Tatooine ascends the cracks up the next buttress left of Jolly Green Giant jam crack. this is an excellent and well equipped line that rarely accepts pro bigger than fists. there is a bivy for four atop pitch 5 on a spacious ledge. expect sustained 5.10 climbing interspersed with more challenging cruxes here and there.

15 pitches cruxes @ p1p2p9p12

P1(1&2 120')starts w/ 5.11 stem

P2continues up right to 5.11 fingers flake topped by 2 bolt anchor

P3-(100')5.11 hands for about 50' then 5.10 about 50'

P4-(60') 5.8 to a large tree on right side of ledge

P5(200') shimmy dihedral crack 5.8-5.9 to ledge w 3 trees finish pitch going left up 3rd class terrain to bolts and !bivy ledge for four to the right!

P6 5.10+ ("DesertTower" 2bolts pro) and ("Ghost" 2bolts pro) to 1 bolt

P7 a little after the 5th bolt on 5 switch cracks to the left into the 5.8 stem... finish w 2 bolt anchor

P8 (bottom of 8 to ledge 200')continue up to one bolt pro. then switch cracks to the right

P9 then 5.11 fingers to 5.9 face past 2 bolts pro

to 2 bolt anchor.

P10 traverse ledge right to 1 bolt pull overhang into corner system to thin fingers 5.10+ pass 1 bolt face climb to 2bolt anchor

p11 face climb past 2 bolts to 5.11 finger crack

p12 chimney up to leftward traverse into 5,6 chimney

P13 climb directly of belay into corner or out left to another crack system that leads to a ledge with 1 bolt to a 5.9 offwidth climb offwidth and chimney to ledge

P14 5.9 chimney to 2 bolt anchor

p15 go left of p14 anchor into wide chimney... 5.10 to large tree (165')

Tatooine

Arrakis

Cowboy Ridge

SW Face (aka The 51st)

P1 (5.11, 100’) Launch Pad

About 20’ right of the juniper that sits at the base, leave the Launch Pad via a fingers and tight hands fissure that leads to a ledge and the main corner. There is one bolt 2/3 of the way up this pitch. Great stance.

P2 (5.11, 100’) Corner De Dijon

Fire up the grill and get your dogs ready as you ascend the vertical to overhanging Corner De Dijon. The mustard is good! Great stance.

P3 (5.11-, 115’) Steppin’ Out

Take a breath as you are steppin’ into the air to reach the crack in the shallow corner up and left of the belay. Follow this corner until it widens to OW and look for a bolt and jugs out right on the arete. Trend up the airy arete that is protected by horizontal cracks and bolts until you find yourself steppin’ out again at a triangular roof. Continue up and belay at a comfortable stance. 5 bolts. Great stance.

P4 (5.11+, 160’) Captain Hook

Steep and techy face climbing leads to steep and techy corner climbing. This mind-blowing pitch is hard off the belay. Place a finger-sized offset cam (0.3/0.4) to keep you off the anchor before reaching the first bolt. Follow the corner to the large roof above, traverse right under the roof to gain the final crack systems that lead to a large ledge on the right. 7 bolts. Great stance.

P5 (5.10+, 150’) Hang Ten+

Move the belay about 30’ to the right and build a ground anchor with 0.4/0.5 BD sizes. Pass 2 lead bolts as you follow the shallow left-leaning corner for ~50’ before traversing right at the 3rd lead bolt that leads to the dark patinaed face splitter above. Hang ten as you surf out into the splitter and belay on the ledge above! 3 bolts. Great stance.

Note: the midway anchor about 30’ up and right is needed to rap this pitch with a single 70m rope.

P6 (5.9, 100’) Phive Phun

No need to phish for gear on this pitch of phive phun! Follow the left angling, groovy corner to a ledge below Alligator Alley. Look to your right to locate the belay station atop this pillar-like feature. Great stance.

P7 (5.9+, 130’) Alligator Alley

Move down and left to the base of a right facing corner with thin gear that leads to a roof. Climb out the roof and ignore the rap anchor on your left above the roof. Move back right on bullet-proof allegator patina to the chocolate corner. Continue sneakin’ Sally through the alley as you’re tryin’ to get away clean. Belay atop a large ledge at the white band of rock above. Great stance.

P8 (5.6, 40’) Home Sweet Home

Step n’ stem left across a chasm with chockstones. A bolted belay awaits on the far-right side of the Bachelor Pad Bivy ledge. Relax and enjoy being home sweet home with a cup of your preferred wall wine.

P9 (5.11-, 130’) Pilar De Fumar

Creative, three-dimensional climbing passes 3 bolts and a mid-way rap anchor. Continue to the top of the pillar. Breathe in some freshness on the Pilar De Fumar before diving in to the Alcoveid. Great stance.

P10 (5.9, 60’) Alcoveid

Blocky climbing leads into an alcoveid. Nice stance.

