Start with a hand jam and paddle hand your way up the crack. Resist the nice features and attack the crack with all of your hands! 

Paddle Crack

Dyno

No Dump Zone

Tell 'em you're with Mac

Red is start holds and direction up the rock, Blue is holds and green is top out. Good top hold should be very visible with chalk. 

The move after getting to the match, then getting a good crimp on the left and right edges would have to be the crux; as well as topping out is a bit of a commitment if you’re not super lanky and don’t have a tetanus shot.  

Tell 'em you're with Mac is a 255 ft (77.7 m) section of wall (within the Pacific Union Traverse crag) that runs along Kinzie Avenue between cross streets Hart Ave. and Wolcott Ave. This route was broken down into thirteen 20’ sectors, based off of the metal poles that line the Pacific Union rail at the top of the wall. The distance between any two markers is approximately 10 ft. Start at the metal gate on Hart St and traverse east to the Wolcott Ave. There are two major boulder problems as cruxes. However, the real challenge is linking 255 feet of crimps, slopers, gastons, underclings, side pulls, and small footholds without getting pumped. Finding a midway no-hands rest just before the first major crux (140 ft mark) is key to sending this beast of a route. (First Ascent: Brian T. Murphy, July 29, 2020)

The Union Pacific Traverse – the first major urban crag in Chicago – is a continuous 1.1 mile stretch of stone wall that runs west-east on Kinzie Ave, from Western Ave (Near West Side neighborhood) to North Armour St (West Loop neighborhood). The wall was built to support the Union Pacific train line, formerly known as the Chicago-Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, which was established in the 1850s. It’s unclear when the wall was constructed. Similarly, the composition of rock is unknown (research is underway).The wall is composed of several traverse “routes”. Streets heading north-south provide natural break points for each route along the Union Pacific Crag. Generally speaking, the rock quality is questionable, however with a bit of pulling loose rock away by hand, toothbrush maintenance, and cleaning summer weeds with a machete, stellar bouldering problems and quite stable rock can be revealed. In most sections the top of the wall is lined with metal posts; the approximate distance between each post is 10 ft. This makes it easy to estimate the length of each traverse as well as break each route down into 10-20’ sectors so that it is easier to keep track of progress and mark cruxes along your journey.The first known ascent of a route at this crag was on Wednesday, July 29 2020 by Brian T. Murphy. The route was a 255 ft long segment named Tell ‘em you’re with Mac.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Union Pacific Traverse