A wonderful slab toprope problem which climbs just right of the SE corner of the southermost little owl.  Thuggish moves off the ground, followed by some loose flakes and two more cruxes on immaculate rock.

Arete

Right Angry Man (Livid Man)

Jaws

Finger Crack

Undercling Right

One-move Wonder

Clingon

Tooth Slab

Angry Man

Knee Catcher

Tooth Arete

Trade Problem

Pat's Slab

The obvious, overhanging finger crack on the narrow south face.  It is very continuous on excellent jams; it is often top-roped.

Right Angry Man is an excellent problem in the Twin Owls area. Start the same as

Angry Man

(V7-8), on the lowest rail, pinched and meat-hooking, then climb straight up and then right. This is characterized by small crimps made of bullet crystals on cool rails. I like to start with my butt on the ground and press from a small foot in the roof up into the heel hook, but others start squatting with the heel in place. Choose your own adventure.

The first ascentionist fired up and right to a sloper right of the vertical ridge in the second rail, did a move to a seam edge right, and then finished straight out the roof. Most subsequent ascents have fired straight up to the left of the vertical ridge then traversed right on the second rail before going up. Both are logical, and both are fun. The original beta is a tad harder, which may explain the original V11 grade.

Jaws is the large, long boulder on the approach path to Little Twin Owls. It is easily identified by finding the crystalline "mouth" on the west end--a remarkably well-named (or formed?) rock. The "Jaws" standard starts sitting down, hand traverses the mouth up right, and finishes in the corner, which may also be ascended by itself for an easier problem. A B1 on friable holds lies just right.

The best way off seems to be to downclimb either "

One-move Wonder

" or "

Trade Problem

" as they're called on here, kind of exciting either way.

The zig-zag crack just right of the obvious wide crack, on the north little Owl. Undercling and jam from the ground at 5.9, or step in higher up off of a ramp at a 5.8 thin crack. A good little route. It finishes at chains on top where one can rappel or lower.

[Eds. Interestingly, there are 3 ways to do this route. S. Kimball's guide describes a 5.8 version which starts on

Knee Catcher

. R. Rossiter's guide describes this as Flake, 5.8+. He also describes starting with a thin seam (challenging) on the right. B. Gillett's guidebook describes starting up the awkward zig-zag crack as 5.9+.]

Just left of the mouth on the Jaws boulder (refer to the problem "Jaws" for orientation), small positive edges with slick feet offer a fun lunge to the lip, followed by a textbook mantle.  Then, hang from the lip and drop off (the easiest descent).

Just before you get to the Little Twin Owls (after the large Jaws boulder and the obvious, crystalline "tooth" boulder), identify a boulder on the right with a right-angling slash (to the left is a small pinnacle).  The slash is very slick and insecure.  It leads to a no-hands stance from which one can downclimb or continue to the top of the boulder via a scary 5.8 crack/slab.

The Tooth is the obvious small, pointy and very crystalline boulder on the approach path shortly before Little Twin Owls (just N of Jaws).  The SE slab is a blast and offers many variations and eliminates; doing it no-hands would bump it up to a B1 or so, while using either arete makes for a good beginner problem.

Left and right angry man are two of the Front Range's most excellent sloper problems.  From Jaws and the Tooth Boulder that sit below Little Twin Owls, follow a trail uphill and northeast past a boulder with two left angling highball cracks (both very good problems) continue uphill and round a large boulder with a beautiful, 25 foot V3 slab.  Angry Man Boulder is behind this giant, it consists of two sloper shelfs with a years supply of chalk on them.  Left Angry Man (V7/8) begins on the lowest shelf and throws out left to the horrible slopers, matches then throws for the bomber lip.  The key to this problem lies in a very frustrating heel-toe lock for the first move.  It can also be done without this heel toe but is a little harder. Right Angry Man (V10/11) (not that I have done it) begins on the same low set of slopers and slaps out right in a massive, initial crux move to a bad sloper.  Your left hand goes to a pinch sidepull, then adjust and dyno your right hand to a bad sloping crimp just below the lip.  Your left hand goes out to the bomber lip.  Both of these are beautiful problems.

This fierce-looking, obvious, wide crack which yields to a plethora of hidden edges and other aids.  It can be top-roped from either summit, though the south is better for beginners.

The NW arete/west face is a good, safe slapping problem, somewhat sequential and sharp.  The south arete/west face is considerably easier.

Refer to the problem "Jaws" for directions and orientation to the Jaws boulder.  This is the easiest way to the top of the Jaws boulder and the second easiest down.  Ascend a flake and seam on the north side of the boulder, finishing on delicate face holds.  Reverse the moves, or hang from holds on the NW corner of the boulder (the One-Move Wonder problem) and drop (both are kind of exciting).

This is a cool probelm twenty feet behind the Angry Man Boulder.  I did this last summer, and ran into some grainy footholds, no one seemed to have climbed it before, who knows.  This is a slightly tall slab with the crux at the end, it is [reminiscent] of the Tooth Boulder slabs down the hill, and is just as good if a little harder.  A crashpad is usefull as well as good slab technique.  A good problem to do in between tries on Angry Left Man.

Description

Protection

Routes in Little Twin Owls