A hard route to understand,

T.H.C

climbs up a choss trough to some more solid looking, but fragile feeling stone. Breaking left at bolt three,

T.H.C

ascends the large prow over a steep face to a large, sequential roof. Varied holds mixed with good and odd movement, bust the overhang and crawl to the chains if you're still interested.

A decent route when times are tough; this line will get in your head after a visit or two. A bit aloof,

T.H.C.

requires focus on many levels, it's name may be suggesting something?

T.H.C

Aqua Velvet

Pile of BS (Bat Shit)

Pipe Dreams

Four Twenty

Burn Tough

Crash Test Dummies

Mashed Potatoes

The Snatch

Retro'd Hardman

Scavenger

February Summer

Retro'd Four Twenty

Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em

My guess is that this route was named either for the shape of the majority of holds comprising the crux section or one's forearms as he or she puzzles through which mound to grab next.  From the base, this route looks quite unappealing, but believe it or not, it actually is a two-star route once past the choss-and-guano-fest that characterizes the terrain protected by the first four bolts (so my star rating doesn't take that into account; you just have to believe).  It's a well-bolted line, with a unique crux that, IMO, is bona-fide 12a to on-sight.  Originally posted by Tosser on utahclimbers.com in 2003.

Not sure why this hasn't been posted up, but here ya go ...  Given some of the FA party's other names for lines on this crag, I'm guessing this one refers to the cocktail made with vodka, gin, and Blue Curacao -- those lads must have been living the (snicker here) high life.

Aqua Velvet

shares the first three bolts with

T.H.C.

, then strikes out right past three bolts to a bivy-worthy ledge.  The crux is the first few moves off the ledge, putting you on a smooth-looking headwall protected by four bolts and ending at chains.  You'll find some choss on the way to the headwall, but the headwall offers good position and the route seems safe.  As suggested by the comments for

T.H.C.

, the Ruckmans' 1998 guide has

T.H.C.

and

Aqua Velvet

confused. By the way, the Ruckmans have this at 11b; height dependent?

There's a nice picture of the route taken by Ryan on the Aquaworld page (by the way Ryan, I suspect your comment about smelly stuff relates to Aqua Velva; diff name).

Climb the chimney/Gully system right of Aqua Velvet.  Pretty obvious line.  If you come searching for guano, this is the place.  A nice heaping serving meets you about 1/3 of the way up.  BEWARE of loose rock - Belayer should have a helmet, climber should use caution.

At the top, there is a nice chockstone to sling if you want to rap straight down.  Option two is to CAREFULLY avoide kicking down rock and traverse to Aqua Velvet anchors and belay your second up (With directional protection).  Drag was surprisingly not bad (with plenty of runners).

Decent climb - some crack, some face, some chimney.  My motivation was being in a party of 3, having plenty of trad gear, and wanting to do some lead soloing.

I wouldn't be surprised if this had been climbed before, but now we know for sure :)

Again - LOOSE ROCK

The initial dihedral doesn't require much strength, just good technique and a whole lot of head.  The runout could easily turn into a potential groundfall situation if you pass ANY protection opportunities.  It is slopier than it first appears, and the crack you think you can see isn't there at all.  Traverse to the crack in the headwall to the right and let the big pulls begin.  Place pro before attempting to pull over the lip because blowing the crux here would be bad without it.  Have fun figuring out the sequence to get over the lip, as the feet are tricky and slopers abound.  This is a 5.10a crux, but only if you figure it out; otherwise, expect some mumbling about bags of sand.  Once above the headwall, the climbing eases up to around 5.7, providing a nice cool down as you approach the anchors.

A bouldery 5.9+ crux starts at the lowest point of the wall between

February Summer

and

Pipe Dreams

.  Follow thin protection opportunities diagonally to the right until you are within arm's reach of the

February Summer

bolt line.  Pull over the overhang and shoot straight up the face.  There is a small arete that defines the line and keeps you close to the somewhat limited and tricky protection opportunities.  The top is 5.7, and although squeezed with

February Summer

, it is altogether different.