P11 (5.11+, 110’) Protein Drink

Ingest some protein as you get ready burn up a lucky streak on this salty highway. Follow the OW directly above the belay until you reach the stem-box roof. Wildly airy movement leads to a bolt and the anchor out left just past the arete. Full spectrum. 1 bolt. What are the chances…a nice stance!

P12 (5.11+, 110’) Blown Away

Lean into the wind as the exposure blows you away on this pitch’s journey through several roofs and bulges. Belay at a sloping stance below the Bombay chimney.

P13 (5.11-, 110’) Bombay Cumbre!

Tasty fingers lead to the Bombay Potatoes and girthy overhang above. The otherworldly summitscape awaits! To keep your rope from getting sucked into the main crack, place gear in the thin crack to the right of the Bombay. The Bombay leads to an overhang and the cumbre on great sandstone! To date, there is a fixed handline that leads from the top of this pitch to the summit. Use the handline with caution. Belay the 20’ scramble to the top and belay it back down.

Descent:

Rap the route with a single 70m rope. Rap beta is given from top to bottom for a single 70.

Pitches 13-10:

rap at all belay stations.

Pitch 9 (Pilar De Fumar):

Rap from the belay station atop the pillar until you reach a mid-way rap anchor 2/3 of the way down. Rap from this mid-way anchor back to the Bachelor Pad.

From the far-right side of the Bachelor Pad, skip the belay station atop Pitch 7 (Alligator Alley). Stop at the mid-way anchor on a sloping ledge below the Pitch 8 chasm. Rap and scramble over to the top of the Phive Phun pillar-like feature.

Pitch 6 (Phive Phun):

rap the pitch

Pitch 5 (Hang Ten+):

Rap to the midway anchor directly below then make a short rap down and left across the ledge that leads to the top of Pitch 4 (Captain Hook).

Pitch 4 (Captain Hook):

CAUTION!! This rap is a full 35m and leads to a station that is directly below and off of the main route. Knot the ends of your rope and rap straight down looking for bolts above a small ledge on the left side of the corner system you are rapping down. The original route took this line. From this off-route rap station, angle down and steeply left to the top of Pitch 3.

Pitch 3 to the base:

Rap each belay station atop Pitch 3, 2, and 1.

"Without a still suit, you would fry

On the sands so hot and dry

In a world called Arrakis"   To Tame a Land - Iron Maiden

We put this route up in 1998 over the course of 5 days. It's waiting for a free (or mostly free) ascent.

The first half up to the "Ver-Monster" block would probably go at 5.11. The 2nd half would be 5.12/12+, if you could figure a way through the beak to blade section off the Ver-Monster bivi ledge.Descent: Due to our limited number of bolts we were forced to rap off single bolts up high (feel free to add more!)

Cowboy Ridge is a long day, hiking, scrambling and climbing through some amazing terrain to a fantastic summit.  Mostly easy roped scrambling.  Great exposure and plenty of loose rock to help stay focused all day long.

Approach

From where you leave the Anasazi Plateau Subdivision and start on the Chinle Trail (marked), hike northwest on the Chinle Trail about 200-300 hundred yards and then turn north up an obvious wash.  There should be flat desert to the left (west) and a low hill to the right (east) of you.

Follow this wash a long way, past many side branches, but it is pretty easy to follow the trail here.  Early on the NPS park boundary barbed wire fence is passed.  A while later spot high tension electric lines on top a split hill, power up this to an obvious break in the Springdale Band.

From the top of the break, hike west along the top of it to the deep cleft leading up to the southwest end of the ridge.  Allow about 2-3 hours from car to the ridge crest.

Route

From near the bottom of the ridge, head up into a recess located a short ways up the ridge.  2nd and 3rd class scrambling on blocks and ledges up to and along the ridge, passing any hard looking gendarmes on the right (east) sides.

At some point you will put on a rope, but likely stay in your approach shoes.  A narrow passage with great exposure and a short gap will get your heart racing.  4th class up from the gap either straight up or instead head right and then up maybe easier and safer but less exposure.  Head back left and up to a big dark chimney, the right one of two on a small buttress.  This has a ramp in the back that is class 3 or 4 at the very end.

A great view of the upper ridge comes in view here.  Head towards a prominent cleft, then up the fun 4th class ramp/flake in the cleft.  A large shrubbery is at the end.

Technical climbing for the next two pitches.  A low angled corner with a nice crack steepens and widens as you go up, move left just before the end to gain a flat ledge on top the block.  Keep heading down and west to a ledge below the other side of the block.  The 5.7 hand crack is right in front of you.  Climb it (40') and then work up and left on pretty chossy rock to a big oak and a ledge like alcove.

Very loose, moderate 4th class scrambling for another rope length, then things ease to class 2 or 3 for 200 feet to the south summit marked with a distinctive cairn.

From the south summit, continue north descending on class 2 down to a large prickly pear filled meadow.  On the east side of the meadow past a few notches is the top of the descent gully.  On the opposite (west) side of the meadow, a short class 3 ascends Mt. Kinesava.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Mt. Kinesava