But for a Silver Bullet is a new trad route located to the left of

Tom Thumb

, and shares a beginning with

The Lone Ranger

. This is a good beginner trad climb. Approximately 75 feet long. Start slightly to the right of the slot that becomes Funhouse Chimney, and move up and right to a ledge.  Move right to a large dihedral and crack located on a corner buttress.  Opportunities for placing good protection abound in this crack.  Lieback up the crack for about 20 feet before reaching a solid ledge big enough for both feet (same beginning as

The Lone Ranger

).  Once atop the buttress, move up and left staying in the crack system on the left that will take you all the way to the anchor hooks.

But for a Silver Bullet ...

War Path

Leaning Aid Crack

Comanche Warrior

The Triple Mantel

Ambush

Tom Thumb

Hunting Party

Blood Brothers

General Cluster's Last Stance

Dead Raccoon Crack

KeeMoSabe

Route 166

In a Pinch aka Genie

Sneak Attack

Love, Honor, and Belay

Living the Dream

Rawhide

Scout Route

Cornered

Funhouse Chimney

Cornered to Blood Brothers

Unknown Roof Route

The Lone Ranger

Exit Stage Left

Little Bear

Broken Arrow

Tonto

Start on the west face in the slot that becomes

Funhouse Chimney

. Climb up the start of the chimney to a bolt on the right face. Climb past the bolt to a finger crack in a shallow, left-facing dihedral to a stance. Continue up the left side of the blunt arete to a ledge.  Climb past a second bolt to another ledge and then up the outside of the chimney to the anchors on

Funhouse Chimney

.

This used to be a sport route, but several of the bolts were lost when a large flake of rock detached from the cliff. This version of the route climbs past the original anchors (removed by someone) to the top and was established ground up.

War Path is still in progress and is mentioned here because the obvious bolting could be misleading. The line is to the right of the big dihedral/corner system on the West end of Scout Rock.

Comanche Warrior

is to the left of War Path and follows the dihedral corner. The first pitch of War Path follows up a short roof and slab to a mid-point anchor. The second follows the spectacular fin in the upper third of the wall. The first pitch was redpointed by Bernard [Gillett] at 5.12a at the end of March, 2001. We are still working on the second pitch. This is certainly going to be hard, and the line has great position.

One can see bolts and rivets along the crack. This route could have been A3 or A4 and a very proud line... However there were many rivets on this pitch where it would be possible to place gear. Like a rivet next to a bomber #6 placement. Other than this it has some fun thin stuff to deal with.

Comanche Warrior has already seen a bunch of ascents, and that is the reason for putting it up here. The route starts in the West-facing corner system of Scout Rock and takes the headwall flake left of

War Path

. Comanche Warrior can be done in a single long pitch or as two short pitches.

P1. The first pitch is 5.9 and on excellent stone. It is a little tricky but good fun. It might seem nice to link with the second pitch, but after running it again, it still seemed better to break it up into two pitches just to keep the rope running well. If you bring some slings, instead of using just quickdraws, the link-up should be okay.

P2. The second pitch ticks in at hardish 5.11 or perhaps a tad easier. It has cleaned up nicely and climbs on very good stone. The traverse is largely obvious, but it does need some careful foot work as you cut right.

This is straight up the face between

Scout Route

and

Route 166

. This route has three tough mantle moves one after another and progressively harder.

Ambush runs up a black water streak and groove. The crux is passing the second bolt after which the climbing settles down for some fun chimney work for 20 feet or so. There are some avoidable blocks higher up, but taking them off without hitting the road is dubious and they are best just avoided. The horn that constitutes the main target for the crux move, is starting to come loose and will be glued in place in the near future; for now, don't pull too hard on it.

The first redpoint of Ambush fell to the consumate Bernard [Gillett].

Tom Thumb is a new trad route located just to the left of

Broken Arrow

. Approximately 55 feet long.

Start about 10 feet to the left of the beginning of

Broken Arrow

. Ascend to the large, downwardly pointing flake, move up and right, and then start up the crack. There are two cruxes in the crack  one just to the left of the third bolt of Broken Arrow and another about ten feet higher.  Both cruxes feel somewhat awkward (this climb is trickier that it appears from the ground).  Climb to anchor hooks and lower.

