Land of the Earth-born Spirit

Vedauwoo: Nearly Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About The Area

CENTRAL VEDAUWOO

THE ROCK FORMATIONS OF CENTRAL VEDAUWOO

**IMPORTANT. PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY ROUTES FOUND WITHIN CENTRAL VEDAUWOO, AS WELL AS ON THE NAUTILUS AND HOLDOUT are documented here. Everything else is considered as either ‘OUTBACK AREAS’ or as ‘OUTLYING AREAS’.

The little schematic on the right also represents Central Vedauwoo. It corresponds to the area marked ‘A’ on the orientation map shown at the bottom of the Intro Section.

On it you can also see Road # 700 to # 702 to the parking areas (shown in black / black dots). Trails to the climbing areas are shown in red.

The red line extending around the rock formations (shown in blue) is the Turtle Rock Trail (TRT) and the one in the middle is the Box Canyon Trail (BCT).  Other abbreviations are:  CM = Central Massif, HS = Holy Saturday, JP = Jurassic Park, GD = Glen Dome, TR = Turtle Rock, FT = Friction Tower, OE = Old Easy.

To get an idea of the scale of things, the Turtle Rock Trail is just about three miles long, end to end.

TAKE A FLIGHT OVER CENTRAL VEDAUWOO  ( IF YOU WANT TO )

Would you like a ‘bird’s eye view’ of this alluring place? It’s possible – thanks to a video taken by ‘daemn42‘ while attending a reunion of the University of Wyoming Outing Club back in July of 2013. Coincidentally, members of this organization have been responsible for considerable development of Vedauwoo as a climbing area, starting with early ‘summit bids’ in the late 1940’s and 50’s. It was their foresight, abilities and continuing commitment to original route development that largely formed the basic core of climbing activity at Vedauwoo that continues to this day. We owe them a debt of gratitude for these efforts.

So watch the video to the left and see how the key formations of Central Vedauwoo (only) spatially relate to one another. Alternatively, you can simply click on the ‘timeline’ and obtain ‘still’ images with a bit of explanation shown below left. Either way the ‘organization’ of the place becomes bit more understandable. *NOTE:  ‘stopping points‘ along the timeline are indicated when a specific formation and/or route is being seen. Pause here and lots more detail can be appreciated. Then move on. Thanks ‘daemn42’  for a great job. Very informative stuff!!

Three forethoughts:  1.)  Buckle up your seatbelt, there’s some turbulence ahead.  2.)  A huge volume of detail has been left out for the sake of clarity and brevity. You can find detail in the ‘choice boxes’ found below.  3.)  You can either watch the video on a ‘full screen’ or you can leave it small and click on the timeline for pausing on ‘high value stills’ with a bit of explanation. The formations are indicated in blue and the climbs are in orange.

THE TIMELINE
0:11 
flying northwards towards Box Canyon
0:27  closing in on Old Easy, showing MRC and Straight Edge
0:39  topping Old Easy looking at the major formations ringing Box Canyon, L to R Central Massif, Glen Dome, Turtle Rock and   Friction Tower
0:46  passing westward along the Central Massif showing Fall Wall and the Right Coke Bottle
0:56  Center Coke Bottle with Bell Crack splitting its face
1:04  Walt’s Wall
1:14  top of the Central Massif looking down into Box Canyon and L to R Glen Dome, Turtle Rock and Friction Tower
1:18  Hassler’s Hatbox is seen atop the Central Massif (in the center of field)
1:29  again passing westward along the Central Massif with Veda-Voodoo Boulder on the left
1:43  moving eastward over Walt’s Wall … note the 2 climbers on Foolishnes
1:45  Edward’s Crack splitting Walt’s Wall from top to bottom, as well as the Left Coke Bottle (in shade) with two diagonal, paralleling cracks, left is 4th of July, right is Horn’s Mother
2:14  swooping down over the Veda-Voodoo Boulder and hanging a right (approx. southwesterly) over the main parking lot toward
Holdout
2:22  Holdout is centered on the horizon…..next one comes FAST
2:25  the Nautilus comes into view, what a cool structure, probably one of the most photographed in all of Vedauwoo
2:30  the northwest end of the Nautilus with climbers near the bottom of Lower Slot and climbers above are ascending Finally
2:45  another group of climbers at the bottom of Easy Jam and Cornelius……then comes a dizzying ’round-a-bout’
3:28  past the climbers on Cornelius and up to the Parabolic Slab (aka the Potato Chip) where a climber is tied into the top anchors of The Postman
4:01  after a northeasterly pass above the Nautilus, we get a view of the Prow of this ‘breaching submarine’ with prominent OFFWIDTHS (eg the Torpedo Tubes) as well as some challenging jam cracks (eg Bug Squad, Maxilash)
4:52  watch out for the lightning strike directly above the Friction Tower now in the far distance, and now coming in for a landing
THAT’S ALL FOLKS

