The route gets one star for adventure and solitude.  There is some good climbing, but lots of crap rock.  The moderate rating will probably seem like a total sandbag to those unaccustomed to disintegrating holds.

This climb is the free version of the aid route Renate Goes to Africa.  We (Goldstein, MacDonald) assume we did the first free ascent.  The name is a tip of the hat to Nigel Tufnel, who might say of the route, "Don't even look at it".

The salient feature of the route is a long, right leaning, black slab near the left end of the west face of the Convent;  this slab is clearly visible from the road.Start below the slab, at the base of a chimney blocked by large chockstones about 50' up.  Another identifying feature of the start is bolt about 30' above the ground.

P1: 5.10b, 60'.  Follow fisty crack on sandy rock past bolt and into chimney.  Chimney horizontally below blocks to lip and surmount (crux).  Pro is good, but even with long runners rope drag becomes untenable as soon as the chimney is escaped, forcing a premature belay just short of a comfortable alcove.  A one foot square piece of the key jug broke off as our leader was pulling the crux.  If the rock at the crux cleaned up, it would be a classic stretch of climbing.

P2: 5.8 50'.  Continue past the alcove and up the left crack system to a big ledge with lots of rubble.

P3: 5.7 190'.  From the right side of the ledge, up a left facing corner, passing a cluster of slings around a block about 20' up, until the slab is reached.  Up the slab, passing another, less developed anchor.  Belay at the end of the ramp, at a ledge to the right side of the start of a steep, off-putting chimney.  Be sure that the belayer is sheltered from rockfall.

P4: "How Soon is Down" 5.9, 80'.  Up the chimney with an occasional tricky offwidth move.  There is usually good wide pro where you want it; we backcleaned some to preserve these big pieces.  The crux is chimneying past a flake at the end of the pitch, just below a very intimidating overhanging offwidth.  We belayed in the chimney, at the base of this offwidth, though if you somehow have wide gear left, a much more comfortable belay is available by stepping out of the chimney onto a ledge.

P5: 5.10a, 100'.  Past the offwidth on excellent rock with good small pieces to easier climbing and the top.  Midway up this pitch, pass a "rap" anchor consisting of two severly tattered slings around a block so suspect that we didn't want to pull on it.

From the topout, you can see the rappel anchors at the top of Salvation Chimney, about 100' to the south.

Renate Goes to Eleven

Whore House

Buddha's Delight

Choir Boyz

Girls Gone Wild

Two Hotdogs and a Hallway

The Value of Audacity

The Middle Way

West Face Dihedral

This route is Awesome! As of now I do no know the FA, FFA or year it was established so let me know if you have more information. We could not find information online or in any books about this climb.

We climbed this route twice fall of 2016. All anchors are bolted well with good enough tat. This line is beautiful corner and is immediately above you when you hike up to the convent. We linked pitches and did it in 3. 1 and 2 link well, the rest have decent drag.

Pitch 1: 5.12-, Crux off the deck. Super thin corner for 20 feet leads to a short easy chimney. The move getting out of the chimney roof was not freed but felt pretty hard and awkward. finish on off fingers and hands

Pitch 2: 5.10+, Great pitch, tight hands through an overhang leads  up the corner. The corner is variable but widens to #5 cam. We found 2 #4s and 1#5 helpful on this pitch. Hand stack and jam up this beautiful pitch!

Pitch 3: 5.11+, The corner thins down up to fingers and leads to a large roof that seams out. My last piece was blue metolious. Pull a cool move around the roof. Then exposed face traverse left to a hand crack and mantle up to base of sport pitch. I placed a very small piece temporarily to protect mantle at end of this pitch. This pitch is wild and exposed!

Pitch 4: Sport pitch, 5.11c, Clip 4 bolts and pull technical and balancy moves. Great movement! lead up and right on easy terrain. This is where it gets tower weird. Ill describe the way we went: Mantle and traverse 30 feet left on flat ground. You will see a corner with 1 more bolts. Climb broken rock up corner to a sloping ledge and calcite .3 cam corner. climb this 10 foot corner to huge ledge, walk right to anchor on ledge.

Pitch 5: Easy climbing, multiple options, some loose rock. Know that the final anchor is directly above you on a ledge. To get there go either left of right. Left was easy looking #5 OW, however we went right. Traverse right 30 feet and up easy calcite crack corner. Mantle up to huge ledge and go left a bit. Climb easy broken rock face style up to another ledge. Head left and go up short splitter crack for 15 more feet. The final anchor is to your left.

This climb was a great tower adventure! Mostly clean, some loose rock on top makes for a full tower experience! Did not look heavily trafficked but was only slightly sandy. Have Fun!

