Guppy is the right of two routes that start from the belay pod above the small pine on the south-facing Creek Side Wall, east side of tunnel 6.  Approach by tyrol from cottonwood tree (see comments under Creek Side Area description).

Chase several bolts up to a left-leaning, left-facing dihedral.  Pull right around the dihedral and continue up past a small roof, and finish up the black rounded arete and the anchors.  Lower or rap exactly 35m back to the pod.  A 60m rope will certainly not make it.  If you are careful when you pull the rope, it won't get wet... the tyrol line and pine tree will catch most of it.

Guppy is a long fun route with superb stone, huge positive holds, and consistent climbing!

Guppy

Are There Bolts Up There?

Black Gold

Unknown Big Black Flake

Crackside Direct (var.)

100 Proof

Crackside

The Oyster Bar

Rumpleminze aka Drillin' the Bush

Shenanigans

Christmas Spirits

Bro's Gold

Creek Dance

Left of Corner

Solid Gold

The Golden Hammer

The Art of the Deal

Big Bro's Watchin' (Luebben Memorial Route)

Fish Bowl

Project

Clown Loach (temporary name)

Fish and Chips

Spun Gold

Playin' Hooky

Under the Influence

Rhett Wench

Furlough Day

Psychotic Love

Creek Nation

Creekafixion

Brennivin

Macho Borracho

Labor Day

Little Sister

Winterfest

Fool's Gold

Yummmmy!

Fish and Chips is the left of two routes that start from the belay pod on the south-facing Creek Side Wall.  Approach by tyrol (see comments under Creek Side area description).

This is another fun and long route with great photo potential from the road.  Follow bolts over quality stone up to the huge, left-facing dihedral above.  Stem the dihedral and eventually work on to the arete on big positive flakes to a small ledge and anchors (115' exactly).  The moves climbing on the arete may seem stiff for 5.9, but the holds are big.

You can continue up and left past the anchors to another set where you can rap/lower to the start of P2 of

Rhett Wench

.  However, you will not be able to lower back to the pod from the high anchors.

Fantastic exposure and fun climbing!

One sunny Sunday afternoon, twenty cars were at each crag. "I hate crowds," I muttered to myself. (No wonder I have never been to Yosemite nor want to go!) So me and James forged our way up this route. No crowds here, thank God. Good practice for getting your loose rock "on", for the Canadian Rockies, Black Canyon, etc. No bolting on this, a nice pure route.

For those that can't live without choss or adventure, read on. For those looking for bolts or solid rock, you might be disappointed.

This route is worth the adventure. You may find it more like the Black Canyon than Clear Creek. That being said, an R rating is put here not only for the runouts but to let others know that there ain't going to be gear every couple feet and to be careful with loose rock. The runouts are on the easier terrain, however, as the crux is fairly well-protected. For those that seek solid rock, don't think this is your route.

Wade across the river and park right before the Tunnel 6 at the end of the Creek Side area.

P1: 5.10a. Locate the overhanging, slanting crack to the left of the leftmost route that ends at a tree. Bushwhack your way up the awesome, overhanging offwidth (crux) that prevents jamming since there is a bush in your face. Easier overhung climbing with good gear and holds/jams leads to a flake. Belay here or at the tree. I thought it went 5.9, but my buddy was very confident that it was 5.10. So we agreed on 5.10a. I'll let others be the judge. It's not about the grades but about the experience.

P2: 5.5. "Belay and Hide", a fun adventure depending on your line. Watch the loose rock and your partner below, along with some cactus. I made a typical alpine anchor after 50 meters that was so so. Basically climb straight up.

The route gets its name from a fellow shouting "are there bolts up there?" while I was building an anchor.

P3: 5.8 R. Traverse right onto the runout headwall that has great holds but is vertical without gear. Mantle and continue up to a great ledge before the final headwall. Continue straight up following the holds. Gear is there but so so. Traverse left to a huge flake and then mantel onto the top with a perfect tree.

This route might disappoint most, but we found it to be worth it! I'd do it again. I'm a sucker for choss though.

Black Gold is a 400 foot 5.7 route near

Playin' Hooky

. It’s bolted with anchors for 5 short pitches but can be climbed as three long pitches (combine 1 & 2 then 3 & 4). Some parts of it were climbed before the current bolted line went in, but nothing was documented. Start on the 4 foot ledge overhanging the creek, 30 feet below and upstream of the start of

Solid Gold

/

Playin' Hooky

. It's the second route left of

Solid Gold

.