Here are all the formations of Central Vedauwoo

Click on any of the ‘choices’ below to obtain details, topos, route descriptions

and other ‘beta’.

 Boxes are arranged in clockwise order beginning with Fall Wall.

Fall Wall

Fall Wall is the most popular crag/area at Vedauwoo – everyone just seems magnetically attracted to the place. Fall Wall is the rightmost (eastmost) component of the South Face of the Central Massif (CM in the above topo)

read more

Coke Bottle

THE COKE BOTTLE A straight on view of the Coke Bottle – Coke Bottle ‘Center’ (Walt’s Wall to the left, Fall Wall to the right), The Coke Bottle is one of three prominent south facing formations of the Central Massif. It gets sun most of the day and it is easily...

read more

Walt’s Wall

WALT’S WALL Home of the ‘must do’ EDWARD’S CRACK. HERE’S THE MAIN FACE OF WALT’S WALL (WW) Walt’s Wall Area, and particularly its namesake climb named “Walt’s Wall”, has been climbed more than any other area in Vedauwoo. It was named for Walt...

read more

Chinatown

CHINATOWN Go to the (West) Turtle Rock Trailhead, take the trail and go through the gate. Chinatown is approximately 200 yards down the trail on your right. A couple of these routes have been climbed in the past, but none have been documented for the public until now....

read more

Hassler’s Hatbox

HASSLER’S HATBOX Hassler's Hatbox is an aesthetic, miniature climbing amphitheater with over a dozen unusually adventurous, choice routes ranging from a 5.6 crack inside of a crack …. to a nearly unclimbable 5.12 off width called 'LUCILLE'. You will be ‘above’ the...

read more

Holy Saturday

HOLY SATURDAY Holy Saturday is about 600 hundred yards down the Turtle Rock Trail (using the west trailhead), past the first beaver ponds (see first shot). It is one of the most aesthetic and photographed formations at Vedauwoo as it stands in...

read more

Foreign Territory

FOREIGN TERRITORY Where is it? Just past the north side of Holy Saturday along the Turtle Rock Trail, a faint trail leads northeast uphill into this cool little climbing sanctuary. FOREIGN TERRITORY TOPOS The south facing wall... 1.) Who The Devil Is...

read more

Jurassic Park

JURASSIC PARK (as viewed from the top of Glen Dome) About 200 yards beyond Holy Saturday along the Turtle Rock Trail, on past the trail to Foreign Territory, you will find a three-layered boulder stacked about 15′ high on the right (E). The...

read more

Glen Dome

GLEN DOME Glen Dome is a separate rounded formation that is easily seen while walking up the Box Canyon Trail as shown in the above image. While home to only two climbing routes, it is also the final destination of the old Nature Trail originally constructed by the...

read more

The Solar Collector

SOLAR COLLECTOR Where is it? About half way around the Turtle Rock Trail, you will see Solar Collector about 100 yards to the north.  The above shot is taken from the top of Glen Dome (VM = Valley Massif;  SC = Solar Collector;  TRT = Turtle...

read more

Turtle Rock

TURTLE ROCK While Turtle Rock is the namesake of the entire Central Vedauwoo Massif, it is actually one of several formations that make up Central Vedauwoo. It's located in the northeast quadrant and has the appearance of a large dome not unlike that of a giant turtle...

