This is a pretty obvious line that follows the grungy, right-facing corner (which climbs surprisingly well) to a blocky, weird roof. Get ready for some St. Vrains funk here. It continues in a crack past a tree and then up to the top of Stone Temple Pilots. When I climbed it, we traversed right during the second pitch to the anchors of

White Shores

which worked nicely and made the descent only one rappel.

Rat Crack

White Shores

Walking on Paper

Black Ramp

The Pandemic

Rat Crack Direct

Turd Burglar

Ain't No Puppy

Big Dogs Variation

Revocation

Sweatin' to the Oldies

Gravity's Rainbow

The Skin Tollbooth

Big Dogs on the Prowl

Independent Worm Saloon

Deodorant

Start with the thin crack downhill from

White Shores

. We started with the new variation, we will call it PIB, (Poison Ivy Bypass). Use every size cam on this route, little stuff to a #3 Camalot. Traverse out of the roof, and clip two, nicely placed bolts. Then fire up the finger crack to the anchors below

Gravity's Rainbow

. It is way fun and protects well. This may be on the softer side of 11. The crux, at the bolts, is short. The traverse out of the roof was in the mid-10 range.

White Shores climbs an enjoyable white slab found on the far right side of the crag.  Place a few pieces of gear to get started and undercling to the left to the first bolt.  There are a number of mini cruxes, but the height dependent one at the second bolt might get you thinking.

Rap from a 2 bolt anchor with chains....

This route protected well but was spicy.

30' below the wide crack, find a left-facing corner with a small overhang on theleft. Climb the arete then crack, and trend left at the top of the wing. At the base of the chimney, find gear, then squeeze up. The second flake on right takes small nuts and cams in the back. Near top of chimney, break out on the right face, go up 20' until below an overhang, go left through cracks, and continue to top with good pro.

The well-protected start (5.9) is shared with

Rat Crack

/

Direct

. It involve a long easy traverse left to the 'black ramp' which has 2 bolts (5.9+). The ramp section is pretty cool and requires some thought. It ends at a 2 bolt anchor with slings/cord and a rappel ring (shared with 1st pitch for

Revocation

).

Start low and right on sloping edges, and follow an arete and crack system on the left to top out up and left. Definitely bring some pads, the top out can be pretty dicey.

Sit start on the right side of the boulder, right hand crimp in  crack, left hand sloper.  Throw up and left to good sloper jug then continue left with some cheekspreading magic to make the long move to the next crimper in the angular crack system, top out!

This requires technical footwork and tricky hands.

The route was pretty good and contained some great climbing, but it also had some flakey rock and insecure moves and lichen. It gets 1 star for now, but it might clean up to two.

Approach as for '

Revocation

.' From the trail, walk out and left on the ledge, which is flat, but as you go left, the ground falls away below... the ledge ends at a pair of corners, '

Revocation

' is the cleaner corner on the right, and 'Ain't No Puppy' is the wider line on the right with the remnants of a bush in it. Set a belay of a large stopper and a 1st-knuckle sized cam on the end of the ledge at the corner.

Climb up into the left corner, (5.9-) past some awkward moves- these might get more secyure if the crack becmes cleaner. Continue up to a wide section of crack in a corner (5.8) and into the great jams in the bulge above (5.9).

You will arrive at a bolt and link belay. Rap 95' to the starting ledge, or 115' (70m rope) to the ground.

Start underclinging the crack with a boulder to your back, and your feet on the rail to the left of the crack.  Work your way up and over the lip any which way you can. SCARY TOPOUT.

This one pitch variation to "

Big Dogs on the Prowl

(5.12a)" climbs the enjoyable thin corner above the bolted 5.12a start. Four bolts protect this 5.10 section, which is accessed on the right by a low fifth class ledge system.  This corner could be lead on gear with small cams to a #0.5 Camalot, although some of the placements might be tricky/pumpy on lead.

Rap from a 2 bolt anchor with chains....

Revocation is a route that has some great climbing but is too broken up to be a great line overall. Still, it is worth doing. Find the upper half of the climb as decribed in the "location" text. The anchors are at the ledge above the arate and handcrack, to trace the line downward, look to the pointed flake below the roof, following a horizontal down and left to a right-leaning dihedral and to the base of the corner, on a large ledge that is accessed via a 30-foot traverse from the ground/trail.

From the trail, walk out and left on the ledge, which is flat, but as you go left the ground falls away below... the ledge ends at a pair of corners, 'Revocation' is the cleaner corner on the right, and '

Ain't No Puppy

' is the wider line on the [left] with the remnants of a bush in it. Set a belay of a large stopper and a 1st-knuckle-sized cam on the end of the ledge at the corner.