Varied and fun climbing, needs to be cleaned up a bit. No bolts were placed.

P1- Start up the twin hand cracks, climb up the corner through a number of small roofs, eventually reaching a short easy chimney leading to a huge ledge on the left. Good belay in a tips to off-fingers horizontal up and to the left. 5.9 170 ft

P2- Some easy slab avoids some squeeze chimney weirdness, straight up an easy chimney to the base of a wide #6 splitter. Strenuous and steep wide crack (5.10 A0 or 5.11-) leads to a good fist crack/layback to a small alcove below a giant roof. 5.11- 110 ft

P3- Short pitch, possible to link with P2 pending rope drag. Up the stem box with a .75 crack to protect and assist to the underside of the roof. Height dependent stem out and pull out of the roof. Fun! 5.10 30 ft

P4- The roof pitch. Up an easy hand crack to a small roof, stem to assist. Easy and splitter hand crack leads to the base of an intimidating roof. Easier than it looks, and with good gear. A couple rotten bands follow and you end up on a huge ledge. Boulder belay possible. 5.10 100 ft.

P5- Short pitch to the summit, straight uphill a bit there is an obvious #4 crack with a roof/traverse. Climb the easy crack and traverse left to mantle, tree belay super far back from the ledge. 5.8 50 ft

Descent: From the top out, scramble south (towards castleton) to the high point, scramble down to the rim when possible and find a huge cairn (50-100 yrds from high point). Descent to the ledge right below the cairn, the first station for choir boyz will be obvious, Easy single rope rappels straight down.

Buddha's Delight is among the best climbs I have ever done. It is a stunning line, particularly pitch three, the "Buddha's Belly" pitch.  There are several pitches on this climb longer than 35 meters, along with an overhanging pitch, so the best decent is Choir Boyz.  If you plan to project it, bring a tag line so you can make it back to the anchors on pitches 3 and 4.

The climb starts on the looker's right third of the Convent, in the large, right facing dihedral.  You will see a belay bolt next to a small roof.

Pitch One (30 M, 5.11) - This pitch was originally a scary lead 'cuz it was full of detached flakes (which was our first inspiration to name it after Buddhism - non-attachment, get it?). Some bolts may seem unnecessary, but they were originally placed on lead due to dreadful gear in sketchy rock.  However, it cleaned up nicely and became an awesome pitch, particularly moving past the “pinned” block.  From the belay bolt, mantle up through the choss until you are below the corner (you can use a big cam here then leave it on the ground as the second cleans). Head up and right past a bolt for an exciting 5.10+ face move, or stay left in the shattered corner past a pin for some 5.11 stemming. Gain the primary corner and move up past the bolts until you are below the block.  This block is a bit intimidating, but we pinned it to the main wall with a 3 ft. rod of stainless steel, so it should be bomber.  If the route is not getting much traffic, this block does produce silt, but cleans up nicely with traffic. Use the face holds on the block to move up and right to the anchor.  (Be gentle with the holds because it is not the best sandstone, and underclinging the block is closer to 5.12.)

Pitch Two (30 M, 5.10-) – This is a stellar dihedral.  Classic desert climbing, very fun.

Pitch Three (37 M, 5.12) – The Buddha’s Belly! It is not everyday you find a bulging headwall in the desert, so prepare yourself for a wild ride and a unique desert climbing experience!  Head up the crack 15’ or so, until it kind of runs out.  Make a moderate but airy move left until you can gain the crack splitting the Buddha’s Belly.  Move up through the nice hands as it gets steeper.  Now for the business- make your way through the crux with thin hands as the crack cuts right through the face.  Keep your wits about you as the crack heads up again, in fingers and tight hands, and get back above your feet.  Put those blue camalots to use in the upper section through the small roof.  The belay is off to the left, and if you desire you can place a cam high in the crack before leaning left to grab the anchor. You cannot rappel this pitch without a tag line tied to the anchors below, seriously.

Pitch Four (40 M, 5.11) – This would be a stellar line in the creek any day, so don’t think the fun is over!  Start up the fun, mellow hand crack until it gains the headwall.  Move through fun hands up the steep headwall as the crack gets thinner and thinner.  Enjoy the “zig zags.” And be sure to look around for foot holds outside of the crack.  As the crack fades, delicately move to the left until you are below the right facing corner.  Remember to save some hand sized gear for this upper section.  Gain the ledge and move left to the anchor. This is a 40 M pitch, so keep that in mind if you want to rap it.

Pitch Five (25 M, 5.9) – there are some fun moves at the beginning of this pitch, but towards the end move with care through the big blocks.  Move up and left through the horizontal features passing a fixed pin and a bolt.  Then head straight up through the loose blocks until the comfortable belay ledge.