Pitch 1: climb up and left, then follow some small, left-facing corners. Using the left wall of the corner, you can finesse the roof. Belay above the roof on 2 bolts.

Pitch 2: pass a second black overhang to climber's left. Move back right above the overhang. Continue up the bolt line. Staying left of the bolts is easier. For more challenge, climb to the right of the bolts until the last two bolts under the final bulge. Avoid the two huge boulders on the right here, as they may not be attached. Pull through the bulge to the belay.

Pitch 3: the friction move below the second bolt is tricky. Clipping may be more secure if you wait until you get the positive hold just above the bolt. The rest of the pitch is mostly easier. Belay on the 2 x 6 foot ledge on another pair of bolts.

Pitch 4: from the belay bolts, move left then up past 4 bolts to the big grassy ledge. Walk the ledge right to the double bolts under the right side of the overhang. Pitches 3 & 4 can be combined.

Pitch 5: start under the right margin of the overhang, and then steps left (5.7) onto & above it. Enjoy the exposure as you clip the bolts straight up to the skyline. Two bolts 3 feet past the lip support belay at the top.  A chain & a bolt at the lip support lowering sport style. This pitch is 35 meters long. You can’t get back to the belay by lowering on a 60m rope, but there is a rap anchor that you can reach on the upper face.

Descent: rappel the route. From the top, the first rap is to a mid-face anchor above the belay.  A 60 will

not

reach back to the belay from the top. The second rap will drop you to the

Solid Gold

/

Playin' Hooky

rappel anchors. If it’s open, continue down that route. If it’s busy (as it usually is), stay on rap and walk/sidestep over to the P3 anchor of Black Gold. Three more raps will get you down to the base of the cliff. On the last rap, throw the rope towards the

Playin’ Hooky

start. Throwing the rope straight down may put the rope ends in the creek. Landing this rap at the base of

Furlough Day

and retrieving the rope from there helps keep the rope out of the creek.

If you don't want to rap, follow the climber's trail and cairns that will lead you down the eastern gully and back to the approach trail. It's faster than rapping.

Per

Eric Chow

: the "walkoff" down the wrong gully involves some downclimbing and cliffs out above the anchors for the routes near the telephone pole (you might need some shenanigans to do a final rappel (60m rope) back to the approach trail).

Climb past 4 bolts on good rock to a committing pull onto the big black flake.  Delicate moves gain a lieback on the right edge. Follow bolts on the slab to anchors above.

This is a variation to Crackside, but instead of stepping right when the arching crack ends, continue straight up on slightly more difficult face climbing (exciting!), clip a bolt, and beeline for the finger crack above.  Then traverse left past a couple bolts to the rap anchors of

Guppy

. (120')

Rap 35m back to the pod belay where the tyrol is rigged. (You need either 70m rope or two ropes for the rappel.)

Crackside Direct provides an alternate way to eventually get back to the pod belay without having to reverse the traverse.

Eds.

Note, in the event of wanting to/needing to bug off the top crux, you can traverse hard left into the

Guppy

finish.

Crackside follows the obvious, arching crack system on the right side of the south-facing Creek Side wall on the east side of tunnel 6.  Approach by tyrol from the cottonwood tree to the belay pod of

Guppy

and

Fish and Chips

(small pine tree).  Right bolted traverse (5.2) above the water (3 bolts) to a small rock perch and two bolt anchor.

Climb above the belay, clip a bolt and step into the arching crack.  Jam the crack until it stops and traverse right (crux) to join with another crack.  Continue up to a nice ledge with 2 bolt lowering anchor (90').

If you pay attention, your rope won't get wet when you pull it.

Crackside is fun moderate traditional route with great location, good pro, and classic movement between cracks.

Start on the shoulder to the right of

Solid Gold

, just left of a gully/crack system. The first bolt is about 10 feet right of

Solid Gold's

first. The crux is passing the third bolt. From there, continue straight up, and across the left-trending crack system. The second section is steeper but has positive holds. Continue up to the left margin of the roof. Climb the left side of the roof block. It's exciting but not hard. One bolt above leads to the anchors at a big ledge.

From the anchors, its easy to connect to P2 of Solid Gold.  Its 5.4 climbing with two bolts.

