it is large and thin.) Follow the obvious large crack to 2 bolts for anchors.

Takes protection really easily -- a good route for a first trad lead.

Starts just right of Honey Bear with a crux up high. Permadraws starting at bolt 4 on a clean face with tufas.First bolted winter 2001 and rebolted with glue November 2015.

Climb to a bolt under a roof, traverse left, up onto the face, then right around the blunt arete and up to the anchors.

(Retro-bolted trad route, with FA's permission. Was originally graded 5.8.)

Follow the big flake system. Great route for the grade.

Technical and slightly overhanging line on the face that follows a sweeping flake and then a series of tufas. First bolted gound up in 2001 but rebolted with glue November 2015.

One of the most popular multi-pitch routes at Red Rocks due, at least in part, to large comfortable belay ledges the whole way. Can be rappelled on one 70m rope with a bit of 4th class down-climbing, or with two ropes.

Starts below an obvious left-slanting crack.

1. 150' 5.5 - Climb the left slanting crack, skip the optional belay at 90', up a wider crack to a ledge, then continue up the crack to another ledge. Bolted anchors are a few yards out to the right.

2. 50' 5.5. Hike right along the ledge, boulder up to the next ledge, and up gentle slabs to a steeper wall. Re-belay from here, then up steepish black wall to a small overhang, the up a left-facing corner to a ledge with trees. End on a belay off a small group of trees.

3. 120' 5.6. Start up 4th class terrain about 15' to a small ledge, climb a thin crack in the varnished face left of a small corner to a small roof, traverse left under the roof to another crack that continues upwards, and up this to a ledge with a large block on it. Belay off slings around the large block.

4. 50' 5.3. Traverse right and a bit down to a ledge with a crack above it and anchors.

5. 110' 5.6. Climb the crack, past a bolt to run-out 5.5 terrain to the anchors. Most people end here at the anchor and rappel.

Ruta para principiantes, sostenida y divertida. For beginners, fun and sustained

Seemingly intimidating from afar, the Southeast Buttress of Cathedral Peak is a beautiful 5 pitch route filled with lovely moderate climbing.

A must do when in Tuolumne, Cathedral Peak can become quite crowded, fortunately the climbing offers many ways to navigate around other parties, at least down low (up high the face narrows, and parties tend to get bottlenecked).

Climb the right-facing crack and corner system on the right side of the overhangs.

(Retro-bolted trad route, with FA's permission. Was originally graded 5.8.)

Start just left of the big boulder. Up the face to the corner system, pass it mostly on the left, then go right again to the anchors.

Climb up the ramp out of the gorge, staying along the arete. Nice climbing with beautiful views.

P1. 5.7 20m, 4 bolts

P2. 5.7 45m, 8 bolts (don't stop at the first anchor -- this is just an intermediate rap station)

P3. 5.9 20m, 4 bolts

Pitch 3 Variation: 5.10c climbs to the left, around the corner, to the same upper belay location.

NOTE: The trail from the car park IS the way to go as per the update on Quickdraw Publications. Its is a well maintained trail with just a shitty move on scree slope but totally safe, much quicker than walking the same distance and then raping. If for whatever mysterious reason you want to rap, the rap station is 5 meter left of the chains from top of start check as per pic below. Can be done in 2 raps with a 70m rope or 3 with a 60m. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD PEOPLE RAP THE ROUTE extremely likely that someone is climbing it and you will be on their way, rock fall possible from the top, and its 4 raps instead of 3 if you chose the rap station

Start up a blocky corner with big holds. After clipping the first bolt, step left onto a right-facing slab. At the top of the slab, climb a steeper face on good holds, them move right to the anchor.

Good climbing throughout.

One of the best routes of its grade at Rumney. On Jimmy Right, it's the rightmost route that follows a blunt arret up to some tricky moves along the face. Small holds and small feet make this one a bit of a puzzle. Rounded crack lines require a bit of searching for good purchase. Don't go too far right around the corner, or you'll find yourself up shit creek without a paddle. To get to the anchors, choose between going right to undercling a large flake, or left, using a series of easy cracks to gain the anchors. Fantastic route and quite popular, but absolutely worth it.

Start at a small corner a bit up and to the right of Route B, follow the thin crack to a corner in the upper part of the cliff, then on to 2 bolts as anchors.

"Yadda yards yadda best sport climb in Canada......" Listen to the spray people say when they get off this pearler!Pumpy climbing on beautiful jugs and flakes. Absolutely classic.....

One of the most sort after 11's in the Bow Valley. Every hold is a jug with a few sequences gaining the lip and exiting it (crux). Ridiculously fun and pumpy!

Short route at the far right end of the cliff. Nice warm-up for the fairly stiff 5.8 routes on the rest of the cliff.

Starts a few meters (yards) right of Easy, up an easy right angling-corner ramp. Step right onto a small ledge, then up crack systems towards a small roof; exit on the left and finish up the crack.

1. From a small clearing with slopping blocky section which includes a small semi-detached pillar, aim for the fixed 3x bong anchor.

2. Traverse right to the bolted belay/rap anchor, the bigger horizontal crack holds gear, but it's also the best thing to use as a ramp for your feet... can be very spooky/exposed/run-out.

3. Head straight up the face, pulling the large flakes, up the corner with the tree, belay with natural pro on the ledge.

4. Go straight up from the little cave and do a balancy move to the left flake, head up the easiest path, past a 2 tree doulble ledge and up a ramp to the left up to the base of aireation buttress.

For a safer second traverse: trail a second rope or use doubles and merge pitch 2 and 3 together, only using a single rope after passing the last piece of pro at the beginning of the traverse, run this rope on the left side of the tree when climbing the chimney on pitch 3, this way, you can better protect your second across the traverse.

Recently re-bolted (as of 2014), 8 bolts to first anchor and 3 for the extension. 5.10a to intermediate anchor, 5.10b to final anchor.