Just left of the corner/crack start of Owl's Highway and to the right of a big left facing corner, where Crack of the World starts, is a steep, blunt, bolted arete. This route shares the first pitch anchor with those neighbors. A tough fingery start gets you into some powerful dynamic moves. Finish up the fun arete. Just because it is all bolted doesn't mean it is an easy hit. A big wing span is helpful.

Smitty's Sport Route

Open Spaces

The RGC (Roger Gagne Classic)

Cross Eyed Owl

Crack of the World

Owl's Highway

Owl Be Seeing Ya

Standing at the base, below The Smoky Dike, look to the left and up high. On the skyline you will see a zigging handcrack up an arching flake. Get in the right spot and you can actually see right through it. Here is how you get there, because I know you want to:

Pitch 1 starts in the left facing, big corner to the left of Owl's Highway. Because the bottom is wet, head up the finger crack just left of it, which then arches over and brings you back to the corner. Continue up, clipping a couple bolts, get a shake and finish out through the steep slot to the shared bolted belay of RGC and Owl's Highway. 11c 

Pitch 2 shares with The RGC. Head up the crack above the belay for about 10 -15 feet until you can do the long fun traverse right which gets you to flakes that take you up to the next bolted belay. Above you is the arching crack that from the ground made you want to climb it. 5.8

Pitch 3: Head up more flakes to gain the steep crack. It becomes wider and more pumpy as you go until it is rattly fist sized. As it starts to arch over to the right, reach up and left and pull your self over to the bolt belay. 11c

Pitch 4: Walk over the slab to the wall on the left. establish yourself on the wall (crux) and head up and left to a bolted belay at the top of the cliff. 10c

Getting down: Carefully rap, making use of the intervening bolted belays below. A single 60 m rope will get you down with a few stops.

This is another former project that I have TRed a bunch of times, but embarrassingly have never lead successfully. I tried a couple times but chickened out at the crux and grabbed the draw, which is silly because it is very well protected. Edit - finally lead by Michael Larson and Conor Cliffe 7/4/2015If you head down left from the Smoky Dike, there are some big blocks leaning against the wall on your right. Climb up the steep hand/finger crack in the blocks. From the top carefully lean out and clip a bolt and head up the steep white face, crimping your way to a very thin, technical crimp crux and a pop to a good hold ( a little reachy, could be very hard if shorter than ~5.7). Continue up on juggy flakes (optional cam) until you can clip a bolt and do a committing step out right to a slabby ramp. Smear your way up the ramp to a final headwall to a mantle onto a sloping ledge and the anchors.

The 4 pitch RGC (Roger Gagne Classic) is a superb 5.8+ route, that would be a great way to get to know the middle part of the cliff. It works it's way up and right across the wall, with great climbing and incredible positioning that will keep you focused and entertained while at a moderate grade.Pitch 1 climbs a short steep corner to gain a shallow right angling scoop that gets you up onto a ledge (gear and 2 bolts). Head right, following the easy but cool arching flake across the slab to the shared anchors. This is the original start. Alternatively, do the first pitch of Owl's Highway 5.8+(my choice) directly up to the same anchors.Pitch 2: Head straight up the crack about 15 feet, then traverse right following a seam for maybe 30-40 feet until you can head up flakes to a bolted anchor below the arching Crack of the World - a great pitchPitch 3 Head up the flakes like you are doing Crack of the World, but before the arch, look for a bolt protected traverse heading right. Balancy moves will get you over to the corner. Make sure you use slings well here to lessen rope drag. Continue traversing out the corner and pull around the arete, crossing the last pitch of Owl Be Seeing You which you could join as an alternative finish if the normal route looks wet. After pulling around the arete, continue traversing left, balancing with no hands as you shuffle your feet across a horizontal to a nice ledge. Make sure you protect your second as soon as you reach the ledge. Continue over to the anchor at the base of a pillar.Pitch 4: -often wet. Layback up the hanging pillar/ flake to a bolted anchor and lower back down. From the 3rd pitch anchor you can get down with 2 rappels on a single rope, making use of the anchors of the route below (Open Spaces 12a). The pillar can be seen here.

This is the burly horizontal crack on the lower portion of the steep Open Spaces Wall, that traverses right from the start of Owl's Highway, out around the arete and along to a steep exit. This is an exciting route, only marred by some gravelyness in the horizontal crack. It is pumpy! as the feet gradually get out of reach.  

  Head up the corner crack of Owl's Highway until you can reach out right and clip a bolt with a long sling. Keep traversing the crack right until you can clip a bolt and head up steep moves to a ledge and a bolted anchor. 

The 5.9 first pitch of this route is a popular alternative and easiest direct way to get up to the first belay of The RGC, Crack of the World and various projects that lead off from there, and is good in it's own right. 

P! ascends off the flat block in the trail mentioned in the main RGC-Open Spaces area, up the crack in a corner that turns into an offwidth at the top. If you don't want to squirm up the offwidth, a more dignified and to my mind much easier alternative is to reach out left to the nice juggy flake and head straight up on more of the same. Reach up high and you will find them and be able to top out and step over to the bolted belay. There may be a fixed hex pounded into the crack down low. If so, lease leave it there, as it is otherwise difficult to protect the bottom's oddly shaped crack start.

P2 Climb up and slightly right from the 1st anchor, then move straight up as the RGC traverses to the right  continuing past where The RGC breaks right, then move a little right to stacked blocks on a ledge that you can climb up onto (scary - Dave plans to add a bolt here), allowing you to gain a crack\corner system that takes you up to the 3rd anchor of The Crack of the World. Finish by doing the last pitch of The Crack of the World. Rap back down the route in three drops with a single 60m.

This two pitch route, named after one of many repeat breakups, ascends up the middle of the RGC/Open Spaces face, aiming for the obvious dual cracks you can see if you step out from the cliff below.The first pitch (11d) is mostly steep bolt protected technical crimping. The very beginning is a bit gnarly, with powerful moves off crystalline holds, but bear with it as the rock and climbing gets better as you go. Rather than following the bolts directly up to the first small ledge at the horizontal break, clip, then move left on the big flake and then up. Off the ledge you will encounter the crux that may require a small deadpoint. Continue up the technical climbing with crimps, sidepulls, deadpoints and slopers. There is a #3 Camalot placement before reaching the bolted anchor, otherwise you can have your second bring the rack up for the second pitch.For pitch two (5.10+), head up right to the wide stem slot that cuts through the big left leaning and facing corner (bolts). Work your way out of this and stem and layback up the parallel cracks (crux) with a couple blind cam placements. Continue on easier ground up towards a right facing corner. You can get a nice thread on the way if you have your nut tool to poke it through. Head up the corner a little, then jog left on a flake and crack system. Near the top a crack will angle you back right to the bolted anchors. Two single 60 m rope raps will get you back to the ground.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in RGC - Open Spaces Area