read more

Land of the Rising Moon

LAND OF THE RISING MOON How do I get here?? See another MAP. The Land of the Rising Moon is a rather elusive place. It's not so easy to find, just head towards Glen Dome, and BEFORE you get there, veer up and right. Keep going until you reach...

read more

Heartbreak Hotel

HEARTBREAK HOTEL ”Since my baby left me, I’ve found a place to dwell…” 1.) Atherolichenous Plaque (*11a start, then 9+) Begin in a challenging offwidth slot (crux) that used to be overgrown with lichen using a #4 Bro or # 2 Dude. Then move...

read more

The Hypertension Cirque

THE HYPERTENSION CIRQUE Beautiful little Hypertension Cirque is found on the NE top of Turtle Rock. Only two routes exist here at present, and one is the highly sought after area’s namesake climb “Hypertension”, a severely overhanging, very...

read more

Master Blaster

MASTER BLASTER MASTER BLASTER is a fairly hidden area, but most sought after for its namesake climb 'MASTER BLASTER', a severely overhanging ‘test piece’ hand and fist crack about 5.10c. It is strenuous at the grade and has ‘blasted’ more than...

read more

Friction Tower

FRICTION TOWER HOME OF THE CRYSTAL FREEWAY The Crystal Freeway makes up the entire north face of the Friction Tower in Central Vedauwoo. It’s one of the true hidden wonders of the area. It’s a gigantic upturned slab that appears smooth from a...

read more

Old Easy

OLD EASY “M R C” Amongst more than 1,000 challenging and sometimes bloodthirsty crack and sport climbs found in Greater Vedauwoo, some real classic lines are found on Old Easy, the most popular of which may be 'MRC'. ‘MRC’, the “Mountaineer’s Rock Climb”,  is on the...

read more

Holdout

HOLDOUT   Hey dude, where is this place?? Holdout is a superb formation literally bursting with climbing delights. The first documented ascent of this formation was on April 11th, 1954 when John Lund and Walt Sticker made it to the summit. They...

read more

The Nautilus

THE NAUTILUS SECTORS OF THE NAUTILUS (explained below) North Side: the PROW, NE Nautilus, NCentral Nautilus, NW Nautilus. South Side: West End, SW Nautilus, SCentral Nautilus, SE Nautilus, Fri 13th. The BOAT ROCK Captain Nemo never figured on this!! What a superb...

read more

Nautilus: The North Side

NAUTILUS THE NORTH SIDE  ( INCLUDING "THE PROW" aka OFFWIDTH CENTRAL ) Nautilus: North East: Bug Squad, Maxilash, Captain Nemo, Nemo’s Nemesis, Auto Supply, Horticulture, Cannonball and other exceptional climbs are located here. North Central: Mainly the Cool Hand...

read more

Nautilus: The South Side

THE SOUTH SIDE 1.) South West: The location of the Three Sisters Area, Ted’s Trot, Candlestick, Practice Slab, etc. 2.) South Central: Flying Buttress, Stinkzig, Handjacker and Progressive are found here. 3.) South East: You’ll find climbs like October Light,...

read more

Box Canyon Map

BOX CANYON MAP RED #1 = Take the Box Canyon Trail leading up to Glen Dome ( # 2 ) from the lower parking lot. (There is a small, but well-built bridge just past the intersection of the red and blue lines. Sorry it’s not indicated on the map.) This is an easy trail,...

read more

THE OUTBACK AREAS

MANY SUPERB FORMATIONS SURROUND CENTRAL VEDAUWOO. There is probably more climbing and especially adventurous routes on these unique and challenging crags than there is in all of Central Vedauwoo. Some formations are large and significant such as those found in the GREATER REYNOLD’S AREA, BLAIR, and the CITADEL, while others are more compact (POLAND ‘HILL’ and the VALLEY MASSIF) and sometimes hidden such as SOUTH CORNER, THE SOLAR COLLECTOR and the more recently developed A-MAZE-ING.