Hunting Party starts up another slot/roof to a lower angle dihedral. In the large corner above, head up a tricky overhanging face to a roof, followed by several moves along the arete just before the anchors. Cruxes arise at the initial slot/roof and below the upper roof and both are 5.11c/d. The middle 20 feet have been led both on bolts or with several mid range Friends, either works, although the Friend placements seemed to draw me away from the climbing. Slings would help these placements. Hunting Party is a fun route because it has a little of everything: roof, crack, dihedral, face, arete all packed into a bit less than 90 feet.

This is a good introduction to slab climbing.

Blood Brothers is a rising traverse of the slab on the right side of Scout Rock. Start at the left side of the slab, about 40' left of

Cornered

.

Step up and clip the first bolt. Continue traversing right along the top edge of the slab to the anchor at a stance just left of

Cornered

. The hardest move is at the end.  Lower from hooks. Have your second follow the pitch and clean the draws.

This is a great route to learn how to do tricky aid and some delicate nailing. You can protect the route by toprope as I placed rappel anchors at the top of the route.

Start in a right-facing dihedral working up 7-8 feet and tackling the small overhang which then follows a thin crack which diagonals slightly right until it joins with another route which is now bolted but was done by Jay Kinghorn on aid the same time as I did this route.

This fun little route actually faces West and gets great sun. KeeMoSabe provides a nice warm up for the harder climbs on Scout Rock. The rock is overall good, but still sheds some surface debris. The crux is at the top and is harder if you are short. A thin crux can be had between bolts 3 and 4 by staying to the right.

Climb the nice dihedral and continue up the short chimney near the top next to the rappel bolts.

I put up this route in October 1994. I used Aid and rated the route A2. I placed 1 piton while trying to exit the route in the dark (the wide groove just below the chains was full of loose blocks, which we removed while placing the anchor chains).  The route can now be done all clean. I do not free climb this difficult of route. I know of several persons (Tom Rega, Jay Kinghorn, and Gerald Huang) who have climbed it on top rope and all said the route was good and agree it is 5.11c. The crux is trying to pull the bulge right off the ledge 12 feet up. Crux is the same for aiding. Those who have top roped it say there is no place for protection, as any decent placement takes away a good jam. Be warned that this route is like jamming your fingers and hands between 2 cheese graters, so TAPE UP WELL, and please pick up the shredded tape when you leave.

This is the bolted line left of

Rawhide

. The ultra-thin face at the start has gotten thinner and thinner with each run through, so much so that one now almost requires a hand in the adjacent crack. A variation around to the right may pan out, but it is tenuous at best. Sequential moves above a [horizontal] band lead into some friable stone and a stance below the little roof. Move right and then cut back left to get established below the roof. Cool moves over the roof culminate in a big reach left to a good horn; should be quite hard if you don't have the ape index. A top-rope can be set up quite easily from above but use slings to drop the rope over the edge.

Addendum:

the rock is a bit friable.

Marriage vows for the modern climbing couple.

Love, Honor, and Belay

is short but technical and burly route.

Start just left of

Tonto

, at the right edge of a slab.  This is about 15' right of

Cornered

. Climb the slab, clipping a single bolt along the way. From a good stance near the top of the slab, place a piece of gear with a runner in a horizontal crack located between a good ledge and an upper wall. Move right on the ledge and place gear in the dihedral. Climb up the right face of the dihedral, and move back left to the dihedral, placing more gear. Work up the corner, clip a second top bolt, and exit right below a chockstone to the anchor.  Lower from hooks.

Living the Dream

is a variation to

Love, Honor, and Belay

.  It shares the same start and finish, but does a fun hand traverse in the middle. Slightly easier than

Love, Honor, and Belay

, but still technical and physical.

Start as for

Love, Honor, and Belay

, at the right edge of a slab. This is just left of

Tonto

, and 15' right of

Cornered

.

Climb the slab, clipping a single bolt along the way. From a good stance near the top of the slab, place a piece of gear in a horizontal crack located between a good ledge and an upper wall. Move left on the ledge to the left side of the wall. Clip a second bolt, and hand traverse back right to an upward pointing flake (which on its right side accepts small cams).  Enter a steep dihedral (which accepts small-to-medium-sized cams). Climb the dihedral, clip a top bolt and exit right just below a chockstone to the anchor.  Lower from hooks.

