One of the better 12b's in the canyon, which is saying a lot, because there are many good ones. Some rare steep rock, this routes has nice pockets and edges and requires some sequential beta.

Vapor Trails

Handle with Care

Concupiscent Curds

Unbound

Santa Cruz

Jewel of the Mild

My Body is a Cage

Nueve a Seis

Ordinary People

Omnipenitent

Tao of Gymnastic

Heaven Can Wait

B1 or V5

Bad Rap

Innocent Mission

Air Jordan

Los Hermanos de la Weenie Way

Slabbo

Dazed and Confuzed

No Sweat, No Vapor

Harvey's Wallbanger

Morada

Sister of Mercy

Soul Boy

Animosity

Freddy's Nightmare

BVB American Hero (submitted as New Dihedral)

Passion Play

Breaking Bob

Unrepenitente

Unknown 5.10d

True Penitence

Bob's World

Dog's Delight

How The West Was Won

Shady Lady

The Virgin

Candy Apple Grey

Creature Fear

Children Of A Lesser Grade

Los Hermanos de la Penitente

Black Sheets of Rain

Unknown 5.10a

Sheer Lunacy

Jabba the Hutt

Apes in Estrus

El Dedo Es la Llave

Tanks for the Hueco

Mourning in the Creak

Ranck E

Black Jesus

Jesus Wouldn't Climb It

Anatomy 101

Friday the 13th

Unknown (5.6 ramp)

10,000 Maniacs

Golden Years

Josie's

7/11

Not My Cross To Bear

Forever Young

Shear Strength

Head Over Heals

Jack and Diane

Banana Slugs in Heat

Crack of Dawn

Brown Sugar

Ms. Cool

Hip Hop

I'd Rather Leia than Jabba

Breakdown Dead Ahead

Pumping Huecos

Schizoid Way

Intimidator

Reptiles Lust and Dogs

Bullet the Blue Sky

Colville Express

No Intent

Hueco Mania (submitted as Huecos Rancheros)

Use the same start as

Children of a Lesser Grade

, but step right and follow a slick slab along a white water streak past two bolts to the anchors. It's a bit run-out to the first bolt, so be ready or just stick-clip it. This has good stone, but the entrance holds are starting to get polished.

Holy cow is this thing a pile!  Maybe it could be cleaned up, but right now the rock at the top is really bad.  Climbing through bushes at the start add some much needed charm.

This short but fierce route is located on the wall directly opposite

How The West Was Won

in the side canyon just past

Captain America

. Four bolts lead to a two-bolt anchor.

The route is located about 10-15 left of the Children of a Lesser Grade slab.

Boulder up to the first bolt. Make several hard moves up a thin-technical seam to a ledge. Crank up the ramp and face above to a two-bolt anchor.

There was a bolting ban in the canyon that lasted for several years that when from the start of the canyon to the Virgin Wall.

This route is not in that area. Great addition to the area.

Per

Jason Young

: this is a challenging route that is steep, thin, and a bit crumbly.

It is divided into three sections starting with a crack feature off of the ground that continues up to the first ledge (crux section). The crack is not used as much as one would think (I used mostly thin face holds to the left of the crack). The route continues past this ledge to a tricky bulge that is surmounted on thin holds to another ledge feature (second section) and easier climbing on the final headwall to the anchors.

It is probably worth doing if you have done most of the other routes here of this grade.

Eds. This is a combination of submissions merged onto the 1st submission page to reduce confusion and duplication.

This climb is located just a wee wander up from the virgin area and is identified by a sequence of cracks each offset a couple feet.  Indeed, the crux is changing from one crack to the other as the first peters out.  For a moderate route (although a stout 5.8), this is about as good as it gets at Penitente and is a great reason to haul gear in.  I placed mostly nuts, a small one at the crux.  It is super fun and different when your tips are spent from pulling on thin crimpers.

