This is your typical ultrabrutal Scott Blunk route (whatever happend to this guy anyway?).  This route is right up there with 'big pink' on the Vedauwoo can-you-say-the-grade-with-a-straight-face meter.

Just right of the route

Country Western Swing aka Mystery Blocks

is a shallow, hanging corner/seam, that heads up to a really nice finger crack flake sort of thing.  There are 2 ways to start:

A) start directly up the corner.  At first glance it looks like the protection will be terrible, but you can get a couple really good nuts in.  At first, you will be worried about them plugging up your fingerlocks, but rest assured, there is no way in hell you are going to get your fingers in there.  Desperately try like hell to finagle your way up to the shallow flared jam or:

B) start up

Mystery Blocks

and clip the first bolt on that route.  Then perform a balancy traverse to the right to get to the shallow flared jam.  The bolt will barely keep you from cratering and braking your ankles, but falling is still not really advised here.

Great, so now we get to the good stuff.  Launch up into the finger crack above.  there are some great jams, but the crack is very overhanging, leaning, and it is hard to incorporate the feet into the gig.  PHYSICAL!

Call Me Barney

Wicked

The Rookie

Repoman

Live and Let Live

Haas Offwidth

The Eliminate Inversion Adventure

Country Western Swing aka Mystery Blocks

My Clone Sleeps Alone

Storm Watch

Spectreman

Approach 4.0

The Egg Crack

It is the obvious dike feature that snakes from left to right.  Scramble up onto the slab to begin the route, the first bolt can be clipped from there.  Move your way up the face on large, not so positive holds.  At the third bolt, traverse right to the finish of Call Me Barney (the thin crack), and top out.  This is a rad climb that flows nicely.

This is a really fun and technical crack! Start on the obvious and heavily chalked undercling at the back of the cave and move out the roof using ever thinner jams.  The crux revolves around a sequence of first knuckle locks.  After establishing yourself over the lip, climb back down a move or two and step back down to the ground.  This crack is very sequential, the moves are interesting, and the rock is quality. I would recommend this one to anyone looking to tick Vedauwoos hard boulder problems.  A bit of an eliminate, the flake system about a foot and a half to the left of the crack is off for both hands and feet, though the obvious flake handhold which touches the crack right at the lip is on.

With enough pads The Rookie could probably be bouldered.  However, doing the moves is only half the experience.  The other half involves wondering if the small cams and wires that you have placed are going to keep you off the ground if you fall at the crux.

Start by pulling over a small roof, grabbing some interesting face holds and carefully placing the your first pieces.  Once you are ready, move past your gear, and into the crux which involves powerful moves between flaring finger locks.  Keep moving until you reach the next "good" lock about 6 feet above your gear.  Throw something in, make a few more bizarre, yet easy moves into the groove and clip the chains.

Excellent rock, great moves, nice mental challenge, but a bit too short to get four stars.  Definitely recommended.

This is the right-facing corner just left of

Spectreman

. It is an attractive line, if you climb the grade you'll want to climb it. This gets a 5.11c grade in the Kelman book and an intimidating 5.12b PG-13 in the Orenczak book; quite a discrepancy. I figured I'd give it a go and find out for myself, the gear is a bit tricky, but it protects well and has a sustained crux that keeps you fully engaged for a few body-lengths. It is no gimme and has fun movement.

As to the grade discrepancy, .11c seems a little mean sitting right next to

Spectreman

, but there's no way this is .12b, or PG-13 rated. In all fairness, I'd reckon

Spectreman

is .11a and Repoman deserves a stout .11+.

This is an interesting climb in an odd position. It has good rock and good protection leading to a fixed anchor. This would be a reasonable lead for a beginning trad leader, BUT you must climb the much harder [Approach 4.0]]106789250 to reach the upper tier.

After reaching the upper tier via [Approach 4.0]]106789250, walk eastward past "

My Clone...

", "Real Men...", and "

Storm Watch

".  Just inside the cave-like opening behind a leaning pillar is a tight, right-facing corner with a clean, short crack. Climb up this cave/corner/chimney exiting right though a wide slot (not a squeeze) and head right onto a ledge. Head back left (3-4" cam for protection) onto a ledge formed by the top of the pillar that created the cave, and then up the easy slab above this (5.3 moves with no pro above the ledge) to a bolt-and chain anchor. Belay here then rap off to the climber's left of the pillar back to the upper tier ledge.

This problem is slightly obscure and is located in the middle of the South Face of the Heap, near the upper tier rope routes.  Crank through the overhanging handcrack as it widens into an offwidth at the top.

There are many more established problems around around this, both face and crack boulder problems although this is the best one.  You can contact me for a small guide of about 20 other established problems there.

This is a really fun problem!  The eliminate element of the problem is that the big flake to the right of the crack, as well as the big feet at the base of it, are off.  Start on the jug rail at the back of the cave and do a move or two of fingers to get to the hands at the lip.  After reaching the last pod a couple feet above the lip, after which the crack disappears completely, stem over to the aspen out left and use the aspen as well as the crack in front of the aspen to top out on the little pedestal.  Downclimb from here or top out the formation.

This is a slightly flared, hand crack in a right-facing dihedral. Belay on top. Walk towards

Spectreman

area and make two raps to the base of

Spectreman

.

Itching for some more handcracks after ticking

Spectreman

?  Check out the upper tier of The Heap (South Face).  This is a great pitch of thin hands to layback fingers to a wide crux exit. Belay/rap at the anchors atop the formation.

This route is the gem of the Upper Blair area and one of the best at Vedauwoo. Park at the end of FR 705AF. Spectreman Buttress is on the south east end of The Heap, which is the farthest north formation in Upper Blair. Follow faint trails from the parking area around either the north or south sides of the Heap to the far end. You can't miss the route. It is at the top of a huge slab with clear views in the opposite direction of the back side of Central Vedauwoo.

The route is straightforward, 70 feet of hard, overhanging jamming with some ok stemming, but few rests. You can set gear anywhere you want to and there are good anchors at the top. The anchors are equipped with Mussy Hooks. Have fun!!!

This route is most often climbed to reach the upper tier, where there are some quality, short pitches.

Start up the low angle dihedral and engage the steep, crux dihedral. A fist jam allows you to reach the solution hold. Follow low angle rock for another 100 feet to the upper tier, which is on the right. Another short pitch to the left will access the top of the formation.

This is another obscure crack boulder problem in the middle of the South Face of The Heap.  Locate the overhanging

Haas Offwidth

, then walk roughly 150 feet to the left.  Climb the fingercrack to the top.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in The Heap