This is a really great route that packs quite the punch.  Pull the big roof at the bottom and cop a no hands rest above.  Milk it 'cause you won't find any more rests above.  Follow the bolts through a few bulges with some slopers and tough clips, and pull the final roof to the chains.  This route reminds me a lot of Right Pile (hard move at the bottom followed by a relentless pump).

A remarkable route, but not for the usual reasons.  First, edit the star down to a half, which is a feature that you can't toggle on MP (perhaps thankfully), but which seems to fit this route perfectly.  From a pure climbing experience perspective, this may be one of the chossiest, if not the chossiest, 5.11s in BCC.  It's amazing just how bad the rock is in places.  On the other hand, it's kind of cool -- constantly wondering whether something is going to blow adds an, um, unique element to the experience.  If a hold does blow, one is very unlikely to get hurt.  The bolts are close and the climbing sufficiently overhanging that any detached choss should fly harmlessly away.  There is a long horizontal band of guano (or pack rat poo) just after the fourth bolt; it can be easily avoided but you probably should wash your hands before you dive into the chips and salsa later.

From an historical perspective, it's amazing that this was originally put up trad, apparently done entirely on gear.  It's shown in Ruckmans guide as

Drop Test Dummies

(5.11d, no bolts, one star).  If, back in 1996, Steve just launched up the thing with nothing but a trad rack, it's gotta be one of the boldest FAs in BCC in recent history.  According to a 2003 post on utahclimbers.com by Tosser, "this sick trad line that never gets climb[ed] was retrobolted"; I'm assuming Tosser is either Steve or Randy.  In any event, the kicker here is that, according to the post, the 14 bolts that now grace the route were drilled on lead!  Master, I am unworthy.

So, for these reasons alone, anyone who considers themselves a true BCC geek (and climbs at this grade) must do this route.  It shares the first four bolts with

Mashed Potatoes

, then steps left to more bolts (and the crux) that eventually snake to the chains.  Rating may be soft.

The Snatch (rated 5.8 in the Ruckman guide) provides ample holds on an easy-angle face, and the crack in the corner sports adequate protection opportunities.  The rock is dirty and there are flakes of rock everywhere.  Be careful not to pull out the choss from the right side of the corner, the quality of the rock is better on the left side.  Good stances, fairly consistent, but probably only worth doing again if I'm climbing Scavenger (5.9) afterwards.

One of the longest and most solid routes on the wall,

Retro'd Hardman

climbs a line of varied terrain past numerous bolts and a couple of tricky bulges. A difficult, yet well protected start gets things going, the climbing then eases off and the crux meets the pawing climber at a small roof about 3/4's of the way up. Finish the climb over easier, more relaxed terrain. A tricky set of moves are required  to reach the chains.

This retro-fit effort has the most solid rock at the

Aguaworld

. Besides the start and finish, steady, continuous climbing past well placed bolts make the climbing quite enjoyable.

After a long period of neglect, an attempt was made to bring more traffic to this great line.

Retro'd Hardman

is a re-fit of the older, more scarcely gear protected, route,

Resin Hardman

(1995).

Scavenger is the second and more worthwhile pitch of the Snatch (5.7).  Carefully avoid the guano on your way to the bombproof rest just below the crux bulge.  Pull over the bulge to another good rest in a corner.  Continue up the corner, but be cautious as the rock quality here is not as good.  A huge bird's nest is visible from here, but seemed to be vacant when we passed by.  Enter a chimney that is steeper than it first appears and enjoy the exposure near the top.  A traverse out of the chimney and onto the arete adds to the climb.  Enjoy the great views from the top of Aguaworld!

The furthest right route.

February Summer

is a fun warm-up for the area.  Good spacing on bolts, good sustained climbing, fun moves.

Begin on a slightly overhanging section then eases up.

Smoke 'Em

begins with a V3/4 move past the first bolt to wild climbing up and out a series of short overhangs protected mostly by cams, but fortunately with much easier climbing (probably no harder than 5.11a).  The Ruckmans' 1998 guide rates this 12a and gives it two out of three stars.  The rating may be height related, and the stars may be dependent on one's tolerance for a tiny amount of critter slime and a little loose rock 30 or so feet before the chains.  Great position though, and the cams are good.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Aguaworld