A very strange route that drifts around and over blocks.  Harder than it looks.  Was hoping for a 5.9 warmup, but no. 

  Will B described this route as "3D climbing" which I thought was very apt.  It's weird enough that I kind of like it, but you may not.

Oddball

The Crying Game

Homme Improvement

Don't Tell

Swap Meat

Don't Ask

Honeymoon's Over

Eye Of The Tiger

No Nudes is Good Nudes

Bromancing The Stone

Storming The Castle

Free to Be Me

Brokehold Mtn

Foreclosure

Repo Man

Starts off slag pile on right side of crag.  Shares bolt with Crying Game and then branches right.  Nice movement mostly.  Gets steadily harder as you go. 

  Seemed like 12+ until EWod discovered better beta.  So maybe 12c now.

Starts off the big slag pile on right side of crag.  Shares 1st bolt with Brokehold Mtn, then branches left to a complicated, difficult crux.

Gets harder as you go, with cool rests.

 First half is called "Foreclosure" and is the standard warmup.

 Eric Wodraska is the only person honest enough to give this a correct rating so far.

Follows the seam above the apron, and then curves over to the main center crack.  Then main crack to top. 

  Harder/better than it looks. 

  First half has been led with just one bolt (the chaindraw) but I don't recommend it.

Low crux, high crux, some pump.  Strong 2 stars.

Unlikely face to right of Storming and left of main center crack. Crimpy !   

  Eases a bit near the end.

Starts at 2 bolts very close together and trends to the right up to the bulls-eye shaped "Eye" feature.  Then back left to chaindraw and anchor.  Lots of good movement, very sustained. 

  Jan 8 2016: The hard-to-reach bolt a few feet above and left of the EYE has been pounded in and a new 1/2 incher installed about 2 feet to the right.

Steady full pad crimping to a beautiful finish sequence.

A meatloaf route.  Was hoping for a 5.10 warmup, but it's a bit stiff for that.

Starts on weird blobby rock right of Eye of The Tiger. Looks blank, but isn't. Nice pump workout with a super finish.

This route and "No Nudes" share a start in the big chimney. This one goes straight up. Some of the crimps are very small. Possibly a 13.

The crag warmup just climbs the first half of Homme Improvement.  There is a mid-point anchor (Mussys) to lower from.  Just doing the first half keeps the intensity down to a perfect, cold-morning skin and forearm warmup.  And it's a pretty fun route in its own right.

Some actual hand jams at the bottom, strange but restful climbing in middle, and a nice cruxy finish.  

  The bottom and the top of Repo are completely independent of Homme Improvement.  In the middle section of Repo, a few holds are shared, including the knee-bar under the projecting block (right knee for Homme Improvement, left knee for Repo).

Before there was a gym in Tucson, I used to come out to TV to boulder after work. I'd look up at this cliff and try to picture routes. The first time I went up and looked at it up close, I was spooked by all the big loose blocks. It was scary just to stand under it. When Joe and I worked up the nerve to rap down it, we ended up prying off hundreds of pounds of loose stuff. It is WAY cleaner now.

 We also found several fixed pieces and quite a few old bolts on the upper part of the face where the rock is more solid. Apparently there was a "portaledge party" (don't ask) here in the early 80s.

 This crag has cleaned up to the point that I can actually recommend it now. Several of the routes are outstanding. If you like climbing 12s, this crag might be right up your alley. All of the full-length routes except for the "bookends" are within a letter grade of 5.12. Don't Tell, Eye of the Tiger, Storming the Castle and No Nudes are excellent.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in The Tool Shed