Just before the second large drainage system entering the canyon from the right is a low angle slab with four good warm-up routes. Jewel of the Mild is the left of these and is arguably the best of the four. Run up on thin, shallow pockets and frictional slabbing to an edgy crux near the top. The lead can feel a bit spicy, so it is best to be comfortable at the grade. The climbing is in the sun most of the day; the stone is solid, and the climbing is interesting. The four lines in this sector are usually occupied, so arrive early or grab a number and wait in line.

A tricky move past the first bolt leads to great stemming up the grove to the anchors.

Nueve a Seis is the right-most of three climbs on the main Hueco Wall, but still left of

Huecos Rancheros

and

Pumping Huecos

.  It skirts the bulging roof to the right and is a good warm-up.

This is another um-memorable, unremarkable slab route.  It is not bad but not good either.

Oh yeah, some ass-clown stole the first few bolts.  Who does that stuff?

A nice route for a 5.10, which are generally lacking in the SLV.  If you climb at the grade, it's as good as most of the other 10s.

This is a great trad route, but have your S together before you go for the lead.  It is mostly slab moves, protected with gear.

Neither.  I say V6, or 12d.  Perhaps it's my height, but I though this was stout.  It's definitely not destined for popularity, and I wouldn't be surprised if I just now got the second ascent after 15 years.  The holds are painful and the moves are hard.  Few will be called to climb this route.

On a positive note, the upper slab is very nice...probably the best I've done in the canyon, with engaging moves on great rock.

This is the best route on this wall.  It has decent rock and fun moves.  It is a good way to escape the heat when the sun is smoking the rest of the canyon.

If you've read many of my route descriptions, then you'll know I basically worship the ground Bob walks on, but I gotta say, he blew it on this route - hey, nobody's perfect.  The start is a fun boulder problem on good rock, but he should have ended it there.  The topout is terrible!  The rock is the worst I have seen in Penitente, it adds nothing to the route, it only detracts.  Do what I did, and rap off the third bolt, or bring a pad and spotters, and boulder this one.

Holy cow I've wanted to do this route forever!  It looks so mysterious and intruiging.  There's no foreplay on this route, you get down to business right at the ground.  Definitely bring a stick clip, or a crash pad. I thought the first move was pretty tough...probably in the V5-6 range.  It took me many tries to stick the dyno to the big pocket.  After that a few tough, but not desperate moves keep you nervous until you pull over onto the slab.  The topout has some loose rock, so make sure your belayer is paying attention.

The mid-way slab is the only thing keeping this route from four-star-euphoria.

This is a classic line with the best cop-out factor in the universe. Chase the diagonaling pockets left of

Bullet the Blue Sky

for 20 feet, passing below the feet of the Virgin. Expect soild 5.11 climbing on shallow pockets until the line turns vertical at two-thirds height. More continuous edge and pocket climbing gains the anchor, but the difficulty still hangs in at mid to low 5.11 right to the anchor. As a cop-out, Weenie Way, is simply a brilliant climb and a terrific addition to the best sector of rock in the canyon. The cop-out is in providing a top-rope for the real

Los Hermanos

(5.12c) or at least a chance to pre-place the draws.

The crux comes down low getting past the first bolt with a tricky move (5.11) to reach the anchor.

This route is super cool!  If you're one of those gym climbers that bitches about the small holds in the SLV, then try this route.  Not a small hold on it, but it will get your attention.  Shady all day!

Eds.

this is the stunning arete on the left side of the wall.  The guidebook is actually incorrect.

Not a bad route, but not great either.  There are many other great 12a's to do in Penitente before this one.  Slabby crux with easier climbing above.

I'm not sure I was on this route, but it seems like the only choice in this area. About 15' right of "

Passion Play

" you can spot an old bolt when the sun is just right.  I assumed this bolt was for this route.  I started by bushwhacking through some nice chokecherry, then bushwhacking up a flaring hand crack.  The way I climbed it, this was nowhere near 5.11.

This route comes to us from a different era...an era in which bolts were only placed, when no other gear options existed...and so, it is scarry!