If you take the time….. to explore these gems, you will find a surprisingly wide range of routes from light, recreational and moderate to very difficult and highly technical and very difficult in nature. While some climbs are quite simple and straight forward like ………. to challenging, hard off widths like those found at the VERTICAL FREEWAY, mixed lines like ………. DON’T MISS OUT ON THESE unique, uncommon and exceptional experiences.

BELOW YOU WILL FIND SOME CLICKABLE MAPS OF THESE AREAS. GO AHEAD AND EXPLORE AROUND. ODDS ARE YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. This is a work ‘still in progress’, so everything won’t be covered for awhile. It should be obvious that the marked/numbered red lines are USFS Roads, while the unmarked red lines are major trails. Also, you can still use the hotlink list at the left to get to where you ‘want to go’.

** SEE CLICKABLE ‘IMAGE MAPS’ BELOW.
Approaching the steep face of ‘Uncertainty Principle’ (11b/c, A-Maze-ing Crag).

Click on the boxes below to find more information about your area.

Poland Hill

POLAND HILL Poland Hill can be seen from just about everywhere in Vedauwoo. In fact its the first formation one sees when turning off Interstate I-80 and heading towards Central Vedauwoo on USFS Road #700. Its shape was most likely responsible for the name of the...

read more

The Valley Massif

THE VALLEY MASSIF According to nearly everyone who has climbed here, it is well worth the journey, sometimes battling swarming mosquitos and slogging through swampy bogs, and many return time after time. The Valley Massif is an incredibly aesthetic formation, a silent...

read more

Blair

BLAIR OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION The well-kept secrets of Blair are slowly being discovered. Blair is the ultimate Klettergarten of Greater Vedauwoo and actually has a climbing history stretching back into the mid nineteen hundreds. It is far off the beaten track and away...

read more

Lower Blair

LOWER BLAIR You just can't miss Lower Blair. Driving down (basically east) Road #707 from the 'Blair Underpass', three closely situated monoliths begin appearing ahead of you. At first they seem rather unsubstantial against the background of the Sherman Mountains, but...

read more

Upper Blair

UPPER BLAIR UPPER BLAIR is literally bursting with high quality climbs - if you know where to find them. When I first started trying to make sense out of it (mid eighties), I was blown away by the unruly disorganization of the place. One look at the 'Upper Blair Topo'...

read more

The Reynolds Complex

THE REYNOLD'S COMPLEX This very aesthetic area is really composed of Reynold’s ‘Hill’ and three other very distinct formations including Gorilla Rock, The Granite Staircase and The Vertical Freeway. A  G E N E R A L  O V E R V I E W ...

read more

Reynold’s Left

REYNOLD’S LEFT THE TOPO 3.) Pooh Corner 10b First pitch is a perfect 5.9 hand crack to rap chains/anchors about 50 feet above. Second pitch (start of second pitch is shown in photo below) is intimidating, overhanging off width (probably 10a,b)...

read more

Reynolds Right

REYNOLD’S RIGHT THE TOPO 17.) Labyrinth 9 Described in Reynolds Left. 18.) Connecticut Yankee 10c Just right of Labyrinth, this is a thought-provoking series of cracks leading to a squeeze near the top. Interesting climb and worth the effort....

read more

Reynold’s Southeast

REYNOLD’S SOUTHEAST Reynold’s Southeast is a big broad expanse of (generally) user friendly granite.   The routes are of moderate difficulty, long, adventurous and less often climbed than others at Reynold’s.  Note the descent for most climbs is a rather sketchy...

read more

The Vertical Freeway

THE VERTICAL FREEWAY Here’s an informative shot of the “backside”, the NE exposure of the Reynold’s Complex; VF = Vertical Freeway, R = Reynold’s proper, GC = Granite Staircase. There is a place where “ALL ROADS GO UP”. The Vertical Freeway (VF) can be seen from the...

read more

Granite Staircase

GRANITE STAIRCASE An orientation shot (above) showing the NE FACES of both GRANITE STAIRCASE (GS) and GORILLA ROCK (GR) with its two alcoves (1 and 2) in which climbs are located. Granite Staircase, part of the Reynold’s Complex, has 6 routes, one is on the southwest...

