POLAND HILL S. E. FACE
POLAND S E
1.) Overload 9 Take the right leaning crack system that terminates in a wide chimney.
2.) Rocking Chair 10d Rather contrived climb up discontinuous cracks to a roof to a short headwall and belay.
3.) Under Achiever 7 25 feet right of #2 is another climb up into a wide slot to a hand crack on the right.
4.) Skull 10a Starts on the left side of the Skull Alcove. Set an anchor and go for overhanging hands (in the R-facing dihedral corner) to an overhanging chimney. Use good gear or you could crack your own skull. Set a belay at an obvious ledge. Continue up and over the roof to the top and belay.
5.) Orbital Ridge 10b A significant, 'fisty' left-arching jamcrack with a cruxy exit - just left of Skull. After about 30', step left and do the last 15' of Skull to an (usually) anchor of slings. For another view see Pol E.
6.) Cross Bones 11a A more difficult exit to Skull, cross over (traverse) right from the belay to another crack splitting the roof.
7.) Remote Control 12b Found in a right facing dihedral, Remote's a grueling line with a thin and deceptive start to a handcrack. For another view see Pol E.
ALSO SEEN ON "THE RAT BRAIN" (in this figure):
12.) Kim 6 A truly sweet handcrack at the grade. The most vociferous sentiment about this climb is "why doesn't it go on for another 100 feet?" Other than that, its a total classic.
14.) Fantasia 9 The big crack that splits the Southeast face of the Rat Brain from bottom to top. The FFA was in October of 1970 by Jeff Heath and Jerry Sublett and had not been repeated when Halfpenny and Mathiesen finished writing "A Climber's Guide to Southeastern Wyoming" in '71. As stated by the authors ... "It is hard to say whether Fantasia, as a 5.10 climb, will stand the test of time, but its significance lies in ushering in a new era of super hard climbing at Vedauwoo, that of the 5.9 and 5.10 jam cracks. Many more cracks are just waiting for the right man, ie 4th of July and Horn's Mother. This is the first and only route in Southeastern Wyoming to be rated 5.10. It has been led only once and then it was seconded by the use of jumars." Today, the climb has been downgraded to 5.9 by concensus. Its still a distinctive fat crack with opening moves leading into a cruxy pod.
Climber's TR'ing 'Piece of Dirt' and 'Fantasia'. 'Cool Jet' is also seen.
15.) Cool Jet 11a A considerably harder, thinner version of Fantasia - actually pretty burly and sustained. You may need your afterburners for this one if you're not in the best of shape. Just a few feet right of #14.
16.) The Petit Crapon Recess. See Poland Rat Brain for description.
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