No climbing area should be considered complete without the chance, at least once, to wrestle an [alligator]. On Scout Rock, the chance arises with Rawhide. Begin Rawhide approximately 75 feet North of the road up the drainage that marks the West end of Scout Rock. Rawhide is the obvious, wide chimney on the main crag forming the right hand side of the drainage. The problems begin after the third clip and involve a very wide stem (!) and three clips leading into the crux. A one-move-wonder mantle delivers the 5.11c crux at the fourth bolt and a chance to chill before launching into the squeeze chimney. Two stars for the bullet proof rock, variety of climbing, and the continuous fight.

This is a somewhat grungy dihedral, but it has lots of holds and cracks. It is a nice, easy, beginner route.

Take the slab to a large corner to the left of

KeeMoSabe

. The anchor was placed high on the roof above to provide a clear drop for the rope. Reach the anchor by holding on to the draw below the roof. There are no holds for clipping otherwise. With the draw in place, this is an easy clip. There is excellent quality rock on this moderate line.

Climb up the rock and enter into the most prominent chimney on the west face. Chimney angles slightly to the right. This is a great route for [beginners] and especially for a climber do their first chimney route.

Clip the first 3 bolts on

Cornered

, and finish at the anchors for

Blood Brothers

. This is a short, consistent slab route that's good for teaching little ones to trust their feet.

This is a quality line to the west of the majority of the routes at Scout Rock along the road. It's an obvious, right-facing dihedral to a 4" roof crack. Good climbing through two bolts lead to the roof. At the roof, place good gear in the 2-4" range and wrangle your way through the business. It is very hard, very gritty... but excellent all in the same.

The Lone Ranger is a new trad route located to the left of

Tom Thumb

and to the right of

But for a Silver Bullet

. This is a good beginner trad climb.  Approximately 60 feet long.

Start slightly to the right of the slot that becomes

Funhouse Chimney

, and move up and right to a ledge.  Move right to a large dihedral and crack located on a corner buttress. Opportunities for placing good protection abound in this crack.  Lieback up the crack for about 20 feet before reaching a solid ledge big enough for both feet (same beginning as

But for a Silver Bullet

).  Once atop the buttress, move up and right to the anchor hooks for

Tom Thumb

and lower.

One of three decent trad routes on the Scout Rock formation, this line takes the wide crack on the West face to unpainted chains.  It is s a bit of scramble getting to the crack, but this can be done nicely by starting a bit to the left. The crack has lots of good stances with fun moves between. The chain anchor gives a good TR to the thin crack on the right. My own impression was close to 5.9, but others call it 5.8, this may relate to how the climbing is  approached. The crack will take straight in jams (and wide) or lay-back up to a good stance at a similar level of difficulty.

Chase a line of bolts to the right of

KeeMoSabe

. The crux is a bear-hug between bolts 4 and 5. The slab above shares a single edge with

KeeMoSabe

and is either very thin or dodged by doing

KeeMoSabe

instead.  The rock to start is a tad friable so stay on your feet and tread lightly. Little Bear is easily top roped by doing

KeeMoSabe

.

Broken Arrow takes the steep, yellow plate left of the unnamed wide crack on the West face of Scout Rock. The Arrow splits the face on the diagonal with a horizontal breaking line at 40 feet. Easy moves lead to a small lip and a difficult sequence stepping up onto the face. Very thin smears with largely good hands kick up several technical cruxes. The climbing is intricate, elegant, technical and not any where near as hard as it might appear. There is a final 5.11c move just below the anchor, so save a little juice for it. The only creepy move comes in the middle where things get a bit committing, otherwise the line is well sewn up. Three stars for the great climbing moves, improbable footwork, superb stone, and the striking features of the line.

Tonto

is a new sport route just left of

KeeMoSabe

. Although short, it has varied and interesting climbing all the way up.

Start at a blunt arete about 5' left of

KeeMoSabe

. Climb the slabby arete and step left to a water groove. Layback past an overhanging slot (crux), continue up a groove and step right to the anchor. Lower from hooks.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Scout Rock