read more

Gorilla Rock

GORILLA ROCK Kepley clipping a wire near top of ‘GLORIA’ See the orientation MAP, top of Granite Staircase Page. Gorilla Rock, part of the Greater Reynold’s Area, is a quiet, secluded refuge capping a densely forested hillside. Those that know about it covet the shady...

read more

Westworld

WESTWORLD Here’s a shot of Date with a Dike 10d 4 bolts – One of two climbs here right now. The other, Pollyanna Goes to Hell 11a Chimney to a partially detached flake is found about 25′ right. More details later. WESTWORLD Here's a shot of Date with a Dike 10d  4...

read more

H&I Crag

H&I Crag in the outback area of Vedauwoo consists of H’ (aka Rusty the Pig) 10c, ‘I’ (aka Animal Cracker Land) 11b, and Jay Bird 10d Hand crack(s).

read more

Parade Rock

PARADE ROCK Check out the MAP on the Outback Areas section of Vedauwoo to orient to where this little rock is. Small it might be, but one of the routes (#1) is a very well-known, yet aesthetic finger buster (oxymoron-ic). There’s been many a fall taken on this one....

read more

Spelunk Spire

SPELUNK SPIRE Yes, the hardmen of old even found this place. Its an adventure to get here, let alone to climb it. There are some old iron pegs up in here if you look for them. Looks like Mickey Mouse ears up top, an easy way to identify this high formation from a long...

read more

End of the Road Rock

END OF THE ROAD ROCK Here’s a long shot of End Of The Road Rock taken from Road 700bb looking west. The road ends right at the rock. The trail to ‘THE OUTBACK’ starts almost where the road ends. This has turned into a very popular, yet still secluded formation. There...

read more

Amaze-ing

AMAZE-ING Upon first view, this crag seems like a ‘jumbled pile’, a MAZE of upturned flakes and blocks with little or no organization, nothing climbable, and in fact it was passed by on many occasions. It is nestled in a pristine setting, a small remote...

read more

The Citadel Area

THE CITADEL AREA The Citadel Area is tucked away within several small, loosely interconnected valleys choked with aspen and pines near gurgling streams and beaver dams along the south fork of Middle Crow Creek. The only intruders you’ll find are occasional cattle,...

read more

Citadel Rock

CITADEL ROCK THE SOUTHWEST MAIN EXPOSURE ( * NW FACE IS FOUND BELOW) THIS IS A great place to be, sunny most of the day, with moderate to fairly hard routes. THE SOUTHWEST MAIN EXPOSURE ( * NW FACE IS FOUND BELOW) THIS IS A great place to be, sunny most of the day,...

read more

The Short Wall

THE SHORT WALL Home of ‘The Short Wall’ and ‘The Superb Arete’ One of the most unique, daring and bold lines at its grade, ‘SPIT OFF’ (5.11c, 5 bolts, #1) was put up by Ken Driese and Larry Scritchfield in 1991. The gut-wrenching step ‘across the void’ to start the...

read more

Plumb Line Rocks

PLUMBLINE The Plum Line crags are nestled in their own aesthetic setting, one of several miniature valleys that form ‘The Citadel Area’. It actually consists of four loosely connected formations. The largest is the two-tiered ‘Plumb Line’ Crag itself as shown below....

read more

Mechanical Transmission Crag

MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION CRAG 1.) Worm Drive 11b Thrutch your’ way up a nasty fat crack with a ceiling and keep going – if you can!! Scarpelli and McGann ’85. 2.) First Gear 9 Have a go at a slightly less strenuous ‘wide one’. WHO DID THIS ONE FIRST?? DESCENT: A fixed...

read more

Blair

BLAIR OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION The well-kept secrets of Blair are slowly being discovered. Blair is the ultimate Klettergarten of Greater Vedauwoo and actually has a climbing history stretching back into the mid nineteen hundreds. It is far off the beaten track and away...

read more

Lower Blair

LOWER BLAIR You just can't miss Lower Blair. Driving down (basically east) Road #707 from the 'Blair Underpass', three closely situated monoliths begin appearing ahead of you. At first they seem rather unsubstantial against the background of the Sherman Mountains, but...

read more

Upper Blair

UPPER BLAIR UPPER BLAIR is literally bursting with high quality climbs - if you know where to find them. When I first started trying to make sense out of it (mid eighties), I was blown away by the unruly disorganization of the place. One look at the 'Upper Blair Topo'...

read more

* * * * THE GREATER REYNOLD’S AREA * * * *

Historical evidence indicates that all formations besides/excluding the main
Reynold’s Formation are part of the DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND. We shall see about this soon.

