This is perhaps the nastiest climb in the area. If you like your bad rock dirty with questionable protection in spots, this climb is for you.

Take the corner that separates the Left side and center section of

Plotinus

from bottom to top, passing gritty rock, gravely smears, and dirt in the crack... not to mention some questionable chockstones.

Belay up top while asking yourself how important it really is to climb "something new" or "everything" at the wall. I didn't arrive at a good answer.

Dirty Corner (unknown)

Rama

Nerve Damage

Plotinus

I Have  a Dream

The Scientist

Lucid Dreaming

Fifty feet right of Lucky Strikes on a south-facing wall is a shallow, overhanging left-facing corner. This is Rama. Climb the corner past three bolts up through a short overhanging finger crack. Gain a ledge and follow a right-facing corner up to a steep face to a two-bolt anchor.

An obscure route relative to the more recent additions to the wall, this one is not clearly outlined by bolts or chalk.  Start up off the ground and climb a crux slab past a bolt. This is rated 5.11a in the Rossiter book, but feels more like 5.10.  '

The Scientist

' is considerably harder. Head up and left with small nuts and cams ready.  While the first descent was no doubt done in some other fashion, presently the retreat is quite easy.  Work over to the anchors on '

The Scientist

' and rap off.

This route is a diagonal crack that supercedes the more popular 'The Scientist' on the big left-facing wall at the right end of the Plotinus wall.  Start on the right edge on jugs and work your way up the arete to step left on the face where you can start getting good stoppers with minimal rope drag. Work up and left on the diagonal crack for some way, passing great crimps and fingerlocks with thin footwork. There is a little vegitation on the line.  You can finish by going left all of the way to the corner (Aka Nerve Damage) or as the crack runs out, go straight up the face left of the top of The Scientist (5.9, S) with little gear.The line is good, and is probably 5.10a. Placing stoppers is a little pumpy, and if you 'dialed in' on the other 5.10's on this wall, this one will feel a little harder. A decent line though, despite needing a little weeding.

This route is found on the lowest tier of Polotinus Wall, leading up to just below the base of Boulder Quartz System. Follow the line of 4 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor with welded cold shuts. The route seems to be about 5.11. If the route cleans up, it will probably feel 5.10. I was scaling a lot off with the feet though. My partner, who is/was pretty solid on 10's, had a hard time with it for the same reason.

The difficulty may come more from the scaling, dirty rock down low than from anything inherent to the moves. I felt more likely to slip off than fall off. The line is short and of dubious quality relative to the others at this cliff. A must do only for the true "route collector."

This is a three star route that takes a direct line up the beautiful clean slab just left of "Rama" on the Plotinus Wall. Clip the first bolt and make a nice move up to the second bolt. Make a difficult move past the second bolt, then a another dicey move to reach the crack. Place the Aliens and move up over a small roof. Follow the line of bolts up the clean face to a two-bolt anchor. One of the best slab pitches in the canyon.

Just right of Rama on the Plotinus Wall is a beautiful, overhanging arete. This is Lucid Dreaming. Stick-clip the first bolt then power up a series of tricky, strenuous moves to a stopper move near the the fourth bolt. Crank up over the bulge and follow the steep face up to a two-bolt anchor. Classic and hard arete climbing on beautiful granite.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Middle