This is a really great route, with good climbing, but unfortunately, the lack of fixed pro has [relegated] it to obscurity.  The route climbs the crack feature left of the virgin painting.  Start by stemming a couple desperate moves to reach a crack where the #1 cam can be placed.  A few more placements will get you to a ledge...the #.5 is nice to protect the move getting to the 2nd bolt.  The crux involves moving between crack systems between the 2nd and 3rd bolt.  There are no anchors, but you can lower or (better yet) rap off the "Los Hermanos..." anchors.

A good route that could be very popular if it were "modernized".

This route is the middle of three routes on the east-facing wall on the south side of the canyon across from the Bullet the Blue Sky area.  A cool start leads to a smooth face and hard pockets and crimps.  Right when the holds seem to disappear at the last bolt, reach a good sidepull up on the slab and the anchors.  The last clip is very difficult.

Start about ten feet right of

Forever Young

. Make a few hard moves off the ground and reach a small stance. Crank up the crack and then veer [left] following a line of bolts up a steep face. The crux is getting past the last two bolts.

Bad, sharp rock and somewhat contrived.  There is little to recommend this route, except that it gets afternoon shade.

I did this one on Friday the 13th of October...good timing.  This is a decent route, but there are certainly much better 12c's in the canyon.  The crux uses some very sharp and painful crimps.  It has some steepness, if you like that.  The top is a very engaging slab - by no means are you done until you get to the chains

A really cool, technical start gives way to fabulous laybacks and a final scramble at the top.

Halfway between

Captain America

and the

Bullet the Blue Sky

area is an orange face above a rounded ledge.  The first move is a really long reach to a large pocket and the first bolt.  If you can't reach the pocket, consider aiding up, since the best climbing is above on the face.  Continue up to the ledge and head up the face on pockets and jugs to a final difficult overhang and the top.

The crux is getting past the first two bolts on small holds and a flaring crack.

This is a nice route, if you can get past the thoughts of those flakes blowing up in your face!  Some suspect rock, but it all stayed put for my ascent.  You won't find a line here....

A fun little route that is rarely climbed.  Ascend slopers to arete and step left to follow crack (crux) to a great horizontal and the anchors.  If I was to do this route again, I'd skip the last bolt and bring along some small nuts and TCUs for the crack which is likely safer.

This is a stellar, burly route.  I love goading young, aspiring trad climbers to get onto it.  If you're in the canyon and a short, napolean-complex guy with male-pattern-baldness tries to talk you into climbing it, then it's probably me.

Start just right of

Unrepenitente

using the flare crack and face left of the crack, reach a good hold at the third bolt, then go straight up the face to a two bolt chain anchor.

Another un-memorable 5.10 slab.  Afternoon shade might make this worthwhile to you.

Follow the main drainage that enters the canyon from the right at

Captain America

. As the drainage narrows down, head for the huecoed wall at the end - this may entail scrambling around the streamlet that can run a bit of water in the spring. Excellent hueco climbing to a thin slab await. This line comes well recommended as a rationally bolted moderate on solid rock that provides a good a good introduction to pocket climbing.

This is a decent warm-up climb on a slab just right of

Apes in Estrus

.

The climb is a ways past the Virgin painting and the Mercy Wall on the left.  Directly across from the Brown Sugar area, find the huecoed arete (

Apes in Estrus

); just right is a slab above a nice belay ledge/boulder.  This is the line up right border of the slab.

This route climbs the spectacular rust-colored wall immediately right of the Virgin painting.

This is a really great route for the grade.  Unlike many of the hard routes in Penitente, it is not just a one move wonder, but it demands sustained effort all the way to the chains.  I found one hard/reachy move getting to the 2nd bolt (will be no problem for taller people), then generally very consistent difficulty to the very top.  I would consider this to be the 2nd must-do route after "Bullet the Blue Sky".

There is at least one really obvious enhanced pocket on this route which is a real shame.  From what I could see, it was another case of pointless chipping, as the hold in question seemed to be just fine without the "improvement".  Thinking back, there were probably other holds as well, but I didn't scrutinize every one.  For the record, Bob D. was not the chipper, it was some AC. If you are one of those who refuses to climb on chipped routes, then in this case, it will be your loss, as this route is really worthwhile, despite the cowardly act of some numbnutz.

