When in doubt, downgrade it. That's my way of saying this link-up of

Der Squeal

and

Der Stihl

felt pretty dang hard for 13b, with at least four cruxes (more like five), but I just can't quite convince myself to take credit for it as a soft 13c. Nonetheless, it's another great enduro tour of the Bauhaus.

Climb the first five bolts of

Der Squeal

, then make a tricky traverse left across awesome, grey-streaked stone with pockets to meet up with

Der Stihl

at a good left kneebar, which is below an interesting and rather powerful undercling crux. Above that, a long, immaculate headwall keeps you on your toes all the way to the anchors.

Squeal to Stihl

Huge

The Brothers Carrutherzov

Derp

Gomorrah

Baby Brothers

Motley Cruise

Hurl Jam

Ice Man Cometh

School of Rock

Hot For Teacher

School of Rök

Girl Talk

Der Stihl

Gropius

Liquid Culture

Roadside Prophet

Choss Temple Pilots

Sigue Sigue Sputnik

Twisted Sister

Der Squeal

Love and Rockets

Start on

Squeal to Stihl

, cut left along on the crux, & join Bahause Proclamation.

This is an incredible route that in its former incarnation as a mere 25-meter pitch was known as "The Schwa." Not content with where the route ended, its first ascentionist Don Welsh yanked out the old anchors and re-routed the route onto a porcelain-hard grey streak up the headwall to the left, making for one of Rifle's best, and longest, pitches.

Huge is one route left of Roadside Prophet, the big line out the swell you first encounter at the Bauhaus Wall. Huge climbs past a fixed purple draw behind a tree into very steep terrain right of a grey bowl/depression, then moves left of an obvious Vee onto a long, streaked headwall.

It is also one route right of Tomfoolery.

Scrambled up to the ledge, clipping a bolt along the way if need be (use a verrry lonnnng sling). A skin-ripping pistol grip at the third bolt sets you up for the crux lunge, which is capped off by three bolts worth of sprinting for good, but distant, holds. A jug shake is followed by some tricky vertical climbing on popcorn holds and pockets, then a sneaky step left sets you up at the base of the grey streak, some of the best climbing in Rifle Mountain Park.

Take lots of draws and maybe a knee-pad for your left leg.

This route was put up by the late Steve Carruthers, a Salt Lake City climber and honorary Rifle local who died backcountry skiing in the Wasatch Mountains. Steve's other contribution to the Canyon is the

Gay Science

, which he equipped and Christian Griffith freed. Steve often came over to Rifle to hang out and climb, and he is dearly missed.

This is the rightmost route on the vertical left sector of Bauhaus Wall and actually punches through the roof band at a series of blue-streaked overlaps above the jutting prow of

Gomorrah

. It begins on the ledge just right of

Love and Rockets

.

Climb the steep face via the nice blue streak, encountering a tricky crux or two en route. Once below the roof band you can either lower off a bolt with a link (12a/b to here) or continue. Launch up and right into the roof and keep traversing. Big air beneath you, but lots of bolts and  positive holds take you to a finishing bucket over the lip.

This route is a bitch to clean. Either toprope it to clean it or lower off in two parts.

One route left of Tomfoolery (14b), Gomorrah is a five bolt extension to

Liquid Culture

(13a). Slightly unpleasant and awkward, Liguid Culture  trends up an obvious left facing weakness to the base of an extremely steep roof.  Catch a rest, and then cast into a brilliant sequence of difficult moves that lead to the anchors.  Don't forget your knee pads!

Climb

The Brothers Carruthersov

to the first set of anchors, just above the Diving Board, and it's a nice 12a.

Start by climbing the lower, rotten face with a fixed rope. Above the ledge, pull a set of steep, bouldery moves. Move up and right for a little crux. Get some good rest and finish with the final little crux in a groove below the Diving Board feature.

This isn't the best route but it's certainly worth doing if you're in the area. It's not as loose as it looks from the ground, if that's any consolation, and the moves are generally juggy and fun.

Motley Cruise is the leftmost of the trio of 5.11s on the far left sector of Bauhaus Wall and starts out in an acute dihedral before lumbering over a blocky roof feature. Amble up the well-featured face above, stopping at anchors below the giant roof band.