While exploring this route, we found an old Oyster shell on the belay ledge.  I imagine that it was the remainder of a romantic picnic lunch shared by a bold couple 20 years ago.

The crux is a series of lay back moves from the second bolt to past the third.  The roof near the top has sharp positive holds and is a grade easier than the crux.

This is a clever, dry, and borderline humorous way to get to/from base of

Brennivin

, back to the other side, via the high tyrol. Surprisingly, this takes less time than approaching

Brennivin

by wading the creek.

The route in itself is kind of fun and interesting. It is plenty easy to do with pack and tennies.

Climb some boulders onto a big ledge. This section is unprotected but very easy. Then go up the left-facing dihedral and onto the face. Use crisp, solid edges up to the anchor. The first ascent was in December 2021.

Bro's Gold is highlighted by dynamic movement through huge roofs some 400 feet above the creek. Most of the rock is great, save for some near the start of pitch 1. If not for the easy climbing and multiple no hands rests that separate the fun cruxes, this could be a classic; however, if you love big moves and exposure but don't have a lot of stamina, you may love it.

Start by climbing the first two pitches of

Big Bro's Watching

or climb one of the easy slabs and traverse the fixed line left to the first two bolt anchor it's attached to (the fixed line is in okay shape as of 6.6.2021). The entire route stays dry during a rain save for the mantel under the final anchor.

P1:

5.11b, 115 feet, 11 bolts, 2 bolt anchor.

Climb up toward a left-scooping section of black rock and a high first bolt (consider extending it). A hand-size cam would protect the section before the first bolt, but it's only 5.5. From here, follow the bolts up and left to the first large roof (crux). Belay at the same pitch 3 stance belay as

Big Bro's Watching

(called the Kidney Killer, but it's not bad as far as exposed belays go).

P2:

5.11c, 70 feet, 7 bolts, 2 bolt anchor.

From the belay, climb up to another roof, but escape right on very easy terrain. Set yourself up for the big dyno (crux) through a third roof, and pull over into the sit-down-and-have-a-picnic rest. Navigate the 4th and final roof with more big moves and a tricky mantel under the chains.

There could be another pitch that goes to the summit, but the rock is garbage and not worth anyone's time.

P1. Start up through some brief horizontal bands, then step left onto the slab/face. Scamper up the thinnish moves on the face (5.7). At bolt 7, the 5.9- crux is slightly left. I found it took some high-stepping, thus the route name.  Staying right easily avoids the harder moves.

P2 is OK 5.6 climbing.

Start off trending left on easy, lower angle rock. Be careful of possible loose rock in this section. Where it steepens, the rock turns solid and the real fun begins. The crux comes early on and then stays fairly continuous (but good feet, so not strenuous) and interesting to the anchors.

Solid Gold is a five pitch route that runs 450 feet up the right side of Creek Side. The line picks out the best features of the grey and black slab that starts 20 feet above the water and then fires up the left side of the huge open-book dihedral that splits the upper section at 300 feet.

P1: (5.9+, bolts and gear) this is a 100 foot pitch that goes on bolts and gear and finishes at a double bolt anchor. The rock is solid all the way and kicks out a couple of fun spots.

P2: (5.8, bolts) is also 100 feet long and is largely quite easy with a couple of 5.8 sections, one right off the belay. It finishes on a ledge at a double bolt belay stance. However, for descent purposes, a higher rap anchor was installed that keeps the rope running clean and off the ledge. This stance is ten feet higher than the belay stance.

P3: (5.8, bolts) is close to 100 feet as well and has a nifty sequence in the middle just above a grassy ledge. It finishes at a three bolt stance.

P4: (5.11d/5.12a, bolts) is 80 feet long and picks out a terrific long crux on bulletproof rock. After leaving the belay, one encounters a few feet of friable stone leading into the solid gold crux - just take this short section with some care. Pull the bulge above on superb stone with inobvious sequences. This pitch finishes at a three bolt stance.

P5: (5.11d, bolts) is 90 feet long and guns for the lip of the overhang on superb stone. A couple of big reaches will gain the edge of the lip and these are followed by a sub-vertical waltz to the little tree at the top and a double bolt anchor. You do have to watch the footwork on the finishing slab.

