Realization? But of what? Maybe of the fact that the minimalistic bolting approach the developers used on the wall is perfect, leaving you to face climb a ways above awesome gear placement instead of clipping bolt after bolt?

I had my doubts about said approach when I could only spot 3 of the 5 bolts that supposedly protect the route. Fear not I thought, they're probably hiding over a bulge... Famous last words.

Scamper up an easy start to reach a laser-cut .75 crack disappearing behind a monster flake. A couple of ring locks and a bolt later, said flake will spit you out of the safety of its insides and  onto the blank face. An exciting lieback past a second bolt (clip long) will deposit you in an alcove under a roof. Follow standard extraction procedures to get out of the hole and surmount the roof after clipping the 3rd bolt. Regroup, recover and come to terms with the fact that there will be no more bolts before casting off into the mellow upper face, placing gear in horizontals and  loving life despite the occasional patch of lichen finding its way in your eyes.

If you've climbed 5.15a

(who hasn't)

this route will certainly remind you of its French Sharma-esque éponyme - it's definetly on par when it comes to classic status.

Realization

Native Utard

Stay Free

The Sword

Utahpia

Panty Shield

Lowe Route

Golden

The Shield

The First Time

Soak It Insideher

Retriever

Diagonal Connection

A Truly Golden Little Book, No Less Beneficial Than Entertaining, of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia.

That's probably what the FA team (sans

Thomas More

for you book fiends out there) thought when they spotted the first 40' of this one. While the upper section wanders and is a bit dirtier than most of the other lines on the wall, the hard boulder problem start on unlikely holds and the wild moves in the corner above do a lot to redeem the line.

Follow 3 bolts up a blank face slashed by a wafer-thin rib of quartzite and

one

foothold. If you make sense of this puzzle you'll be rewarded with a nice rest below an overhanging corner. Crotch-stretching moves up the stem-box past a few solid pieces and a not-so solid block deposit you at the base of a curving finger crack. The book describes a line up this crack and straight to an anchor we couldn't find.

To avoid travelling through moss on shitty rock, abandon the crack when it veers right and thins out and wander on a left diagonal path to the obvious anchor of

Panty Shield/Stay Free

. The book describes this as

Utahpia Variation

, it seems to be the only option due to the lack of a dedicated anchor.

Start just left of the big corner system, climb the trough to a 3ft roof.  Balance your way right around the roof to a splitter finger/tight hands crack slanting to the right.  Then bust left to a bolt on the face and mustard up on to a slab (not easy to decipher).  Figure a way through the next roof onto a beautiful face with a couple of bolts that lead to a small crack for about 20ft to the anchors.  A must do if you are in the area IMHO

Stay Free

is another Fred Henion proud line at the

Wall of Tiers

. In this case, the thing it stayed free of is bolts: sanity (fear?) dictated that only one fixed piece would be there to clip; for the rest, you're on your own.

Start your emancipation by bouldering up an easy section of horizontals which abruptly ends at a steep slab split by a hairline fracture. Stand on a table-size detached flake, realize you can play the bongo with this whole section of the route (and there's not a damn thing you can do about it), then blaze up the crack. You'll reach another solid section of horizontals where things start getting steeper. Fight the pump and make your way past large protruding blocks into an alcove left of the huge roof. Dump a couple solid cams, clip them with extra extra long runners and commit to the wild traverse onto the face. The position and exposure will make those decent horizontals feel like 1/4 pad crimps at best. Fortunately the lone bolt is there to assuage your fears. It's no time to relax though as there still is some airy and pumpy climbing to reach the anchor. A piece here and there help keep this section in the tolerable range.

No move felt like 11c but the exposed nature of the climbing compensates nicely.

High five if you free yourself from gravity.

Slow clap if you take the ride.

Climb to a horizontal, place some gear and get on a nice face to a bolt.  Getting past the bolt requires good foot work and side pulls to get to a very short finger crack. Crank threw to a nice horizontal and enjoy fun face climbing to the top using horizontals for pro.  Shares same anchors as the

Lowe Route

.

The guidebook is kind enough to let you know that this one has a

"very runout start for short people".

Mmmmmmm, if you read this after doing battle with the lieback of Realization you'll think twice before attempting the onsight. The flake is longer, steeper and more blunt-edged that its neighbor but sports the same number of bolts (2), the first one being out of reach for anyone shorter than Andre the Giant on a ladder with a stick clip...

A few holds on the face on both sides of the flake make the start go at mid-11. Expect bizarre insecure moves (slabbing, liebacking, OW technique) and don't botch it on the way to the 1st clip. Once established on top of the flake, wander up and left toward the mondo roof, placing small gear and getting pumped, the sustained nature of the climbing not exactly lending itself to fiddling with nuts (HA!). A rest can be had after the faint dihedral that leads to the corner of the roof. If you're feeling fresh, clip the last bolt and punch it on slightly easier ground, the spaced out gear and the pump keeping things exciting to the very end.

If you do Utahpia the rope will be up there. Choose between a proud and serious lead or a fun recon TR for a later attempt.

Start out of the cave under

the trash compactor

and fire through the crux pulling up and over the roof into the obvious corner of hands/small fists with wide feet.  Keep climbing this corner until a big ledge is on your left.  Move out onto the face for some sporty moves to the chains.

Golden climbs a striking series of dihedrals and aretes on great rock. Makes for a perfect warmup for a day of crushing the Wall of Tiers.

Start heading straight up a thin face on horizontals or traverse in from the left to get into a left facing dihedral. Follow it to a roof, surmount it to another dihedral and eventually emerge onto an arete that you follow to the anchors.

A Must do if you are at the Crag of Tiers!  Climb the face into the scoop passing 2 bolts.  When you figure out the moves its mind blowing!  After that, face climb using gear until you reach the last bolt.  Climbing past the last bolt is a little tricky, shortly after is some victory climbing to the anchors.  Some really interesting holds on this climb, even a bomber finger pocket!

Start off to the right of a big corner and climb the arete with a cool splitter finger crack.  Pull onto a ledge and climb the right side of the big corner (dont be scared to use the corner every now and then).  Then angle to the right and climb the same finish as Soak it Insideher to a 2 bolt anchor.

Climb a crack/flake system about 10 feet left of an obvious arete up to a small roof. Navigate the thin, exposed section and on up to the anchors

Scramble up a dirty gully being careful not to flatten your belayer with choss. After 30', step left onto the face and clip a couple of bolts. A short shuffle up and left brings you to a 6" ledge and a tough mantle. If you can clip the 3rd bolt before committing, do it. If you can't, don't blow it or your head might end up close to the ground.

Once established on the shelf, slightly runout climbing on good edges will bring you to the anchor of Golden.

Diagonal Connection

follows the obvious crack system that separates

Trash Compactor

and the face of

Native Utard

. The line stays independent until the last 15 or so feet where you're forced into a rightward traverse to merge with the crack of NU (above the last bolt). Continuing along the arete seems possible in a hard and runout way.

Great pro and solid rock make this long pitch into the best warm-up on the wall.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Wall Of Tiers