OUTLYING AREAS

Luebben inverted on ‘Squat’ (12b OW at the Roof Ranch).
Several outlying crags are accessed by Happy Jack Road. These are:

  • The Roof Ranch, including the Bunkhouse and Rusty Rock
  • Eagle Rock
  • Jetstream

NEW ROUTES

Since publication of Heel and Toe in 1994, considerable route development has taken place.

Here is a sampling of these new creations with descriptions and topos found below.

1.) Revenge of the Nothing

2.) Mr. Rockbiter

3.) Jamminy Crackup

4.) Creature Features

5.) Turnaround

1.) REVENGE OF THE NOTHING

“Revenge of the Nothing” (11b/c) was put up on the right end of the COKE BOTTLE in Central Vedauwoo in 1995. It is a fairly long, steep, one pitch bolted (12 bolts) face route that traverses right from the start of “The Neverending Story” before it ascends the rightmost water streak. The traverse is extremely delicate, requiring lots of precision footwork and sidepulls using small crystals. As the traverse transitions vertically, thin exfoliation edges are found within the scoop of the waterstreak and a sequential series of small crystals provides additional purchase. A Fixe Ring anchor set was placed onSphinx Ledge at the top of the climb.

Mark Duff negotiating the very delicate, balancy traverse on Revenge of the Nothing.
“Revenge” can be reached in two ways. First, one can step right soon after the crux of Mainstreet to a sizable corbel, above which has been placed a double anchor belay station. This is the traditional start for Neverending Story. Alternatively, the route can be accessed from above by first rappelling to Sphinx Ledge and then rappelling to the bottom belay station. One can either pull the rope for a free ascent, or the climb can be top roped from this position.
DESCENTS: 1.) A double rope rap will get you to the bottom of the route from Sphinx Ledge. 2.) A single will get you to the bottom belay station at the start of ‘Neverending Story. From here you can make another rap to the bottom. 3.) You can ascend to the top of the formation on any route and use rap stations on Fall Wall or Walt’s Wall.
*NOTE: The names of these climbs (including Neverending Story, Revenge of the Nothing, Mr. Rockbiter and the Sphinx Ledge), first used by Layne Kopischka, were derived from Michael Ende’s fantasmical novel “Neverending Story.”

2.) MR. ROCKBITER
Another new route, “Mr. Rockbiter”, was put in at the same time as “Revenge” on the COKE BOTTLE. This is a 10a bolted route that ascends from Sphinx Ledge to the top of the formation (see the topo for “Revenge”) where a two Fixe Ring rap station is placed. While relatively short, 6 bolts, it offers a sporty line to finish off any of the four bolted routes below, as well as Mainstreet, that ascends to Sphinx Ledge.

3.) JAMMINY CRACKUP
Jamminy Crackup (11c) is a mixed (trad and bolted) climb on the northeast corner of John’s Tower in Blair that will test your skill at gymnastic movement from the start. TAPE UP! The entry moves involve nearly inverting on good hand jams to obtain a heel hook with the right foot, enabling one to gain access to the main crack system by shuffling the jams upward enough to reach a good climbing position after several feet. Place a good cam or two (2.5 Friends) or a cam and a passive piece to protect these rather daunting beginning moves. Get a 1.5 or 2 Friend ready to slam into the crack above as soon as possible. Continue past a horizontal crack and protect well here because the crux section above needs to be negotiated fairly rapidly as it is very strenuous off-fingers. Proceed to jam the slightly flaring off-fingers crack section which is slightly overhanging and leans to the right. You might be able to get in a 0.5 Camalot here, but the first good pro comes at the next horizontal crack about 12 feet above. Nearing the end of the crack system about 40′ up, better edges and flakes are found and medium sized pro goes in well. A fixed stopper is found at the end of the crack near the shelf. It has been left for two reasons; first, several falls have set it well, and second, it keeps the rope from being eaten by the crack as the headwall is climbed.