As for the grade?  I thought it was quite a bit harder than "

Bullet the Blue Sky

".  The moves are easier than "

Color of Devotion

" but more sustained...so all-in-all, slightly easier.

The guide sums this one up pretty good.  A decent warm up, but only because it gets early sun.  Sharp for the grade.  Ow!

This is the bolted route to the right of

Jewel Of The Mild

and just left of

Ordinary People

. Balancy moves on thin and crimpy holds past four bolts to the anchor.

Another great Penitente route!  This is the direct line immediately left of the virgin painting.  start with some funky moves up the narrowing crack.  I stick-clipped the first bolt, but I think the FA may have placed gear!  Bust out some power/tech moves where the crack pinches down to reach the first pocket.  The crux involves reaching, then moving off some small, sharp crimps...it may be best to try this route on your first day in the canyon.

A fantastic route!

Well this one is just plain vicious. This line is 15 feet right of

10,000 Maniacs

, it has 5 bolts and lots of sharp crumbly crimps. The crux felt to be about V9, and the holds were always changing, a.k.a. crumbling away. I am of the opinion this route has never been climbed, unless Mike Anderson was able to do it? Someone told me he climbed all the routes in Penitente. Brian Mullen bolted this.

This route climbs the right side of the wall,traverses left and then goes over the small roof. Step left to anchors. Across the canyon from the Virgin.

Though it might not look too spectacular, this is among the best 11s in the canyon.  The holds are not sharp, the climbing is interesting and the rock is great.  It's way better than Rocketman, that you always see people on.

Apes in Estrus is a short but fun climb up huecos on a steep, blunt arete.

The climb is a ways past the Virgin painting and the Mercy Wall on the left.  Directly across from the

Brown Sugar

area find the huecoed arete that is just left of a short wall with two good warmups (

Shady Lady

and

Ms. Cool

).  Scramble up onto a ledge/boulder to begin.

El Dedo Es la Llave is the left-most climb on the Hueco Wall and tackles the roof at its steepest point.  The route requires a long reach from one very good under-cling hueco to another, and my (5'4") partner had a slightly harder time than I did, but the holds over the roof are very big and make this a fun (but short) route.

Pretty obvious once you're there.  Use '

Bullet the Blue Sky

' as a reference - this is just to the right of it.  Start with a short, (kinda) slick slab.  From the top, clip the first bolt, and then do a strenuous, slick layback followed by a 'beached whale' move that leaves you on top of the ledge.  Have your belayer watch where the rope runs - it is easy get burnt from a fall onto the rope.  After that move you're home free.  Two lines of bolts follow huecos up the wall.  Not sure which is which - we did the left route.  As per Bob D (and I concur), the hueco portion of the route is 5.9.

Start off a boulder doing hard moves to gain a seam, and go left on the face and then straight up the slab to the anchor.

Ranck E is the center of the three climbs on the main Hueco Wall, but still left of Huecos Rancheros and Pumping Huecos.  It heads up the bulging roof directly (there's a big jug up there!).  A fairly high first clip and probably harder for shorter folks, but the huecos are positive and abundant so don't shy away.

This route is in the little alcove across the canyon from the virgin painting.  It is the right-most of the routes in the alcove.

This route starts with a sequential boulder problem right off the deck, then eases considerably.  The first bolt is so low, it is pointless except to redirect the rop.  I recommend stick clipping, or using a good spotter.

I thought [this] route was pretty easy, but a friend couldn't do it, despite two days of working it.  Bob D'Antonion says "hard moves to start and hard moves to finish"...maybe I bailed right too early, because I didn't think the finish was hard.

It's another one of those great Penitente routes that make you think "if only it were taller...."

The crux is getting off the ground and into the crack. From there, some nice offwidth technique gets you higher. Then there is a jug followed by some face holds which allow you to reach the top.