For the most part, Solid Gold is a very clean route; however, like most things in Clear Creek, it is essential to watch out for any loose rocks. I have cleaned what I think will be climbed, but straying off the line could unearth some dangerous flakes. Fishermen do hang out at the base and are the most troublesome "targets". Rocks ricocheting from the slab will hit the road, trust me. The slab pitches can provide access to new routes (Bob D?) going in left of Solid Gold.

P1. Climb the first two pitches of

Solid Gold

in one long, fun slab pitch. Belay at the first large ledge stretching a single 70m or simul past two more bolts to a second large ledge, 5.8.

P2. Climb past the solid gold anchor, clip the first bolt of

Spun Gold

, and then traverse right on three bolts to the anchors on the face below the Golden Hammer roof, 5.8.

P3. Climb the face traversing left after a few moves on a slopey rail and then fire the roof through the crux to an amazing jug with a tricky mantle about 400 feet off the ground! 5.12-.

P4. Belay above the roof under a slightly overhanging arete. Climb fun, reachy big holds past a few bolts to a crux at the very top of the cliff band involving thin moves to a jug. After you gain the ledge, either move left to the

Spun Gold

anchor (recommended) or climb past one more bolt up and slightly right to another anchor. Cleaning is easy from either, 5.11.

This is a good climb, but it does have some undesirable sections. The crux is the first pitch. The guidebook calls it 5.8, but it feels harder. I fell leading, and my partner fell following; however, the protection is good. We both thought it was about 10a in difficulty. You traverse left after the difficulties to a #4 Camalot-sized crack. It is a good idea to protect the start of this traverse for the second in case they fall off the crux.

The second pitch is easy, about 5.5. The guidebook says it is 5.2. The last part is about 5.2, but it is harder for about 50 feet above the pitch one anchor. There is a single bolt on this pitch about 20 feet below the anchor.

The next pitch is 5.7 and goes up easy terrain to a hand crack that angles right to left. It looks difficult from below but is not too hard. You can see the anchor above.

The last pitch starts up a chimney left of the anchor and follows a thin crack which moves left. This is a fun pitch and is 5.8. It protects with lots of small cams. A red tri-cam is great to have at the top. The pitch ends at a bolted anchor.

There is an alternate first pitch about 10 feet left of the main start which is more direct. This optional start is 5.9 and protects well going up a left-facing dihedral before moving right below a protectable roof.

Do crux moves out the top of the bowl, climb to a large black intrusion, do another crux move at the headwall above, and follow bolts to the anchor.

This is a work in progress.

Getting to the anchors from

Creek Nation

crosses loose rock. There a large, loose block yet to be cleaned.

There is a line between

Guppy

and

Crackside Direct

that ascends a black intrusion band and is largely protectable with gear.  It was climbed long ago with Ken's explorations back in the days when hexes ruled the Earth.  At the time, he did it with his neighbor, they didn't think it was a first ascent and hence didn't name it (sounds familiar, yes, it occurred on

Crackside

, too).

You can start this line either from the

Guppy

pod angling up and right towards the black intrusion or from the 2 bolt anchor of

Crackside

and angling left.  Perhaps 30 feet up you can choose left and the tiny, right-facing dihedral or up the blocky black rock.  Continue upward protecting using discontinuous features until you get to the finger/thin crack mentioned in

Crackside Direct

.  You can finish in this thin feature or move a couple feet right on bigger features to gain the leftward traverse past 2 bolts and the semi-hanging belay and anchor for

Guppy

.

Rappel 115'.

Spun Gold is a variation to

Solid Gold

that splits off at the final two pitches. P1, P2, and P3 are shared with

SG

.

P4, 5.11c/d, splits right off the belay and quickly encounters bullet proof rock on a steep head wall at 5.11c/d. Exit the crack above at 5.11b and step left to a hanging belay.

P5, 5.12a/b, launches left from the belay and starts up a left facing corner. NB: after the fourth clip, drop back down and transition right into the open book dihedral directly above the belay. The original intent had been to launch directly into the open book, but reefing off a couple of flakes shut off this option. Moving through and above the dihedral picks up a bit of runout, but it's not a lot, just stay on the feet. Chase up the head wall on some killer incut slots to a final perplexing crux just below a small tree. The rap station is located above the ledge in order to keep your ropes running clean.

Spun Gold was freed in the Spring of 2006, but after some discussion I moved several bolts that altered the start of P5, and Mark Tarrant strung the entire line together for the FFA.

