This route is great: beginner climbing, solid protection all over, fun moves over clean rock, and relatively straight-forward route-finding. To top it all, it is in the shade in the summer until after noon. 

  Pitch 1 (100 ft): Climb directly up to a small lichen-covered block next to a small (8 ft) juniper tree. Make a traverse move to the right (5.7) to above the tree. Continue along the crack in the slab above or in the corner to the left of it to a belay on a narrow ledge with a prominent prickly pear on the right. 

  Pitch 2 (120 ft): Go straight up to to a horizontal crack, traverse left using the crack for feet and continue up at a flake to an easy ground. Alternative way of going right is less straightforward but works also. Neither way is particularly protectable and both lead to an easy scramble above. Either climb the large, right-facing corner (5.7) and belay from above the point where it turns left, or take an easier crack system to the right of it, to gain a large ledge next to a huge dead juniper. 

  Pitch 3 (100 ft): Continue in the corner up through a nice layback section (5.6) to a ridge line. Belay from a gear anchor on the ridge.

Bucky Blue

Cheap Trick

Drew's Groove

Keyhole Ridge

Bucky's Shoulder

Mother's Day

Murray's Warmup

Barb's Roof Problem

Bucky's Twin

Grandmother's Day

The original, three-pitch route is no longer available due to a break. The first pitch and a start of second can serve as good alternative start to Bucky Blue, however. 

  Pitch 1, (5.7, 110 ft.). Start on Bucky Blue for about 20 feet, but stay on the slightly bulging almost-buttress instead of moving right. Go basically straight up to a wide ledge. Your belay should be level with a distinct tree to your left (the top of Pitch 1 of Mother's Day). 

  Pitch 2, (5.5, 150 ft. to big tree). From the right end of the ledge head straight up a distinct cut. This leads to a slab. Continue on the right on this slab to connect with Bucky Blue.

This is an overhung hands to wide crack that can be seen from the gully bottom. Unfortunately shorter than it looks, but still kinda packs a punch.

 Climbed it free 05/12/17. After turning the lip, there was an old pin (useless for lead but ended up using as a directional for my follower) so someone has been up it. Unclear if aided or free. 

  Go try it!

The route goes up the large corner to the right of Bucky Blue, and right of Barb's Roof. It provides fun moves, well sustained climbing, and good protection.

 Pitch 1: go up the slab to the tree and step around it on the left, continue up the corner past various blocks, up a short easier section, and past the large flake entering the Groove from the right. Belay from above the flake.

 Pitch 2: continue up the corner. You can exit to the left onto the slab if you find it too spicy, but the best climbing is to go up all the way to the top of the corner, then up a crack to the big tree on Bucky Blue.

 Alternatively, the two pitches can be combined and a belay set up on the ledge above the corner. This makes it a 60m pitch. Going to the top of Bucky Blue from here, by the way of the corner left of the big tree, is another full-rope pitch, and it makes a nice climb.

This is more "Organeering" than climbing, and if you only go to the Keyhole, it's just a 4th class scramble. 

  From the top of Bucky Blue, un-rope, and go left, scrambling over a number of bumps until you are directly on top of the keyhole.  Peer down into the Keyhole!!  The scramble along the ridge could likely be kept at 3rd class, and you can keep the exposure low, or you could make it more exciting (your choice).  Once across the keyhole, climb a short pitch directly up a crack in the headwall to a belay in a little alcove below the next headwall (C0, a good crack climber could likely make it go free).  An awkward move gets you up the next headwall, tackle one more headwall to reach the rocky summit of a little insignificant bump on the ridge.  Continuing on this ridge would be a nice adventure, and could result in some difficult climbing, or scrambling to avoid what appear to be significant pinnacles. 

  Loose Rock Warning!  This area sees little or no human traffic. 

  Descent:  We bailed off to the left into the gully between the Citadel and Rabbit Ears Slabs (two short raps).  It may be possible to rap into the descent gully right of RE Slabs, but we didn't try it.  Many other variations are likely possible.

The route parallels Bucky Blue on the right, joining it only for a very short distance below the large dead tree. (Not at all if the left/corner version of Bucky Blue is considered.)

 Finding the start: From the bottom of Bucky Blue traverse right, but stop short of the next large corner. Bucky's Right Shoulder goes to and past the right end of the prominent roof.

 Pitch 1 goes straight up a slab to a band of more featured ground surrounding a vertical seam/crack with a couple of small trees growing in its higher section. A single bolt visible to the left of the band. (You can clip it or not. It's a bit to the left of the route and belongs to Barb's Roof.) Head straight up just right of the roof to a ledge. (I placed my anchor bit to the left here.)

