Barrel of Monkeys

"Barrel of Monkeys" starts on the same shelf as "

The Side Wall

", but on the far right side as for "

Sooberb

".

Climb up and right to a pine tree at the base of the "Sick Flake". Climb behind the tree and on the outside of the flake to reach the first bolt. A long sling is helpful on this bolt. The route is obvious from here, blasting up the steep wall above past the remaining 6 bolts. There are 2 cruxes, one at the 2nd bolt (.11c/d), and one at the 6th bolt (.11c). The first crux involves some tricky footwork and a longish reach to the right. A fun, well-protected section (.10c) with decent rests leads to the higher crux which is strenuous and deceptive. From here, the route moves slightly left to a blunt arete and then up and right to the anchor. This is one of the few pure sport routes in Eldo and is a nice departure from some of the scarier routes in "

The Side Wall

" area.

The rock is excellent and the moves are very fun. It gets no stars in the new Eldo guide, but is well deserving of 2+ stars. The only complaint is that the anchor is over the top of the steep climbing, so there is quite a bit of rope-drag when lowering and following on toprope. Also, be careful when lowering since the leader will end up about 25 feet to the right and about 80 feet above the ground (swing or climb back to the ledge).

7 bolts + 2-bolt anchor. A long sling is handy, and a 60 meter rope works best to make it back to the ledge.