Finally! A mega moderate that graces the slabs of Creekside.

This is a long 1 pitch route that steers clear of the hard last 2 pitches of

Solid Gold,

and stays consistent with the difficulty of the first 2 beautiful pitches of that route. With that said I want to thank Richard, Mark, and Koko for their excellent route Solid Gold. Their efforts on solid gold are the only reason this route was even possible.  So we Thank You.

Start with the first 2 pitches of

Solid Gold

. I recommend linking both for a full value 200 foot rope-stretcher. This either takes a lot of draws, or some discipline to skip a few bolts through easier terrain (Make sure your belayer is tied in and ready to go, and you belay from the lower of 2 anchors on the ledge.)

P1: (5.9, bolts, 100 feet) this is a 100 foot pitch that goes on bolts and finishes at a double bolt anchor. The rock is solid all the way and kicks out a couple of fun spots.

P2: (5.8, bolts, 100 feet) is also 100 foot long and is largely quite easy with a couple of 5.8 sections, one right off the belay. It finishes on a ledge at a double bolt belay stance. However, for descent purposes, a higher rap anchor was installed that keeps the rope running clean and off the ledge. This stance is ten feet higher than the belay stance.

P3: (5.7, 2 bolts, 40 feet) this is essentially a pitch to move your anchor slightly higher before stepping over to Playin' Hooky. Belay on the large grassy ledge at a 2 bolt anchor.

P4 (5.8, 14 bolts, 150 feet) time for some exposure! Step right from the belay, clip the first bolt, dodge a bush, and embark on 140 feet of fun climbing with a steep exposed finale. It is possible to walk to the summit from the top of this pitch.

There is an intermediate rap station to the right of the climbing line, this allows you to get down with a 60m rope; a 70m rope will not get you back to the ledge with out this anchor!*

Descent: 4 near-100 foot raps with a 60m will get you back down.

R1: from the top of Playin' Hooky, rap 90 feet to the intermediate anchor in the slab.

R2: knot your ends. Rap 100 feet down to the top of the 2nd pitch of

Solid Gold

.

R3: knot your ends. Rap 100 feet down to the hanging belay at the top of pitch 1.

R4: rap 100 feet down to your packs!

Tread lightly past one bolt to another ledge, clip the second bolt, and launch into some of Clear Creek's most fun, steep climbing around. There is a very distinct crux on this one, with sustained 11+(ish) moves taking you to the anchor.

Ker-plunk!

Rhett Wench starts to the left of the tyrol belay pod on the south facing wall at Creek Side.  The big-ass Brennivin Roof is to the left.  Approach by tyrol (see area description comments under Creek Side), and then yard on the fixed(!) handline 15' left to the belay 'scoop'.

Mr. Rhett Wench climbs the left black slab, grey shield, capped by two roofs.

P1. Cruise past 6 clips (5.5) to 3 bolt belay anchor on a ramp.

P2. Lieback up the crack and mantle to a quick rest stance (.11-). Continue up the steep and devious face sequence (crux), traversing right to the handrail, then back left on the handrail, brief slab moves and up to the roofs.  Finger traverse out the right side of the first roof (.11-), blind-clip a bolt, and pull over to another rest below the bigger overhang.  Clip the bolt in the overhang, and enjoy the gymnastic movement to the anchors (.10).  12 bolts.  Lower 90' back to the belay.  Rap P1, and reverse your way back to the pod, and tyrol.

Very cool and technical climb, great exposure.

The new Clear Creek Canyon guide lists this as a two pitch climb, but I have just done the first pitch.  It is a long pitch, requiring all of a 70m rope for lowering or rappelling.  The route starts just to the left of the first pitch of "

Solid Gold

".

Start the route by doing a leftward-ascending traverse, clipping 3 to 4 bolts over progressively steeper terrain.  The crux is a small roof around bolt 4/5.  For a shorter climber, you have to work your feet up a bit and use a mix of handholds to reach up and get the clip.  Continue to work your feet up, and pull over the roof with a high step.  The rest of the route is 5.7/5.8 climbing.  There is a two bolt anchor from which you can be lowered or rappel.

I've been looking at this line for a while and finally gave it a go. After trying to persuade anyone to join me, I had no such luck. Something about loose rock really turns people off. I decided to rope solo it and see how it went. Have your route finding down. This route is serious in a few places. No bolts were placed. If you can deal with adventure, a little loose rock, and some runouts, then I think this is a good route with good exposure. If you want good rock, avoid this.

