This is the route up the bulging tan/brown stone just left of the uber-popular

80 Feet of Meat

. It is also one route right of

Le Specimen

.

Dirt isn't called Dirt for nothing -- low traffic and a wide brown streak which runs straight down the route ensure that most years (unless someone's been up there first to brush it), the route will have pretty sandy grips. Nevertheless, it's a pretty fun climb on good stone and could clean up well with some travel.

Pull through an awkward bulge on pockets and stand up on the vertical face. Easier climbing leads to the crux bulge, which has two fairly strenuous sequences back to back before you reach bigger holds and gently overhanging terrain. Pumpy climbing on good incuts and pinches leads to anchors on a ledge (the same ledge where

Le Specimen

finishes).

Dirt

Cardinal Sin

Czech Mate

The Blocky Lost Johnson

Lost and Found

Swamp Thing

Le Specimen

Jail Bait

Gun Show

Next Try

Drunk Lover

Bulges of Munge

80 Feet of Meat

Carnivore

Crime and Punishment

Cold Cuts

Dirty Johnson

Steroid Power

James Brown's Wild Ride

Sausage Boy aka Sam's Route

Blocky Horror Picture Show

La Superlune (aka Polish Sausage)

Sex Machine

This was the first route bolted on the Meat Wall and went in during the fall of 1991, when Rifle was first beginning to catch on with Boulder climbers. As you approach up the steps, it's the second route to the left and can be recognized by the blue/grey/black streaked rock and hanging bulge which define the bottom half of the route.

Interestingly enough, this route has NO holds reinforced with glue. When I went back to repeat it a few years ago, I tore a hold off before the first bolt and pitched 10 feet to the deck, then I ripped off a jug above the crux and went for a 30-footer. Sporadic traffic, and the fact that the bottom half of the route is now usually dry, have cleaned things up a bit.

This route is a prime example of fucked bolting, as most of the clips are placed at an arm's extension (a relic of an 80's-style sport climbing ethos). If anyone wants to move them, it's ok by me. Long reaches to good holds and a pumpy headwall on surprisingly slopy pinches define the line.

It is 75 feet long.

Cardinal Sin is another fantastic line that takes on a more vertical section of rock (at least by Rifle standards).  This route is 40 yards down the road from

80 Feet of Meat

and starts with the first couple of bolts on homemade hangers.  This route climbs through a crazy sequence of underclings that is very cool and follows this with a thin, non-positive crux sequence.  Keep climbing fast through here and the going will get easier.  A long draw may be nice for shorter people in the crux.  Highly recommended.

Czech Mate ascends the bulging line of grey stone to the right of

Cardinal Sin

.  This line is a bit out of character for this wall, with burly, cruxy movement that sets it apart from the enduro lines to the left.

Begin up shattered gray stone to the obvious bulge above.  Dynamic undercling moves lead past the initial bulge to sustained moves on smaller holds through the vertical section above.

There is a chain on the second bolt, because the FA believed it would be very hard to place a draw and clip.

Start on

Blocky Horror Picture Show

(12d). The bottom crux is now some what harder after a key jug ripped off this spring. Climb the route as normal all the way through the crux. Rather than doing the final finish move to the mega jug rest, continue up and slightly left, doing the hardest moves of this route link-up. Three big, powerful, awesome moves on fairly decent holds put you entering the upper crux of Lost and Found (12b), two bolts from the anchor. Try not to blow it before clipping as you are quite runout from your last clip on

Blocky Horror Picture Show

.  Continue to the anchor of

Lost and Found

, but rather than clipping, continue up and left into the final 5 bolts of

Dirty Johnson

(12c). This is endurance climbing at its finest, there are no hard single moves, but putting it all together is where I thought the grade comes from. It could be 5.13a/b, but who knows? This rig has a ton of 4 star movement. A 70m rope barely gets you down.

This route is in an alcove 50 feet or so to the right of the wall with

Cardinal Sin

.  Climb up a steep, technical beginning to easier climbing through the middle, to a difficult crux at the end.

This neglected route would probably receive 3, maybe 4 stars if not for the location and amount of dirt.

Start by climbing 30 feet of unprotected choss to a bolt, then fire out the roof using a modified pocket and executing a blind reach. Some more hard to find holds lead to a few good crimps and an ok rest. Climb through a few bolts of easier difficulty in the beautiful blue/gray streak with hard route finding to another rest. Finish it off with one last technical crux to a jug right before the anchors with biners.

From the road, this line looks quite pretty and quite inviting, and it climbs very well albeit some dirt and choss. If this line were right next to

The 8th Day

, it would be one of the more popular technical 5.12s in the canyon.

A sporty bottom, followed by a "trady" top section.  Climb a pretty continuous, vertical face with decent pockets and mantle onto a big ledge.  There is a hidden, left hand pocket that makes the middle of this face much easier.  Rest here for a while, then pull around to the left and climb with good holds and better feet up to a knee bar on the ramp to the left.  Shake, then continue on crimps up to a chimney.  Layback the chimney up to another knee bar halfway up the chimney...shake again, and bust up the layback a few more feet before pulling into a jug inside for your left hand.  Stand up and finish on easier moves to the anchors.  The chimney had been groveled, but I bet it wasn't pretty.  The clip after the knee bar in the chimney is sometimes skipped, because it is quite a reach around back right.

This is a very nice addition from Martin, a typical Rifle start with pocket and sidepulls leads to the second half where stemming and intricate corners prevail.

Next Try is another excellent moderate on the Meat Wall, climbing excellent rock with powerful moves.  This probably isn't the best warm up on the wall, as many of the moves are relatively burly, and the difficulties commence almost immediately.

