The route is short and somewhat contrived, but a fun, or painful, crimp-fest.  Start in the small right hand corner to the left side of the bottom of the monolith. Follow the face up right on small crimps and toe chips, until you can place a hand on the "point" of the Steeple. Both sides of the monolith are off route. Balancy, technical, and crimpy. the feet get progressively thinner the higher you go. yeah, those easy holds beckon...don't be tempted! 

  For added fun, start on the face underneath the right-slanting overhang on the right side of the monolith. Climb up the face under the overhang on good holds as far as you can, and then transfer out left from under the overhang and onto the face on crimps and one good foot. Enjoy!

"Steeple" Face

Mantel

Seven Sisters

Don't Know Much About Biology

Extra Points

More Money

Road Trip

Mike Doonesbury Returns

College Rock Chimney Buttress

Send Money

It's Late September

Exersize Left to the Reader

Flunked Again

Militant Right

My Mind Is A Blank

Almost Cut My Hair

Mal-triculation

"Exercize Buttress"

Nerds

College Rock Traverse

Don't Stop Till You See the Whites of My Eyes

Spring Vacation (College Rock Chimney)

All Holds Barred

Grunge Gully Direct

Jocks

Not on My Face You Don't

Changing Majors Senior Year

Preppies

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

2/3rds of the way southward along the crag, next to the "Exercise Left to the Reader" crack, climb the right-facing buttress, characterized by a triplet of jagged overhangs in a corner, with an awkward offwidth. One of the easist lines at College Rock, though the move to make the upper ledge is awkward and, if you're highballing the line, it'll make you concentrate. Free soloing, the top-out ( to the top ledge adjacent to the top of the "Steeple" requires one sorta-technical 5.5+/5.6-range move, and commitment. Don't wuss out, make the move...ta DAAAAHH! see that was easy, wasn't it? ;-)

Seven Sisters is a short route on the right end of the wall. Ascend to the right of Preppies on decent holds. The crux will likely be topping out, although the holds are noticeably better than Preppies.

This is a very short, vertical, and fun climb on the far left (North End) of the Main Crag. Getting your feet on the lower section of this climb is the crux (as typical for most routes here). Follow a mostly-straight line of mini-(and reachy) sidepulls, edges, and crimpers.

Climb straight through the big roof on sharp holds continuing onto horizontal cracks. It may be height-dependent to reach the jug jutting out above the roof. Lunging through the roof to the top is rather sustained with a fun kneebar above the roof.

This climb is one of the most straightforward on College Rock, and makes a nice warm up. No tricks, just some steep face climbing on smallish-but-positive holds. 

  Start in the middle of the face and climb up easy hand and foot ledges trending rightward up the face, following the path defined by the various lips and small foot ledges, above the right-facing corner and roof. Reach the horizontal cracks, pull up, and slap the rounded top! If you can find a hold which will support pulling over the top out, everyone will be amazed.  

  For a more difficult variation, start under the roof in the right-facing corner. Climb up the corner and pass out from under the roof to the left, and onto the face. Continue up right to the finish.

Start at the far right side of the "Money" face, and move around to the low, right-facing corner underneath the small roof. Traverse right with high hands at a horizontal crack (below a small roof), and desperately smear/edge your feet. Pull onto ledge (right of small roof), and begin walking up the ramp (formed by the left side of the ""Steeple" Face") while pulling the right-facing corner/alcove at the clifftop. The route finishes past the small tree tucked in a pocket at the last ledge. A toprope is recommended, since the first half of the route (the traverse up to the first ledge) can't be protected.

 The direct-start variation (5.3+/5.4-) goes on gear and begins at the right-facing corner that is in front of the slabby monolith (""Steeple" Face").

Ascend on blocky sidepulls. Some moves are a bit tricky if 5.7 is your limit. The topout is pretty mossy and fairly sketchy for highball bouldering.

On the variably overhanging buttress, just outside the chimney, climb up the buttress on juggy holds, and a prominent ledge about 1/3rd of the way up, until you get to the awkward mantel move just under the incut ledge below the top. Make the blind reach to the last jug and the top. You can perform a contrived heel-hook move to top out.  Recently (week of 8/02/07) a loose block broke/fell off, making the move off the prominent ledge noticably harder, replacing a full, two-hand jug with a smaller, single-hand, sloping jug.