Climb up and right into the steep corner, getting a small cam or two and then doing 5.9 moves to reach a series of hand jams. Continue up and right under a curving overhang (5.8). You will reach a roof with a crack going out right. Hand traverse in the crack out right with gear (5.8-) or foot traverse lower without gear (5.5) to reach a broad slot below the roof mentioned in the "Location" instructions and the crack piercing it. With hands on either side, work up into a stem and mantle, and climb the crack for a few moves (get good gear!) of 5.9+ until the crack becomes too awkward, then reach for incuts on the left face and make a few final moves to reach a ledge (5.8) with bolted anchors with webbing and a steel ring. The anchor was refurbished on 4/3/09.

There is a second pitch going up and left through cracks in a left-facing corner system, (5.9 at Bulge, then lower angle 5.7) and on to the top and walk off, or rap ~90' to the ground. A 60m rope reaches easily, a 50m is questionable.

P1. Climb up thru the small A-shaped roof, and go either, L) 9+ and a bit runout, or R) 9 awkward crack with good jams (either way is very short). Climb through the center crack to the large ledge. Due to rope drag, you may want to move the belay up to here. Climb up through the bolts and the crux moves, 10a/b. It's a tad runout above the second bolt, but the climbing is very easy - go straight above the second bolt for a good cam behind a "flake" or just run it out up and right to the anchors left of the small tree.

P2. (PG-13) Climb up the wide crack to the base of the large dihedral. Traverse right to the arete - the flake above will take a cam, but it is rather rotten granite, and the traverse is short and easy (5.4). Drop in a cam, and climb the crack up to the massive ledge with the boulders. Find tricky gear at the end (and 5.8), or traverse right as the crack seams-out and take the short, wide crack to the ledge. Take a nap on the ledge!

P3. Walk behind the boulders to the north end of the ledge (note the rap anchors on the boulder near the edge), and climb up the wide, freaky-lookin' face crack (5.9+). . . . You can also climb the overhanging dihedral to the right of the crack at about 5.9+ - a separate route and fun climbing. Climb up to the ledge and the "memorial" and cave - note the rap station.

P4. Climb up the cool chimney (inside or out) out of the cave to top out (note the old bolt on the right at the top).

Rap the route; walk off around the south (watch for poison ivy); walk off around to the north - for the walk-offs you first have to walk up a bit.

Gravity's Rainbow is an obvious, left-leaning, hand-to-small-hands crack at the top of the crag just to the right of

Revocation

. When you are up there, you can't miss it.

Start on what looks like a sloping rail on the right side of the boulder, and make one desperate move up and left to another sloper, match, and top out.

Variation (V6) - start left hand on the arete and right hand on the sloping rail, dyno to the lip, and top out.

The climbing on the first pitch is difficult and cruxy on the lower half, and unabashed fun on the second half. Both are pretty safe leads.

Start down and right of the first bolt and climb a few feet to it on mellow moves, the clip and head up progressively steeper rock. Sidepull, gaston, undercling, and mantle through the crux section. Some slopers and small crips after the second clip give way to a tough semi-mantle move at the 3rd clip, and then it is rest, before casting off the ledge onto part 2. If you got the first half the second half will be no problem. Arrive at a bolted anchor with chains at 80 feet or so. The striking corner on the upper half is 10c and can be approached via a ledge scramble but is part of the single continuous pitch.

There is a second pitch I did not attempt that is also 12a, passing a single bolt and then up through a bouldery fingercrack (stoppers) and onward to second set of anchors.

The 3rd pitch One is 11d according to the book, but I did not inspect it.

Perhaps as someone climbs this, they can add the data for P2/P3.

This is just left of the obvious, shallow dihedral/finger crack of

Big Dogs on the Prowl

. We only did the first pitch.

Plug in some gear, and get through the overhang and on to the blank face. Follow the bolts up an around the corner. Make a well-protected 5.8 move, then cruise to the anchor.

We rapped from here with a 70m. You might have to do some shananagans with a 60m.  It is easy to cheat and use the crack on the right. This is a little contrived I suppose.

Deodorant is a bolted variation to the first pitch of "Independent Worm Saloon".  Follow a broken crack system to the left of Big Dogs, until a horizontal crack.  Traverse to the left and enjoy some well protected thin face climbing.  These height dependent moves lead to a short, finger crack (#0.5 Camalot) and another lone bolt.  Finish in the hand crack to the left (#1 Camalot), which leads to a 2 bolt anchor.  You can't lower with a 60m rope, but a 95ft rap will deposit you on the ground.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Sweat Loaf aka Big Dogs