Pitch Six (10 M, 5.8) – this is more like a half pitch, and is set back a ways from pitch 5, which makes it difficult to link.  Move up through the 5.8 hand crack until you gain the summit!

Decent – again, the best decent is Choir Boyz on the north end of the convent.  Given the long pitches, and the overhang on the Buddha’s Belly, it is tricky to rappel, even with a tag line, because you would have to leave it tied on pitch three, making the pitch 4 rappel tricky as it is 40 meters. So, walk north 15 minutes or so, until you gain the highest point on the NORTH end of the Convent. Then, head South (towards Castleton) down the hill for about 50 yds. and look for a cairn below a mushroom roof. From the cairn you will see a distinct ledge and a new and improved rap down Choir Boyz. One 70 gets you down. IMPORTANT - stick to the corner when arriving at last rap station, otherwise it is easy to find yourself swinging in the breeze.

It is the giant right trending ramp system just to the left of choir boyz, a keen eye can see it from where you park. Great climbing on generally sound rock, a blue collar route!

P1- Start up on the left side of the big triangular ramp, easy scrambling gets you up into a tight-ish chimney, easy chimney up to a wide hands roof. The crack starts hands, goes down to good fingers and widens to fist, then an easy OW move (didn't need a 6 here but it was nice to have) to the ledge. Gear anchor. 130 ft 5.10

P2- Only real looseness on the route, and its pretty loose, but easy with ok gear. If a couple more people trundle a bit itll clean up great. Head up the looseness and accross a decomposing ledge to the good chimney. Secure squeeze chimney up to a roof protected by a #5, stemming options make the move less physical. Great featured fist crack with increasingly good supplemental holds stretches your rope and brings you to an alcove. Small nuts and micro cam belay on the right wall. 210 ft 5.10+

P3- Easy stem box protected with small cams, mantle a chockstone and an easy wide hands crack leads to a huge ledge. #4 belay. 80 ft 5.8

P4- We scrambled over to the p4 anchor for choir boyz and rapped off here, looks like plenty options to summit. The number 4 crack straight up looks moderate or climb p5 of choir boyz.

Descent: Whether you summit or not, rap choir boyz with a single 70m rope

Giant left facing corner between west face dihedral and value of audacity. This thing is loose! Kinda scary in places, dirty and adventurous; worth doing once. It will clean up substantially with traffic and will go free around 5.12.

P1- start in the corner below the ridiculous roof. Dirty but perfect splitter hands brings you up to the roof. A cryptic and difficult free sequence would do it. I aided it, good gear, funky aid. Some easier wide crack leads you up to a belay (#4's) above some scary wobbly blocks. 100 ft 5.10 C1+

P2- start up the good #4 crack, after a while you'll reach a stance and transition to thin #5 lay back up and into the chimney 2 #6 belay back in the chimney. 120 ft 5.10

P3- chimney up and traverse out the rubble roof, easy moves exit, and back in, tunnel deep for a #5 crack as your belay. 70 ft 5.8

P4- a little run-out on easy ground. Up deep in the chimney until a traverse out to exit is obvious with a foot rail. Make sure and have some small fingers gear and a 6. Up and over, belay on a rubble pile in some good cracks. 5.6R

P5- Kinda fun. Tunnel deep behind a huge chock stone then on top. Easy chimney protected with a .3 crack. Up and tunnel through, #3-5 belay. 80 ft 5.9

P6- turn left on the giant ledge. Up a surprisingly difficult squeeze chimney and ow to another ledge. Turn left then up a really short easy corner to another ledge, #4 belay straight above. 50 ft 5.10

P7- straight up the easy #4/5 crack to the top out. Many belay options. 30 ft 5.7

Descent- head up and over the summit, then scramble down to the rim, shortly you'll see a cairn to mark the rappels for choir boyz. Single 70 rap straight down.

The Value of Audacity is an awesome route that is just as cool as its name.  It doesn't get the traffic that a lot of the other Castle Valley trade routes get which has pros (no lines, more adventure) and cons (not quite as clean and user friendly).  If you've ticked off the other nearby towers, then you really have no excuse not to climb this route.  It has mostly straightforward meat and potatoes hand crack climbing with a few short but burly cruxes.  There are a few wide sections, too, but they're pretty clean and straightforward.

Heres how it breaks down:

P1 (150', 5.11+):  Traverse from the right into the corner below the huge roof.  Climb the corner  to the roof, get in some gear, and dip into your inner orangutan to bust out the roof.  The moves aren't obvious, but it's obvious that there are no feet and that if the hike up the talus didn't wake you up, this section of climbing will.  After the roof, battle the inevitable rope drag through fun hand cracks and a wide section protected by a #1 camalot crack in the back.  There are a few good ledges to set up a belay (save some hand-sized pieces).