It's actually a pretty interesting climb, but the lack of an easy TR anchor make it a bit of logistical effort. Still if you're an offwidth zealot, it's pretty fun and a way to get out of the sun.

There is a good chance it was climbed before, but I couldn't find any evidence in the San Luis Valley book or MP (and it is a bit hidden). Let's update the FA if we hear otherwise.

Anatom is located aproximately 200 meters above the Hueco Wall, on the new trail to Witches Canyon. Two cams are often used to reach the first bolt, it is an easy stick clip from the rock the belayer can sit on. The first 20 feet (where the cams would be used) has a nice crack for gear placement. The upper portion is moderate Penitente face rock with small edges and a few huecos to good easy anchors.

This is another great Penitente 12a.  It starts with some uncharacteristically (for Penitente) big holds, then climbs nice pockets at the crux before rolling over onto the slab on crimps.

Between the

Brown Sugar

Wall and

Jewel of the Mild

are (at least) two bolted routes that are not included in D'Antonio's 1999 guidebook. This is the left bolted line, which ascends a slopey ramp that rises up to the right.  Sort of grassy, not particularly interesting, but this route does provide an easy sport lead (which are in short supply here) as well as access to setting a toprope for an

Unknown 5.10a

route to the right.  If anyone has a route name or FA for this 5.6, pipe up and I'll amend this page accordingly.

10,000 Maniacs is immediately right of

Brown Sugar

and ascends the same wall. Expect very similar climbing with longer reaches on a slightly past vertical wall. The angle drops back to dead vertical after 20 ft but never drops below this until quite close to the anchor. Angle a bit right-wards to get started and really work the feet. Clipping the first couple of bolts seems a bit spooky until the fingers are warmed up. The climbing on Maniacs is quite continuous and the diminishing edges just never get very wide. This is an excellent route with considerable tweak factor for something only 50 ft long.

Start right of

Vapor Trails

up a thin seam/crack passing three bolts, step right, engage the crux over a bugle, and continue up a face to the anchor.

Start out between

Dazed and Confuzed

and

Sheer Strength

. Scramble up some low 5th class terrain passing a bolt & some choss, clip a bolt, chalk up, and fire the powerful sequence to gain the anchor. It climbs more like a compression line than a crack.

I only did the 5.7 version, so I'll comment on that.  This is probably the best 5.7 in Penitente (probably the only?)  I don't see why people hang out on those slabs all day when they could do this route that nobody ever does. Really good for the grade.

D'Antonio and associates really scored some classic lines in this little sector of the San Luis Valley.

Bullet The Blue Sky

forms the edge of a large, left-facing dihedral and Not My Cross chases up the perfect, brilliant dihedral in the corner. A bouldery start gains a good stance that lets you kick into the dihedral. Superb stone, killer strenuous stemming, and good pro add up to a Penitente classic. This route would be a star in just about any corner of the universe; it is an excellent addition.

60 feet left of

Brown Sugar

and just after the deep slots is a sweeping prow or nose-like formation which hosts Forever Young. Cruxy off the ground, Forever Young fires up this yellowish wall on shallow pockets and an occasional razor thin edge. Step right after 30 feet to cop a small, balancy rest. The route steepens up and seems to get progressively harder the closer you get to the anchor, a bit like the mountains in Oz that never seem to get any closer. Excellent, technical climbing that always feels committing makes the line worth at least two stars. This route seems to have a considerable mental aspect to it. Several years ago we ran TR laps on it after stringing it up, and the moves all seemed so reasonable!

This route is on the NE facing Mercy Wall, just across the canyon from the Virgin Wall.  It goes into the shade by 1pm in the summer and is a good option while the rest of the canyon roasts.

Eds.

this is the middle route on the wall that follows the seam.  The guidebook is actually incorrect.  The previously submitted description was that of

Dazed and Confuzed

.

I thought this was pretty hard.  It has a nice start, but the crux at the top is not fun.  Painful crimps.