The HEADWALL offers three different lines to the top, two are bolted and one protects scantily with a tcu and/or 2 or 3 small wires. Pick your grade to finish, 11a (leftmost, 2 bolts), 10b (center, 2 bolts) or 9 (rightmost). All three lines lead to the same Fixe Ring anchor set at the top of the headwall. Rappel 85 feet to the ground. Use caution if using a 50-meter rope as it barely stretches to reach the bottom.
Get to Jamminy Crackup, park near the 8 Ball in Blair. Take the trail heading SW out of the campsites amongst the large boulders and continue about 300 yards into a small valley separating the 8 Ball from John’s Tower. When an old barbed wire fence is reached, turn uphill (approx.SE) before crossing it and continue uphill on a winding faint trail. After about 200 yards, the trail begins to steepen and you will find a trail cutting up and right. Take this to the saddle between John’s Tower and the Heap to a high point where you should be looking south (across a valley) at the smooth north face of West and Middle Corner. At this point, look directly to your right (west) and you will see Jamminy Crackup.

4.) CREATURE FEATURES
Found on the south side of the Blair 1 Formation, Creature Features is three, yes three, routes in one. It was put up in ’95 and named in part for a close-by Scarpelli classic “Little Creatures”. There is a 90-foot rap from the top where there is a Fixe Ring anchor set.
1.) 5.9, takes some wide pro.
2.) 10b, two alternatives, one is thin.
3.) 11a/b, a tough pull over a bulging hand crack – tape up for sure.

5.)  T U R N A R O U N D
Here’s a ‘mixed’ line that promises unique adventure and challenge for anyone climbing at the grade. Turnaround, actually put up in ’93, is all trad. It begins with a marginally protectable offwidth trough at 5.8+ for about 40 feet to a ledge. Once the ledge is attained, a large chockstone is surmounted and one “turns around” (ie faces in the opposite direction, towards the south) to find two cracks leading to the top. One on the (now right) wall is 5.8 and can be linked with the lower off width as one long line at 5.8. We are calling this Turnaround 1. To the (now) left of this is one of the finest 5.10c/d finger cracks at Vedauwoo seen in the shot at left. The super lock-offs are reminiscent of those found in Mandella on Holdout. We are calling it Turnaround 2.

Descent is via a Fixe Ring Anchor set placed on the face roughly 50 feet directly north from the top of the climb. The rap takes you straight down the wide face that you saw from the bottom of the climb. To get to the rap station is rather circuitous, but well worth it and the rap takes you to the exact base of the climb. *NOTE: 90 foot rap!! One can also downclimb the Northeast end of the formation, but its quite dicey.
Turnaround is located on the southeast face of Blair 2 in Lower Blair. Perhaps the easiest way to locate the climb is to first find “Deadman’s Glove” and proceed about 20 feet to the right around the corner. You will see the steep offwidth trough at this point, but not the cracks which are hidden from view above. If you get to the very large boulder leaning against the face of Blair 2 under which there is a cave, you have gone too far.

Check Out These New ONES!!

* * * * * * * * *

RECOMMENDED CLIMBS

Check out the LIST OF RECOMMENDED CLIMBS below, some of the highest quality routes in each grade and in each climbing form (face, fingers, hands, offwidth). Try one of these, or strike out on your own. HAVE A BLAST.