This is easyish at the bottom, and then becomes technical and sequency at the crux. There are several variations. 

  1. start left of middle and climb up the obvious ledges and lips. using smallish and/or awkward holds, balance and reach right for the flake, and step right. Climb easy horizontal handcracks and small feet to the top. 

  2. start left of middle and begin as 1. Pass flake on the left using small crimps, reach horizontal cracks as before. 

  3. starting in the middle of the face, climb up the obvious ledges and lips to the blank face. Using various small crimps and awkward feet, pass the right hand and of the flake to the horizontal cracks. Don't bounce a hand from the flake bottom! go straight for the jug! (one 5.9+/5.10- crimp move).

Start in the dihedral and climb up to the ledge on strenuous and tricky moves. finish either up the blocky face ("Almost Cut My Hair") or hand traverse right up under the roof to the "My Mind is a Blank" finish. (belay from the "My Mind is a Blank" anchor for this 5.9+ variation).

Close to the corner of the buttress and the face (the fissrue and buttress are off route, so cut out that cheating!), climb up the face on positive hands and a few small but positive feet to the bottom of the right-leaning crack. Climb up the crack to the incut ledge. Wedge yourself into the incut ledge to make the blind reach for the good jug on the rounded face above. Did you lead it? Congratulate yourself, and have a beer.

Start to the right of "Exercise Left to the Reader". Face climb up and head toward the crack above. Once there, head straight up. You can also follow the arete to the right and join with Extra Points. Instead of finishing the Extra Points route, finish straight up.

Start directly under a vertical right-facing corner and roof. Climb up into the corner to the roof. Move left out from under the roof to the face onto somewhat sketchy feet. Traverse back right and continue upwards into the notch above on sidepulls and sloped jugs. The top is pumpy, arm intensive, and somewhat thuggish. The bottom up to the roof is tricky.

My Mind Is A Blank is definitely the proudest climb on the main cliff of CR. 

  This route takes on the proud, scantly featured face beneath a looming roof. Climb good edges and crimp in tiny slots to static or dyno (dyno may be easier as the edges get polished) to the massive horizontal. From there use small pockets and slopers to position your self under the roof. Get your feet high and gun for the good jug at the lip, then crank to a small slopey slot and finish.  If you were to lead the route, this is the point where you would hug the tree trunk and scamper to safety with heavy breathing and a palpitating heart.  

  NOTE: As of early October 2008, the partially fallen tree that had been used as a TR anchor has become a more fully fallen tree. Other trees and/or clean gear anchoring possibilities remain farther back from the cliff's edge, but the ease of double slinging the tree and toproping your heart out is now a thing of the past.

Start with a strenuous layback on the large flake and small feet, up to the ledge. (first crux) pass thru the left end of the ledge where the roof and ledge meet (a bit tricky, a sort-of 2nd crux)and then go straight up the blocky face to the top.  

  There are a couple easier variations to the start. 

  1. Start under the "Militant Right" corner, climb up to the obvious hand crack. traverse right, back to the ledge on bomber hands and small feet. 5.8 

  2. Start in the "It's Late September" dihedral on the right. 5.7 

  3. Start on the arete, just outside the "It's Late September" dihedral. Using small feet and somewhat un-positive hands, dyno/deadpoint to a jug. struggle up to the ledge.

Ascend on easy crimps and sidepulls to the right of a roof. The topout is the crux.

Climb up towards and through the slanted crack to the top.

Left to right and right to left, many variations exist, go high or stay low. This is the longest climb at the cliff and a great way to get a quick workout in.

Start on opposing sidepulls and reach for a downward-sloping, small rail where you can match hands. Try to find some high feet (very difficult) and shoot for a mini, sloping rail. This (crux) move is very reachy, and is likely a dyno for a shorter climber. Then, pull on a horn-like, bucket hold, which is the last solid move before the easy finish.

This is the very first climb I ever did at College Rock, in March of 2003, in my sneakers, so keep your sneakers (or hikers) on, and just do it, you know you want to. I routinely do this as my very last climb of the day for top access to retrieve my anchors. Free-up-and-downclimbing the chimney for top access is so much more "core" than simply scrambling up either end of the crag, don't you think?  