Begin with great pockets up a nice blue and orange section of rock, to the first crux just past the 2nd bolt.  Classic Rifle sidepulls & underclings work past this first bulge, to a desparate move past an insecure sloper.  A great shake gives way to some fun techy climbing with long reaches between good holds.  A final lengthy undercling move leads to the anchor.

This is just to the left of

Sex Machine

and right of

James Brown's Wild Ride

. Some easy climbing leads to a slab then a roof.

Climb up a face and small, left-facing corner to a large depression. Climb over a small roof on the right side of the depression to a technical face above. Stay to the left of the bolts as you leave the depression, crossing the bolt line to the right only at the last bolt on the route.

As Rifle's favorite warm-up, this elegant line now sports footholds the color of tarmac, only with much less traction. Nevertheless, it is an engaging, sustained line on a perfect vertical wall, tackling 80 feet of some of the most fun limestone climbing in Colorado. There is often a line for this route in the mornings, but if you're willing to come a bit later and climb it in the sun or toward evening you shouldn't have much trouble getting on.

80 Feet of Meat is the first route to your right at the top of the steps and climbs off the left side of a ledge onto the brown face above. Save some guns for the pumpy/funky moves in the exit groove -- it's harder than it looks.

It is a 25 meter pitch.

This route is on great stone with fun pocket pulling to get you warmed up through the first four bolts or so, where you reach a small ledge and the real climbing begins. Sustained, steepening rock culminates in a nice pump as you jog up some fun crimps, pinches, and sidepulls (don't dally in any one spot too long). The climbing up to a big jug rest below the looming roof is about 11d/12a. Now for the climax - an atypical boulder problem for Rifle: a slab, and an exciting one at that. Spot the footholds before you commit to the harrowing traverse up along the arete, and save some skin for the thin, sharp crimps getting to the anchor.

If you're boned up on your slab climbing, 12b might seem a little generous. If you've only been pumping laps in the Arsenal lately, the grade might seem sandbag as you struggle to pull yourself up on little nothings.

This is a new route that went in last season.  It climbs the face directly right of

80 feet of Meat

, and takes on the overhang up above.  Climb the interesting face, up to a dihedral rest.  From there, go on to climb the overhang through some difficult climbing to a final toss to a jug.  The route is largely clean, but it is newer than others on the wall so watch out for loose stuff.  Overall, a great route that tests you at the end.

While not nearly as good as "

80 Feet of Meat

," this is a fun route that still sees plenty of traffic and is just as popular of a morning warm-up, especially on weekends.

Cold Cuts climbs the long vertical wall immediately right of "

80 Feet of Meat

" and finishes at a separate set of anchors up on the same ledge. It's a bit chossier than its neighbor, so make an effort to stay on route.

This route is basically a low crux on pockets to lots of easier climbing to some funky crux biz in a series of faint corners up high.

Keeping with the Meat Wall theme, this aptly named route follows a prominent arete just left of

Lost and Found

.

Start up the first 2 bolts of

Lost and Found

, then move left, and tackle the crux through a small bulge. Easier, yet pumpy climbing takes you past two more bulges until the wall finally slabs out.  Delicately negotiate between the arete and the corner past 4 more bolts and man up for the semi-spicy finish to the anchors.

Besides being a bit dirty, it has lots of fun movement, great position, and a very adventurous feel.  Thanks for all you hard work, Tony!

Another excellent line on the Meat Wall, Steroid Power climbs a beautiful swath of pink limestone in between

Jail Bait

and

Cardinal Sin

.  Begin up gray stone on easy crimps to the low looming bulge.  Crux up over this bulge, either directly, or by moving to large holds out left.  Sustained moves above the bulge lead to an interesting Rifle-esque shallow dihedral, with technical stemming and awkward rest.  The dihedral terminates in a few horizontal slots before the final intimidating bulge.  Move up & right over/around the bulge on generally large holds and inobvious feet, to a ledgy, vertical face on the right.  A few easier moves lead to the chains.

James Brown is the left of two parallel lines 50 feet or so right

80 feet of Meat

. This is another fine line on largely good stone; however, like may routes on this wall, the rock can kick up suspicious chunks that are are a bit off-putting on the sharp end (Personally, I also thought it was spacey getting to the first clip - others may disagree). Lots of crimping on a nearly dead vertical wall with very high continuity generates a largely excellent line. James Brown also gets a bit spacey in the middle, the difficulty does back down here for a short way, however, compared to

Sex Machine

, James seemed to demand more mind control - pretty cool until the pump starts to set in.

This route climbs an interesting line in between

Cold Cuts

and

Crime and Punishment

. A hard, early crux which could be done in multiple ways leads to easier but still-on-you climbing. It is an excellent warm-up after the initial crux. It feels harder than

80 Feet

or

Cold Cuts

.

This was named for the first ascentionist's son.

This route is on the far right end of the Meat wall in a small alcove just right of Lost and Found.  This is a good route with strenuous moves separated by jugs.  There is a defined crux 3/4 of the way.  No knee pads are necessary.

Climb up easy 5.11 ground with some of the coolest pockets in Rifle. At the roof, the first crux is encountered: a hard pull or two take you over the roof to a good resting jug. Bust out the technical crux, and cruise up to the no-hands rest in the big scoop. Rest well as techy 11- climbing on fractured rock leads to the chains.

About 50 ft right of

80 feet Of Meat

are two parallel lines running up 80 ft on good solid Rifle rock. The right of these two is

Sex Machine

.  Crimpers, side pulls, and polished rock abound. Very continuous 5.11 climbing just wears the finger strength down. Some might go with three stars, whatever, nonetheless, I thought that some of the rock was ocassionally dubious, much like

80 ft of Meat

. Still, it's an excellent line and worth the burn.

Description

Protection

Routes in Meat Wall