               CLIMB                       LOCATION                TYPE             RATING

bullet Etude for the right hand      Nautilus SE              face                    5
bullet Cornelius                           Nautilus NW           fingers                 5
bullet Edward’s Crack                Walt’s Wall               hands                5
bullet Hideaway chimney            Holy Saturday          offwidth               5
bullet Moor Crossing                  Reynold’s SE              face                 6
bullet Kim                                  Poland Hill RB       hands, fingers        6
bullet Step Ladder                      Nautilus SE             offwidth              6
bullet Stinkzig                              Nautilus SE              varied                6+
bullet Cold Fingers                     Fall Wall                     face                 7
bullet Petit Arbre                     Blair I, west end           hands                7
bullet Zipper, 2nd pitch           Valley Massif NW         hands                7
bullet Social security ran out     Valley Massif SE           face                 8
bullet Dirt* Pictures from the Prom     Master Blaster      face                8
bullet Strawberry Jam                Crystal Freeway          hands               8
bullet Vulture                             Nautilus E end           offwidth              8
bullet Waterstreak #2                  Walt’s Wall                face                 9
bullet Finger Grinder                    Reynold’s                 fingers               9
bullet Pooh Corner, 1st pitch       Reynold’s                  hands                9
bullet Finally                             Nautilus W end           offwidth              9
bullet Fall Wall, lower pitch           Fall Wall                   face                 10a
bullet Mr. Rockbiter                 Coke Bottle Right          face                 10a
bullet Neon Madman                    Fall Wall                  fingers                10a
bullet SS Maywood                North Corner, Blair        hands                10a
bullet Mainstreet                        Coke Bottle               offwidth              10a
bullet 1st Iteration                      Jurassic Park                 face                 10b
bullet Beef Eater                        Holdout NW                hands                10b
bullet Flying Buttress                   Nautilus SW              offwidth              10b
bullet Currey’s Diagonal              Holdout NW              varied                10b
bullet 2nd Iteration                       Jurassic Park               face                  10c
bullet Seam Variation                       MRC                     fingers               10c
bullet Pen*s Dimension                   Reynold’s                 hands                10c
bullet Jay’s Solo Citadel               Short Wall                Offwidth             10c
bullet Date with a Dike                  Westworld                  face                10d
bullet Ultraviolets                     John’s Tower SE            fingers               10d
bullet Lichen Lung                       Jurassic Park                hands              10d
bullet Left Torpedo Tube          Nautilus E end               offwidth            10d
bullet Gunga Din                           Fall Wall                      face                11a
bullet Mandela                            Holdout SE                  fingers              11a
bullet H*ng Like a Horse              Reynold’s                    hands              11a
bullet Maxilash                           Nautilus NW               offwidth             11a
bullet Neverending Story       Coke Bottle  Right               face                11b
bullet What the French Girl Said     North Corner        fingers, hands       11b
bullet Hesitation Blues                 Nautilus SE                   hands              11b
bullet Worm Drive                        Citadel                      offwidth             11b
bullet Boardwalk                       Coke Bottle              fingers / varied       11b
bullet Revenge of the Nothing    Coke Bottle Right             face               11c
bullet Max Factor                       Nautilus, NW                fingers             11c
bullet Spectreman                     The Heap, Blair                hands             11c
bullet Right Torpedo Tube          Nautilus Prow              offwidth            11c
bullet Eleven Cent Moon             Holdout NW                  face               11d
bullet Bug Squad                         Nautilus NW                fingers             11d
bullet Easter Island                     North Corner                  face               12a
bullet Space Oddity                Coke Bottle Right               face               12a
bullet Fing*r Fant*sy                 Old Easy, top                 fingers              12a
bullet I’d Rather be in Philadelphia     Reynold’s               hands              12a
bullet Fourth of July                 Coke Bottle Left               varied              12a
bullet New Maps of Hell        Valley Massif NW               face                12b
bullet Hypertension                  Turtle Rock, top               fingers              12b
bullet Mr. Chimp                       FrictionTower                  hands              12b
bullet Squat                                Roof Ranch                  offwidth             12b
bullet Pretty Girl* with Long Knives      Blair III NW        varied               12b
bullet New Mutant                      Nautilus SE               fingers, hands        12c/d
bullet Lucille                             Hassler’s Hatbox            offwidth              12c/d
bullet North Shore                       Holdout NW                  face                 13a/b
bullet Silver Salute                    Coke Bottle, Left               face                 13a/b

 

For More Information see the rest of Vedauwoo.org

or send an email at 'Contact Us'