I need to chime in to keep these rumors from turning into legend. Derek & I have spent 7 days bolting, making safe, and occasionally even climbing this route. “Mr. 13b” did put in the first bolt (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away) and the grade does seem to be in the 13+ range.
To respect the local ethic & history, we bolted by hand on lead. After three long days of bolting we hit a true wall. We had passed the V7(ish) crux and hit a section that was all underclings and 90deg sidepulls. We spent an entire day trying to find any way to place the 11th bolt and came to the realization that bolting a ladder would be the only way to continue bolting on lead. So, we could have just stopped the route at 65% of the wall or start grid bolting the thing. We brought a ¼” drill bit and a piece of ¼” rod to hang from. Both of us tried to summon the courage to drill meaningless holes in the rock and both of us could not. The rock is so steep there, that it would take two or three “work holes” for every actual bolt. That means we get 3 or 4 holes in the rock for every bolt.
We spent three hours trying to do this and staring at the atrocity that is Ranger Bolt Ladder. Then, we debated the meaning behind the ground up ethic. I know that it is intended to have a sense of adventure, but the main point is to make us think twice about putting hammer to drill. Isn’t the point to protect the rock and do as little damage to the rock as is necessary? So, is a bolt ladder preferable to hanging from a rope? We even discussed leaving it as is. Yes, another ¾ bolted project on the back side of the Monolith. At least it would have good company.
In the end we decided that we had tried our best; we had drilled several bolts that would have meant ground falls if our piece popped, we tried every shenanigan that I learned from bolting previously at Pinns, we had made it 70’ up the wall, & Derek even had the pleasure of taking a dinner plate sized piece to the back (from 60’) when my hook tore it from the wall. We refused to place three holes for every bolt, so we lowered in and placed a couple bolts. [I know that this may not sit well with everyone, but I will gladly discuss it with anyone who wants to.] Over, the next few days we continued the bolting on aid and lead until we hit the top.
The route is massive at over 37 meters. It has two distinct cruxes and 17 bolts (almost all of which were bolted on lead). We removed the makeshift anchor someone placed above and removed the current deadly Ranger Bolts anchor. We then place one solid anchor that both routes can use, very close to the original Ranger anchor.
We then removed several death blocks and started working the route. We have climbed every move, but really don’t know how hard it will end up being. 13+? 14-? Or, will we find some super-tricky sequence? We will not be able to find out until the fall, unless a massive cold snap hits.
Anyway, I know that was long, but I didn’t want to have any doubt as to how the route went up and what the grade will be.
Karl
