The often-overlooked bulge between "

Boulder Hypocrisy

" and "

Houses of the Holy

" offers some interesting and bouldery moves on very good rock.

Journey's End

Under the Milky Way

Laser Gods

Unknown

Swanktofy Yourself

King Coral

Boulder Hypocricy

The Thing  2

The Darrylect of Dialect

Quiet Time

The Thing  1

Aggro Monk

Mono Jono

Nyorgai

The Form

Under the Hand

Blo Jo Jono

Stairway to Heaven

Makadon

La Primera Vez

New and Unknown

The Function

The Lifus's Farm Tools

Houses of the Holy

Churning in the Cheese

Black Uhuru

I Like It Black

Punisher

Up Your Booty Crack

Great stone and thrilling movement make this route among Shelf's better 13a's.  The business is brief, but gymnastic, commiting, and fun.

Stick clip the first bolt, then make deceptively difficult moves to gain the wall.  Good pockets lead to a good stance below the bulge.  Follow rounded, slanting crimps and less than ideal pockets up the scoop to a make-or-break huck for the obvious heuco.  Pull onto the slab and manage the pump over steadily easing terrain to reach the anchor.

Similar style to other routes in the area, the line consists of hidden pockets and good crimps. There is no definite crux, and there seems to be a variety of ways to get to the top. After the sixth bolt, the terrain eases up to 5.10a but is runout to the anchor (about 10-15 feet.) A little scary, but no ground fall potential or bad swings.

This is the leftmost of 2 routes on a black panel of sharp rock in the Heaven Pinnacle area.  Micro edges and sharp mono pockets reveal an obscure path over 2 slight bulges and eventually rightwards to the anchors.

This new route climbs a mellow face through a black slab (crux) and finishes on a steeper headwall with good holds.  There is a bolted OW just to the right.

Although the new guide mentions the climb, there was not much of a route description included.  This route is located approximately 10 feet left of "Action Words" (the start located just above a detached boulder).  A bouldery, technical start leads one through a bulging hueco field to the base of the Bullet Black Prow.  Stiff liebacks and delicate footwork that seems to go on forever past plentiful protection will get one by the little tree to anchors.

This route(in my opinion)is every bit as good as the "Form" and the "

Function

".  The two venerable classics on the same left side of the Gallagher Buttress.

King Coral is a fun and pockety route common to the style on this particular wall (the Swiss Cheese Wall). The crux is pulling the bulge near the top and working to the anchors on vertical to slightly overhanging terrain. The lower section feels 5.10c-ish and is really fun with lots of good jugs and pockets.

Where to start with such a broad topic....

Anyway, this is an excellent gymnastic line that, due to well positioned bottlenecks, climbs more like a jughaul than a lieback crack.  This is the obvious warmup choice for the Heaven Wall, but also serves as the best approach to "I Been Mooned".

Begin up the easy wall to reach a large undercling flake below the daunting bulge.  Get those biceps working until its possible to reach a good jam in the crack.  Bomber locks continue over the bulge to good stems and an easy finish.

Start up black rock on the right side of the pinnacle. Pull a small roof on good holds, and continue up a moderate face. Gain a crack near the top, and finish at the shared chains of

The Thing  1

.

This climb starts with very chossy climbing but changes up to nice overhung climbing on good pockets. Climbs very much like a gym climb and provides a good pump.

Start on top of the big ledge, work up the face past the first 2 bolts to a dirty, left-angling crack. Continue past the crack to some nice pockets and mantles up the anchors.

Enjoy moderate pocket pulling and edges on the less than vertical face. A few of your desired holds may be occupied by vegetation.

Aggro Monk is a good line involving a really fun, athletic boulder problem to clear a body-length roof, and a sustained finish that builds a steady pump.  Unfortunately the rock on the upper headwall is not as good as it looks, detracting slightly from the route's quality.

Scramble up the right end of the flake to a no-hands stance below the roof.  A hard move gains the break, then launch out the horizontal roof on small but sinker pockets.  Clever beta or wild dynos will get you over the lip to a poor rest.  Long, technical moves between small crimps and the odd pocket weave deviously up the stout headwall.

This is

Blo Jo Jono's

right hand neighbor. It has a hard start and first clip.

Start on the detached flake and head straight into the arete with good sidepulls and crimps passing the second bolt with some fun off-balance arete climbing to make the crux with a long reach or a secret pocket.  From here, pull around right and navigate the maze of potential holds on both sides staying on the arete until the anchors.