This was originally intended as a first pitch to a route through the big roof, which has yet to see any climbing action. Any takers?

This is the middle of the trio of 5.11s on the left side of Bauhaus Wall and probably the hardest, with a slopey, bouldery crux that catches you by surprise up high.

Climb right of the big rectangular hole into a faint corner, then wander up pods, pockets and funky crack holds to an upper crux barring entrance into an elegant stemming corner. The corner leads to anchors below the huge roof.

Wow!  I can't believe this one hasn't been written up. Despite the reassuring bolt hangers, rat poop filled jugs, unnatural line, and a general film of silt covering the entire route, Ice Man Cometh is pretty fun.

Using strangely oriented holds, make some very powerful moves out the belly of a seeping cave.  About 25 feet up, you are rewarded with a good rest.  Unfortunately, it's hard to think of anything but the Hantavirus, because the holds are filled with rodent feces and dust.  Pull into a shallow dihedral and follow the corner until the bolts strangely veer right, towards an arete.  Finesse across the face using delicate footwork, and some small crimps and follow the easy, but very grungy arete to the top.

This is Rifle adventure climbing at its best.  This thing has it all - a jungle like approach, hard moves, sandy rock, disease, rodent poop, and sketchy gear.  All just 5 minutes from the car!

A tough start through the first three bolts leads to an easier but still engaging headwall.

This extension of

School of Rök

(11b, 70 feet) tackles the massive roof on the left side of the Bauhaus. From the anchor at 70 feet, climb easily up and left to beneath the intimidating roof. Negotiate a horizontal section, then finesse a series of hanging dihedrals through fantastic geometry as the pump - in forearms and calves - slowly builds.

Start 20 feet right of

Choss Temple Pilots

beneath three closely-spaced bolts. Gain a chossy ledge to clip the first bolt, then climb up to and out the left side of a small roof to a smaller, blocky roof 15 feet higher. Veer right above the roof to an oblique corner that leads to a good stance on the left. Easier rock leads to a two-bolt anchor.

This is probably the hardest route in Rifle and one of the best.

Der Stihl is the "trade route" 5.13 on the Bauhaus Wall and has cleaned up a lot since the first ascent in 1992. Nevertheless, the finishing headwall tends to run with water and silt every spring and thus needs a careful brushing at the start of the summer season. Be prepared!

This is the second route from the right on Bauhaus Wall and often has quickdraws on it (the rightmost route is "

Der Squeal

", 13a, which climbs up overhanging white rock into a roof with a poised dagger). It can also be recognized by a vertical plaque with deep pockets at the start leading to very steep white rock and a twin set of grey streaks with a pod/crack between them.

Climb up the easy vertical face and engage with the overhang. An early, bouldery crux on painfully incut underclings and tiny crimps leads to better holds. Stay left (early ascents stayed right, which is more difficult) until you hit very bulging rock beneath the capping roof. A locker kneebar here allows you to bleed it back for a final, overhanging crux.

While one climber lowered off from the jug above this crux and still claimed an "ascent," the route still has about 5-6 bolts worth of awesome, vertical 5.12 climbing on nice dark rock. Technical moves and route-finding decisions comprise this engaging, airy headwall.

This route was originally equipped by Pete Zoller and Mike Pont, who abandoned the route after determining that it was "too long." It sat idle for a few years until George Squibb swooped in and freed the thing.

This is two routes left of

Der Stihl

and is basically the first route on the right when the approach trail drops you off at the base of the Bauhaus Wall. It climbs out the left side of the cave/wave onto a vertical face, which is followed by another bulge and a long, slightly overhanging headwall. It shares the first two bolts with Bauhaus Proclamation before moving left into a large pod/hole.

Sustained climbing on good but distant holds out the cave leads to a difficult lip move which sets you up on the vertical plaque. Shake out for the crux -- thin crimping through the bulge with plenty of hard, pumpy moves to blow it on through the middle of the headwall. The headwall eventually eases up, becoming somewhat chossy yet still gratifying.

This route is held together with a fair bit of glue but doesn't have any chipped holds . . . praise the lord!

Gropius was originally named "The Airtight Blonde."

Liquid Culture combines steep climbing with sub-par moves, less than perfect rock, and an anticlimactic finish.