Start the same as "

Unknown 5.10a

". This is the second route left of

Jewel of the Mild

. Step right into lieback flake. The crux is at the vertical arete or the first move into the lieback depending on how low you move right.  This warmup has actual holds!

A 5.10 that gets sun in the morning.  That makes it worthy of a warm-up burn.  Fun moves, but short lived.

Crack of Dawn is a clean, thin hands-to-finger crack that gets morning sun and afternoon shade! This is easy, short, fun, & if it were longer it would be fantastic. This paired with the two routes to the right makes for a great warm-up early in the morning! Fire up this using jams, laybacks, and face features.

100 feet West of the

Jewel Of The Mild

wall is a dark brown wall five excellent lines on it. There is a 5.10 on the left (

Candy Apple Grey

) and just right of this is Brown Sugar. Continuous edge climbing on excellent stone provides a fine thin problem with some technicality and long reaches. Nice way to up the ante a little as the day starts to unfold. All of the routes on this wall get geat sun most of the day, but for some reason this sector sees a bit less traffic than other walls. Good stone, fine climbing, good pro.

This is a decent warm-up climb on a slab just right of

Apes in Estrus

.

The climb is a ways past the Virgin painting and the Mercy Wall on the left.  Directly across from the

Brown Sugar

area find the huecoed arete (

Apes in Estrus

); just right is a slab above a nice belay ledge/boulder.  This is the line up the center.

Nice pockets and edges, but too short.  Decent warm up option, or late afternoon shade option.

Climb a series of thin cracks, then small pockets up the grey slab.  It's unclear if the wide crack is to be avoided at the top or not, but it's certainly harder if you do.

This route has some nice, but sharp pockets; it's a good one to practice that footwork on.

This is the line just right of

Tanks for Hueco

.  It shares the same start (a lieback up a black corner) and then heads up the fantastic pockets on the overhanging wall.  In my opinion a more appropriate finish (in terms of difficulty) than

Tanks for Hueco

.  Oh, the guide rates it at 11b, but it is not nearly that hard.

Pumping Huecos is the right-most bolted line on the Hueco Wall.  I felt it was soft for the grade and would recommend this to someone climbing 5.10. It probably has the best movement of any climb on this wall with a cruxy lie-back type move low down and then a pull over a slight bulge near the anchors.

I'm a little uncertain about this route.  It seems like the obvious starts are either in the chimney on the left (probably not Bob's intent, and definitely not 12a), or to start on

Sister of Mercy

and then go left, but that's probably also a little soft and doesn't jive with the first bolt.  It may be that you're supposed to campus up the overhanging arete.

The rock and climb is superb higher on the arete.  My wife liked this one, because it's a rare arete that's not exposed.

This is the most blatantly chipped route I've ever climbed in Penitente (I was goint to say "ever", then I remembered that I've climbed in Rifle before.)  Most chipped routes, especially around here, have "enhanced" or "comfortized" holds.  This route has pockets drilled straight into blank stone.  It's really a bummer too because this is one of the very few overhanging pieces of rock in the SLV.  It might have been a good hard route, but now it's just a pile.

A fun, juggy start leads to some fine slabbin'.

I'm straying from tradition here.  I have not personally climbed this route, but I have (like anyone else who visits Penitente) stared at it long enough to at least write about it.  It is just stunning, a Penitente Canyon landmark.  Please note this route has rec'd some drilled pockets which were filled in.

Kinda contrived. You could go way right into a crack at any time.  Short, sharp, and weird, but at least it gets morning sun and afternoon shade - there are worse reasons to do routes.

A tough, technical boulder problem starts this route with an intense mantel yeilding to an easy hueco-romp to the top.  It has good rock and engaging moves, but it is unfortunately short.

[Hueco Mania] is immediately left of

Pumping Huecos

(which in turn is the right-most bolted line on the Hueco Wall). Supposedly there is a 5.8 (Hueco Mania) to the left of this route but before

Nueve a Seis

, but I couldn't find it. The climbing is good, but not quite as good as

Pumping Huecos

or the fun roof moves of the climbs to the left.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Penitente - Inner Canyon