Climb the same start as

The Function

for about 6 bolts, then head right where you can skip the bed-rail hanger and go to the next good bolt.  Try to avoid pump on marginal rests on small feet and push through a very thin crux.  Your toes will hate you for this.

This is the rightmost of 2 routes on a black panel of rock with 2 bulges in the Heaven Pinnacle area.  This is mostly an arete climb with technical moves over 2 bulges.

This is the lefthand of two neighboring routes that climb a red and black wall with geode-like intrusions.

If only this route were as long as the song.  The climbing is great while it lasts, but unfortunately it's over well before the guitar solo.

Begin a bit left of the bolt line, next to an old maid yammering about glitter.  Make non-trivial moves up and right to a good stance below the bulge, near a confusing sign.

Make big reaches over the bulge, ultimately reaching some good pockets just over the bulge.  Try not to be distracted by the singing birds.

Think about it.

Try not to sob when you discover how small and slopey the holds on the slab are.  Work up desperately to the low anchor and some smoky trees.

No more rock, so you'll have to hum the rest while you thread the anchor...piper will lead us...echo with laughter...May queen...yes there are two paths....

Start behind a tree and climb a black prow defined by a blunt arete on the left and a right-facing corner on the right.

This is a top-notch moderate that would warrant classic status if the bottom were half as good as the top.

Begin up prickly black stone, using the flake as needed to reach a stance at a crack.  Work up and left along broken rock to a small ledge below the steeper headwall.  Attack the wall initially with the help of a diagonaling groove, before ultimately making hero pulls between stellar incut huecos.  The technical crux hits just above the last bolt.

This route climbs up sharp and sometimes fragile edges and pockets. Reach a shelf 2/3rds of the way up, and engage stiffer climbing on a slight overhang to chains.

Called "one of the best limestone routes in Colorado" in the Shelf Road Rock book, this superb route ascends sweet rock making for a long, quality climb. Thin, sequency moves past the first two bolts (crux) leads to nice crack moves to a strenuous bulge past the fourth and fifth (homemade hanger) bolt. Six more bolts protect the great face climbing through some fantastic pockets to the anchors.

This is a super cool, moderate, arete climb at the Gallagher Buttress area. It has nice pockets between thinner make-you-think moves with a position-sensitive crux past the small roof on the arete's left side.

The first bolt is very high, because the rock down low is suspect and doesn't appear to offer any good bolt placements.  Using the wall to the left for your feet to reach the first bolt is a secure way to get it, but the arete moves to the first bolt are good too if you're OK with run-out off the deck.

The Swiss cheese of course!  This unmitigated classic is easily one of the best 5.10s at Shelf Road.  With flawless stone, sinker pockets, and enjoyable movement, this line makes the perfect choice for climbers of all abilities.

Begin up the sea of pockets, which get slightly large with height, leading to a fun section of big reaches between jugs.  At the horizontal break, the rock becomes less featured as the line trends right, offering an interesting crux on large features.  The big holds return for the final run to the anchor.

This route climbs the black slab, 5m left of a couple of small trees growing from the rock.

A nice, short climb on a swath of black limestone using pockets and edges. Can be pretty sharp in the cold.

Punisher climbs a milky white blunt, prow on the left end of the Heaven Wall. It is likely the best route at the North End and among the best "hard" routes at Shelf. Punisher and

Aggro Monk

begin with an easy but unprotected and exposed scramble up a hollow flake that likely discourages some folks (I think I'll add some bolts here some day...).

Those that brave the approach are rewarded with the kind of heroic pocket pulling that we all dream of. Without giving too much away...the powerful crux (pulling the roof) involves a desperate sequence with a mono, 3-finger, then three 2-fingers in-a-row...all sinkers. The hero pockets vanish as the angle relents, keeping the climbing continuous and the outcome in doubt. A final roof must be surmounted with long committing dynos, but the hold are ginormous. The rock is a good as it gets for Shelf (surprisingly good, considering some of the nearby choss).

Punisher was given 13a and probably never received enough traffic for a true consensus. I propose 13b here, given the difficulty of the roof boulder, followed by the sustained headwall. If anyone else has done this, please share your thoughts.

UYBC is a nice route on excellent stone, but perhaps the best thing going for it is its recessed profile that provides (relatively) early shade.  The route appears to be speckled in nice pockets, but most of these are too shallow to be useful, making the start a bit thrutchy.  Fortunately the upper third of the route ascends beautiful featured stone reminiscent of Wild Iris.

Description

Protection

Routes in The North End