Start up the left side of an obvious, blue streak, and head for a left-leaning seam.  This is where things go wrong.  Following the crack, do some unpleasant moves that lead you to a shallow, slabby dihedral.  Now pretend that you are trad climbing and stem you way to the top.  Oh wait, there is no top, you have simply reached the start of

Gommorah

.

This 30-meter pitch throws it all at you -- a thuggy cave, vertical limestone drip climbing, and a slopey, sustained headwall with funk moves and pissy holds.

This is basically the first route you encounter when you walk into the Bauhaus Wall, straight in front of you out the belly of the ominous cave right above the approach trail. It has a bolt down low in the 25-foot approach slab, and is the right of two lines coming off that bolt (the left one being Huge -- green draw in situ).

Because of the weird angles and such on this route, it's a good idea to use extra long draws on many of the clips, especially near the lip of the cave.

Thuggy moves and lonnnnng reaches between good holds lead to a lip encounter at bolt 5 or 6 (slapping to underclings). Step up and shake out on the vertical plaque, then surge into the 13a headwall, which has an especially tricky move just *after* the last bolt, getting to the anchors (this is a good place to fall repeatedly!).

Stout for the grade.

This is a fun route with lots of big holds, interesting crack-type features and nice morning sun on colder days. It climbs the aesthetic brown wall beneath the immense roof on the left side of the Bauhaus Wall and is accessed by scrambling up a steep slope on your left when you first approach the wall.

There are five routes on this wall, two 5.12s out right in the blue/grey rock and the three 5.11s out left near the bouldering cave. This is the rightmost of the trio of 5.11's and ends at an anchor beneath the deep V in the upper roof band.

Climb up past a rectangular hole, move right on slopers, then realm up the consistently steep rock above, milking the occasional rest before another 5.10/10+ type-sequence hits you in the finishing corner.

This is very cool climbing.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik is another "new" route added since the easing of the bolting ban, offering fun moves on varied stone.

Begin on the large ledge with some crimpy moves over a slight bulge.  Head left past a couple of nice pockets to easier terrain and a descent shake.  More pumpy sidepulls and general weirdness trend up & right to join the finish of

Love & Rockets

.  The opening moves are probably the most difficult, but this line really doesn't have a distinct crux.

Some sharp, small holds at the start will hopefully keep this nice addition off the warm-up circuit, but if not, better get on it now while the holds still have some texture!

Upside-down climbing through a 20-foot roof 100 feet off the deck makes this new route (August 2010) one of the most exciting 13a's in a canyon filled with awesome 13a's.

Climb "

Brothers Carrutherzov

" to the ledge before the traverse. Make the first exciting step right on that route, then blast straight up through the tiered overhangs, heading for the prominent groove through the middle of the big roof. The crux is starting that roof.

If you clip the anchors, the rope runs at a pretty harsh angle over the lip; it seemed better to down-jump, which is a whole lot of fun anyway. The anchors are where they should be, however  it would be a travesty to not turn the lip. Perhaps we should hang a bell at the finish  mandating a bell-ring and a down-jump for a proper send? No clip-able anchors, just a bell and a loop of slack dangling through space under your feet to the last bolt, which is out of sight. Ha. Or not.

If not for the hanging death block [now removed] which you must dyno to on this route, it would certainly get another star. The block is a real fucker -- wedged in far enough that it's nearly impossible to pry out yet hollow, cracked on all sides and a potential time-bomb.

This is the very rightmost route on Bauhaus Wall and climbs the very overhanging panel of white rock right of

Der Stihl

. This bottom bit is powerful and sustained on good holds with nice pockets, which soon run out, depositing you on a crimpy sequence below the block. Suck it up and fire for the block, kneebar behind the block, clip off the block -- love the block!

A tricky crux above the roof/block leads to a short, flakey headwall and the anchors.

This is the left of the two 5.12 routes that climb out the right side of the vertical panel beneath the roof band. It climbs an aesthetic blue/grey streak on steeper-than-it-looks rock and has some pretty in-your-face moves in a couple of spots.

Tricky for the grade but a worthy tick nonetheless. Scramble out right on the dirty ledge (your belayer should possible be either anchored in or one tier below you on the ground) and pull on via pockets. Up, up and away!

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Bauhaus Wall