Psychotic Love starts in the left-slanting crack system to the left of the

Craig Luebben Memorial Route

. Belay from the lone bolt at the base. You also have to do the low fifth class traverse to get over here which in itself creates some adventure.

P1. Work up in the awkward crack (#4 useful), and once it ends, continue up face climbing with gear here and there, but a bit of it is questionable. After almost 50 meters, a nice little pod in a dihedral is presented that you can't see from the ground. Build the anchor carefully here (5.9+).

P2. Get ready for a a fun ride. Your goal is to basically aim for the double bolt anchors high up and left and 50 meters away. (

Fool's Gold

anchors). This pitch is the route finding crux for sure. Continue up another 20 feet to the top of the sort of dihedral you belayed in. Place a 0.4 in here and extend it like crazy. A long traverse left with no gear (at least I couldn't find any) eventually leads you to the ledge with the fixed ropes. It's the second to last bolt for the fixed ropes if I remember, where you work up over an exciting roof. It's the main weakness in this roof section. From here, traverse left, up and then back right via a airy small ledge to the anchors of

Fool's Gold

before its 5.11 pitch. There is a nice little ledge (5.10a R).

P3. Clip the first bolt and do a cruxy move to surmount the small roof. From here, you traverse straight left from underneath the fixed quickdraw for

Fool's Gold

. Work your way up the weakness to eventually traverse back right over bushes to the bolt with a fixed biner. You then continue straight up the dihedral to the top. There are a couple fixed, junky pieces. You are soon underneath a small roof with sketchy rock and sketchy gear pretty far below. Take a deep breath, and gun it for the top. A nice tree to the left is presented (5.10 R). You could also traverse far left and avoid the top sketchy bit of climbing, if you get bad weather, to the tree.

The 2nd bolt is the crux. This line has positive holds and good foot placement.

Sooo, you know that route

Rosy Crucifixion

.... Well, the CCC has got its own version now!

This is one of the most unique pitches I've climbed in CCC, guaranteed to put a smile on  your face.

Link the first 2 pitches of

Solid Gold

to the large belay ledge.

Climb 50 feet of the 3rd pitch of

SG

.  Bust right to start up

Playin' Hooky

.  Belay on the ledge with the intermediate rap station in the middle of the

PH

slab.

Creekafixion P1 5.11, 80 feet.

The Money Pitch! Start from the rap station in the middle of the

PH

slab.  Climb up the slab for 4-5 bolts then angle up and left to 2 bolts leading up to the giant roof on the left side of the slab. Stem the dihederal and begin tip-toeing out over the massive roof. A sequence of underclings, crimps and tenuous smearing past 3 more bolts will deposit you at a 2 bolt belay. Wild!

DON'T use a Guide or Reverso in auto-block mode. If your second falls, you will have a very hard time unlocking the device.

From here, you can either rap back to the midway belay on

Playin' Hooky

, or top out via two different 5.11 options.

It is possible to link both pitches but not recomended since you will not be able to hear or see your partner during the crux traverse.

P2 5.11-, 60 feet.

The original finish was to step right off the belay, mantle on to a sloping ledge, and follow a crumbly corner feature to the top, but with the recent addition of

Golden Hammer

, you now can take that routes fourth pitch to the top for a much more classic finish in the 11+ range.

Descent: Several rap options exist.  The best option is from the anchor on top of

Spun Gold

to the

Playin' Hooky

anchor in the middle of the slab, then down Solid gold from there. Or top out completely and walk over to the

Solid Gold

raps, or 4th class scramble down to the raps for

Playin' Hooky

.

Brennivin is a beautiful crack splitting a 30 foot roof on Creek Side crag - the buttress located on the North side of the river between the last tunnel before I-70 and The Dog House. The roof lies in the center of the crag at the river's bend. It is the most obvious feature on the buttress.

The approach pitch is 10d or 11a face climbing on solid, black-gray rock. The approach pitch had been bolted by unknown climbers prior to my ascent. The roof had one bolt located low down. The roof was aided and cleaned with nuts left in place as fixed pro. The crux - a right hand surf move to gain the crack - was protected by a tied off Lost Arrow. The roof is a giant jamming jug fest - the best first free ascent I've ever done. The belay needs replacing, as it causes some rope shredding.

