New Route on the Mesa Verde Wall

5.12, 3 pitches, FA Gabriel Coler and Jim Ablao Dec 2011

P1. Same as for Chimney de Chelly (pg. 201 RT. 74 in Watts) Note: the anchor on this pitch was replaced with ASCA hardware Thanks!

P2. Follow Chimney de Chelly past a newly replaced bolt, and through poor rock until reaching the splitter above and to the right. Much better rock with bouldery crack moves leads to an anchor. (See Watts pg. 201 RT.75)

P3. Climb straight up and then continue following bolts across the wall to finish on the last 20 ft. of Palo Verde.

For more route info or to print a topo of this route go to www.hiddencrag.com/great_divide.html

I think you are mixing up Gimme Shelter and Exile on Main Street. The former is the one with the high second bolt (which earns it an R rating), and it's 11d, so you bet it feels hard for 11a!

From Ted Stahl:
We sent the second pitch of Dirty Pinkos in fantastic ghetto form - we only had 8 bolt hangers so we had to screw down some nuts to clip on the first ascent. If you do the upper portion of the route please make sure you bring two ropes to get down! Long pitch.

The rock on the 2nd pitch of the climb is amazing! It drilled more like basalt than tuff.

Mike worked on the route a few days ago and cleaned it up. He also equipped the whole climb with hangers (two of the hangers on the route are from the original bolt ladder on Monkey Face). We are super psyched about the climb and feel like in a few (five?) years it will be well travelled.

We will attempt to create a third traverse pitch (about 120') to a 4th pitch slab in August).

Editor's Note: See the post below "New Route - Dirty Pinkos, 5.8, Red Wall" for rating & FA information.

Hey all!

1) Gimme Shelter (on Rolling Stone Wall) has a huge (about 1 cubic foot) block loose near the top, above the last bolt. It could be cleaned, but the thought of pulling that thing off 200 or so feet above Morning Glory Wall makes me nauseous.

2) Gimme Shelter's second bolt is strange (and, most likely, dangerous): the nut holding on the hanger only has about a thread and a half in contact with the bolt. Seems dangerous (although not as dangerous as the freaking too - high second bolt on Exile on Main Street. Criminy...that was the hardest 11a I've ever dogged up).

3) I placed a hanger, washer and nut on the first bolt of Yoderific, but, even though I dragged down a double rack of cams and a triple rack of stoppers to place 17 pieces on Kunza Corner, I forgot to bring a wrench to tighten said nut, so it's only finger tight. I'll bring a wrench next time, but if anyone's in the area...

4) Sabotage is hard.

Be well, all!

From Ted Stahl:
"Dirty Pinkos" is a new 5.8 bolted slab route on Red Wall. The route starts
just left of Super Slab.

FFA - Ted Stahl and Michael Reusse Spring 2011.
FA - Ted Stahl and Jeff Frizzell Summer 2003.