 Pitch 2: Continue up the next slab along the same feature. Protection is less here, but the climbing is easy. Once past the next ledge (and the vegetation on it), go up what continues to be a band of featured rock, now much narrower but with some protection possibilities still available, to an easy slab. You are now on the "tree" version of Bucky and can take the crack system to the large tree.

 Pitch 3 (direct version): From the tree go up and right on walkable terrain to the next right-facing corner, then climb up the corner. Protect and start traversing along good crack well short of the large roof above you. The crack will end at about the level of the end of the roof. Step up and belay from the ledge next to the end of the roof. The pitch is short but making it longer results in significant rope drag.

 Pitch 3 (head-wall version): Walk from the tree right along wide vegetated ledges to an area below a headwall (see image). Start up along the sickle-shaped crack left of the ridgeline. It goes up vertically at first over a featured, blocky-almost terrain up the distinct bulge (this is the steepest part of the route and the crux). After about 20 feet, it turns left and leads to a ledge. Traverse left on the ledge to a bottom of a right-facing corner. (This is the end of the direct version of Pitch 3, but starting from here you do not need to belay from this location, you can combine pitches 3 and 4.)

 Pitch 4 (easy version): Go up part of the corner then head left over the boulders to the left of it and continue up and left over a slab with cracks, ideally above the little bush and the cholla encountered along the way. Continue left to the top of Bucky Blue.

 Pitch 4 (cleaner version): Go up the corner all the way to the ridgeline then transition to the south side for a short traverse to the top of Bucky Blue. The pitch may be split at the ridgeline if that is considered desirable. The traverse is not protectable, but it is very short and protection is available above the level of the traverse on both ends. Alternatively one can scramble along the ridgeline which involves a somewhat intimidating hump with no pro at all.

Not sure of the true name for this route (see comments below), but it goes up the middle of the bigger slab. It is identifiable by the scraggly tree at the top of the first pitch.  

  The first pitch starts directly under this tree, up a black streaked slab for about 30 ft to a sloping ledge covered with vegetation. (a variation would be to traverse in to this ledge from the left). Above this bushy ledge is a short corner directly beneath the tree.  At the top of the corner you can exit to the left or right around a block. The left-hand exit is easier, but a little loose. Another variation is to skip the corner altogether and climb up through vegetated terrain further left, past a now replaced bolt. Belay at the tree. 

  Pitch two steps left off the belay ledge toward a new bolt. The crux are the thin face moves past this bolt, after which the angle eases off. A second bolt comes into view slightly to the right. Past this bolt one can follow various crack systems up to a nice belay ledge underneath a blocky headwall. 

  I'm guessing that one could add a 3rd or fourth pitch to this route, but we opted to rappel from the spindly tree on this ledge.

This is similar to Murray's Crack on the Citadel, in terms of being a right-facing/leaning, wide crack/corner, but it is probably a bit easier than Murray's Crack, hence the name. The pitch ends at a modern bolted anchor about 10-15 feet right of where the corner becomes a roof. From there, the option exists to continue upward, clipping bolts for a good second pitch, also ending at a bolted anchor (slightly hidden).

This is a variation start to Bucky Blue which passes through an 8-ft overhanging corner. Small wires can be placed high in the crack before attempting the crux moves, which are height dependent (a 6-ft tall climber probably will have no problems). If it were a boulder problem, it would probably be V1+, but since it's higher up and you don't have a fluffy crash pad under you, it takes a bit more concentration. 

  After the overhang, finish up Bucky Blue.

This route doesn't compare to Buckey Blue in climbing quality but it is a fun route to continue up after topping out on Buckey Blue. Stay in the corner that closely resembles Buckey and stop when you get to a small tree with some really old webbing on it (140ft). One could probably traverse left from this tree and continue up to the top of the formation. The climbing is easy and straight forward but it's the cacti you have to worry about, in some places you may need to place gear just to keep your rope from getting dragged through a million thorns.

Another one of the "easily accessible" walls, this wall offers a smattering of decent routes on 1-3 pitch slabby terrain. It's north-west aspect means that there is a chance that it is in the shade longer, and may provide cooler summer climbing.  

  The bottom is broken up into two-main slab sections, bordered by prominent gullys. After about 200 meters, the cliffs become more broken-up and eventually become 3rd-4th class scrambling up the flank of the Rabbit Ears Massive.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Rabbit Ears Slabs