P1. 80 feet, 5.10+. From the back of the amphitheater, climb vertical rock past 4 or 5 bolts to easier terrain, and lieback an exposed 5.7ish flake to the 2 bolt anchor.

P2. 40 feet, 5.9. Climb into a right-facing corner, capped by a small roof. Pass roof to the left. Belay on the anchors at the start of P3 of

Fool's Gold

.

If you're in the "

Big Bro

" amphitheater, you might look at Little Sister.

Climb on steep and interesting rock to a committing move at the fifth bolt to gain the undercling on the slab above.  Pull down not out on the flake at mid-height.

Only a fool like me would get so obsessed with a gem like this.  It's pretty surreal to have finally done this thing.  I've looked at this line for 3 years and had actually gone up to bolt it on 2 other occasions, but I'm glad I waited until now.  I bolted this route entirely on my own, mostly after work over the course of 2 weeks.  With that said, I want to thank Jeff, Lance, and Steve for your help during FA attempts.

The route starts on

Solid Gold

but then climbs on new territory for 4 pitches with an amazing finish on an overhanging arete.  The route can be linked into 3 pitches with some simul-climbing and good rope management.  The last pitch is a beautiful overhanging arete with great position and would be a classic at any crag, but is guarded by some 2 star climbing that you'll forget about as soon as you are on the arete. Bring your desire for some adventure (even though it's a sport route) and have fun.

P1. 5.8, 200 feet:

Link the first 2 pitches of

Solid Gold

.

P2. 5.0, 160 feet, 7 bolts:

From the low anchor, traverse left accross a ledge system. Pass the anchor for Big Bros and continue on for another 80 feet. (Be mindful of loose rock.)

(It is possible to link this and the first pitch with about 115 feet of simul-climbing.)

P3. 5.11-, 60 feet, 6 bolts:

Pull a low roof (crux) into a band with some bad rock that's easy to avoid, then lieback up some good gold stone to a nice belay ledge.

P4. 5.11-, 90 feet, 11 bolts:

Step right off the belay, then traverse back left (10+), pull a small overhang, then rest on a ledge under a roof.  Traverse cool blocks right across the roof to a jug, pull the roof to the left (crux) and tip toe through another short rotten band.  Pull another small roof on good stone and continue up great stone to a ledge below the loft.  Either belay out left at the rap anchor for a nice view of your partner, or climb up the short crack to the right up to the 3 bolt anchor in the Loft.

(This pitch requires at least 4 slings. Also the 3rd and 4th pitches can be linked, but I wouldn't do this until you are familiar with the route.)

P5. 5.12+, 55 feet, 8 bolts.... The Reward!

Well you made it hear, now it's time to take in some exposures on one of the coolest aretes I've ever climbed. It's gymnastic, the holds are perfect, and it's really exposed!

Hand traverse left across an incut rail. Make a long hard move to gain the arete and a marginal rest.  Slap up the arete to a foot cutting toss to an edge (crux).  Snag a jug and another couple of 5.11 moves drop you at the anchor.  Awesome.

Make sure to get a good swing (exciting) as you lower down, so you can get back into the ledge right below the loft.  If you can't make it in, your belayer can throw you a loop of slack and pull you in. Also, the best way to clean your draws is to follow the pitch, since you could take a dangerous swing otherwise.

Descent:

This will sound way more complicated than it is, but it's really easy if you pay attention.

Just below the loft to the left is a 2 bolt anchor.  The best way to get both climbers here is to have one climber lead then lower off the arete and swing in to this anchor.  TR belay your partner up the arete, then have them lower and swing in to the anchor as well (if draws are fixed, they don't have to climb at all. Just simply lower them).  Pull the rope off the arete, and rap.

R1 80 feet:

Trend climber's left and clip one rope to a fixed biner to the left of the 4th pitch, this will keep your rope from traveling over any dangerous edges and drop you off right at the next anchor.

R2 60 feet:

Trend climber's right, and clip the fixed biner on the 3 bolt of the 3rd pitch.  Same thing, this will keep you from swinging over any dangerous edges and puts you right on the anchor again.

From here, pull the rope and lead back across the ledge system to

Solid Gold

.

R3

Rap 100 feet down P2 of

Solid Gold

.

R4

Rap 100 feet to the ground.

Not so bad, right?

Description

Protection

Routes in Creek Side