   In the corner formed by the buttress and "Send Money" face, climb up to an obvious ledge on easy holds, go over the "nutcracker" flake into the offwidth, and continue up the chimney to the top, using holds inside the chimney and just outside on the butress. Did you find the knee-bar? Downclimbing is more challenging, so of course you haven't really "finished" the route unless you do that too. 

This is a good crimp test that is a bit height related. Go straight up the clean face between two small, right-facing corners.

If you’re into mossy, dirty, spider web infested adventure climbs, this might be worth checking out. I happen to be in that crowd, and I found it fun. Ascend straight up the Grunge Gully. The first few mossy moves were a little tricky, but then it was pretty much a staircase. If this were cleaned a little, it could be a great beginner climb.

Ascend easy jugs to the left of the Grunge Gully. This is good for beginners or a warm-up climb.

A reachy start leads you to some slopey sidepulls. This is similar in style to the shorter and easier route to the left (Don't Know Much About Biology). Unfortunately, this route is way too short; some may characterize this a highball bouldering problem with a sketchy landing (i.e., pointy rock). This finishes on the lowest ledge on the North End - just before the Main Crag begins to gain some height.

Start as for Almost Cut My Hair, surmount the large ledge, get a few good pieces of good gear here, then traverse the obvious crack slanting up and left under the roof of Militant Right. Continue on the crack system moving left. Above Militant Left, you get your last piece of protection, but continue up the crack left (crux) and surmount another ledge. Here, there is 5.7 climbing to the top of the cliff, but you have run out your gear about 30 feet (the cliff is only 35 feet tall and a fall here would no doubt result in a deck). Top out the cliff above the wave, and walk off the back. 

  This sounds much more contrived than it feels! It is fun climbing as you are moving up during the entire traverse.

Preppies is a short but fun, easy route. Ascend to the right of the Grunge Gully. Top out is pretty sketchy with desperate sloping holds.

Face climb on smallish but positive holds to a right-slanting crack that parallels the overhang underneath. Traverse left one step, and then move upward to jugs on the steep face above.  Beware the "sucker jugs". You might think you have the crux nailed, but then...!

This wide band of rock hosts the majority of climbing here. It is easy to get on top from either end.

 L->R (N->S): A. Don't Know Much About Biology, 7, 1p, 18', TR. B. Not On My Face, You Don't, 8, 1p, 20', TR. C. Don't Stop Till You See The Whites of My Eyes, 9, 1p, 35', TR. D. Little Devil, 11. E. A Mind is A Terrible Thing to Waste, 9. E2. Wasted, 10-. F. The Militant Left, 11. G. The Militant Right, 10. H. Pop Test, 8. IF. Changing Majors Senior Year, 10- PG-13, 1p, 35', gear. I. Almost Cut My Hair, 9+. J1. Barber Pole, 11+. J2. It's Late September, 9+. K. Kidstuff, 11+. L. Final Exam, 12. M. My Mind Is A Blank, 11 nice shot, 1p, 25', gear. N. Fillin' The Blank, 11. O. Techno-Dweeb, 10. P. College Rock Chimney Buttress, 6, 1p, 25', TR. Q. Spring Vacation (College Rock Chimney), 0. R1. Send Money, 8. R2. More Money, 7. S. Roadtrip, 7. T. All Holds Barred, 11. U. "Exercize Buttress", 5, 1p, TR. V. "Steeple" Face, 9-, 1p, TR. W. Exercise Left To The Reader, 9+, 1p, 35', gear or TR. bottom row, 3rd photo X1. Flunked Again, 10, 1p, 30', TR. X2. Extra Points, 10+, 1p, 35', TR. Y. Nerds, 8, 1p, 22', TR. Z. Jocks, 6, 1p, 15', TR. AA. Grunge Gully / Grunge Gully Direct, 3, 1p, 15', TR. BB. Preppies, 6, 1p, 14', TR. CC. Seven Sisters, 4, 1p, 15', TR. DD. Mike Doonesbury Returns, 7, 1p, 13', TR. EE. Mal-Triculation, 5, 1p, 13', TR. FF. Jocks, 6, 1p, 12', TR. GG. Mantel, V3.

 Apparently, the               

Brendan on the traverse (200ft, V3).       has been done both R->L and L->R, 11 or V3.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Main Crag