P2(120', 5.11+):  Climb a super clean hand crack that starts at #1 camalots and goes to a #4 or #5 C4 before pinching back down to fingers and thin hands.  Where the crack gets wide, there are lots of pockets and face features to make things easier.  Pull a small roof via some really cool and fun moves (5.11+, but both my buddy Charlie and I thought it was WAY easier than the crux of P1).  Then keep climbing up a crack that eventually turns into a low-angled clean finger crack.  Belay in a recessed area.

P3 (~120', 5.8ish):  Continue up the crack system, which is basically a chimney at this point.  Work your way up through some ledges, and belay when it seems like it's just a scramble to the top.

Then scramble to the top.

Descent:  We rappelled the very large corner system located to the climber's left of the route (2 60m ropes required).  The first rap is from a single good, vertically-drilled bolt on a ledge located between the Value of Audacity and the very large corner.  The second rap has 1 good bolt and a bunch of junk.  The third rap has no good bolts and only junk (Someone needs to back this up.  A bolt would be great.  You might also be able to ditch a #10 hex in the crack here)

Note:  There are no fixed anchors on The Value of Audacity (and with a name like that, it seems like there shouldn't be)

This is an awesome route that adds some spice to the typical desert splitter experience.  The first pitch sports aesthetic, powerful climbing protected by a purple and gray TCU crack leading to a gently overhanging handcrack.  The second pitch is quite the opposite: starts wide and gets wider.  All in all, it means you bring a lot of little gear and a lot of big gear. There is one bolt on the second pitch.  Choose the middle way young grasshopper.

P1- scramble up through somewhat broken rock in the large left-facing corner.  After you are about 15' off the ground, place your first decent piece, and gain the ledge up and right.  Plug in a couple of purple TCUs and head up using the arete on your left.  Follow the thin crack as it bends right and heads up again.  Continue to plug purple and gray TCUs.  About half way up, bust left through AWESOME face moves, gain the hand crack, and charge to the anchor. 40M 5.12

P2- Head up the ramp until you gain the wide crack with the huge flake sticking out.  Work over the flake to the off-width and continue up, doing whatever you need to to stay protected.  When the crack gets too wide for your gear, you'll pass a bolt.  Continue up to a one bolt anchor.  If you can, save a wide piece to double up at the anchor (if you can). This pitch was not done clean by the first ascentionists. 35M 5.11+

P3- Continue up the chimney, bust left at the roof, and gain the top of the climb. A cool bolted line awaits as an alternative last pitch up the huecos on the right. 20M 5.10

DECENT- Don't rap the route, remember the first pitch is 40M.  Instead, rap Choir Boyz. When at the top of the climb, scramble to the small "summit" on this side of the Convent (North end) Walk South (not far) til you are just past the highest point, and look for a cairn below a mushroom roof.  Just North of the cairn on a distinct ledge is a new and improved rap down Choir Boyz.  STICK TO THE CORNER approaching the last rap anchor, otherwise it is easy to find yourself swinging in the breeze!

Described in Desert rock, unknown grade, single pitch (obviously not, but only p1 anchors visible from below). Turned out to be a really fun route with some splitter climbing, though it is a bit dirty as its probably only been climbed a handful of times. It is the obvious massive dihedral on the very north end of the west face of the convent.

P1- Some easy blocky terrain leads you up to a splitter number 1 crack. jam the crack up to the good ledge with old bolts (easy to back up). 80 ft, 5.9

P2- Wide hands splitter with a couple squeeze pods to start it out, straight up to a stance with a bolt and pin in a pod (can be backed up easily). 5.10-, 110 ft

P3- Possibly the dirtiest section of the climb, but not that bad. Up multiple finger cracks to a crux bulge with good jamming above. The crack gets wide but easy toward the belay. 3 bolt belay on the outside of the chimney. 5.10, 110 ft

P4- Easy chimney up unprotected to where to chokes down, continue deep in the chimney and squeeze behind a chockstone. Belay off a boulder on the ledge to your right. 5.8, 80 ft

P5- Choose your choss. I think the original line went straight up into the stembox to follow the natural line, but it looked really muddy so we opted for a cleaner looking option off the ledge on the right. Up a short squeeze/ow with some surprisingly engaging moves, turn left on the ledge and up a really short and really easy corner. Gear belay. 5.10, 60 ft

P6- Again, many options, a splitter number 4 crack looks appealing, we went out left a ways to a corner with an easy hand crack. tree belay. 5.7 60 ft

Descent: rap choir boyz with a single 70

Description

Protection

Routes in The Convent