Shade in late summer afternoons. Page 132 in Randys guide as are all of Playhouse routes. Easy approach from parking lot right after Lost Horse turn off if going toward Hidden Valley from Jtree. The climb has some pretty good moves in the crux area that make it worth a shot. Many other easy to moderate climbs in the area. Great for beginning leaders or if you simply want to do some easier climbing with a relatively short approach.

Beck's Bear

Balancing Act

Kline's Incline

OC Gym Trad

Baby Ice Dog

I'm So Embarrassed For You

Dress Rehearsal

Anthrax

Leading Lady

The Playwright

Break a Leg

The Irritators

Psycho Groove

Curtain Call

Stucca By a Yucca

Fighting the Slime

Final Act

This is a seriously runout face and stemming route up an intermittent crack system.

Tough slab moves take you to the finish of Stucca By A Yucca.

20 feet left of Final Act is this thin shallow crack. Starts from a ledge 20 feet up from the base. Thin crack to sloping ledge with a patina bulge and thin again to the top; most will want to set a TR due to the lack of pro. Zero stars out of five.

30 feet left of Final Act sits this short and sweet little crack. Safe lead for a beginner at Playhouse. Start from a bushy ledge about 30 feet above the base. Would deserve some stars if it were longer. This and the route to the right could have been done before, but they are not in the books. Zero stars out of five.

Start in the middle of Playhouse Rock, on the right side of an obvious bulge that forms a roof low to the ground. The lower section of this climb is the crux and protects well, and is easier than it looks. Although a bit wide, no offwidth technique is required as there is a finger crack within the wide crack, and several nice holds on the face so look around.  After the crux, this route is mostly slab climbing with a crack for pro.  Up high there is one more vertical section with an awesome hand crack that again hits the grade.  Top belay from a gear anchor and walk off to the south.

There is a good photo of this route in Vogel's guide. It goes up some slippery slab to the small arete you can see from the bottom. Then it goes left up to the belay. There are some bolts and chains below where we made a gear anchor-we chose to walk off though.

Incorrectly listed in some guidebooks as "Practice Rehearsal".

The left facing dihedral around the corner and to the right of Playwright. I sent it to Bartlett last year and rated it 5.8. He climbed it and felt it was a nine. It was put up by myself, of course, and Bill and Karen Briggs. The ancient ones still are at it.

This is the right-leaning crack about 10' right of

Dress Rehearsal

.  Start up an easy slab to reach the crack.  Continue up to the right, passing a vertical section (the crux) about half-way up.  Above this, follow easy slab climbing along a crack, up and left.  Belay from the same spot as for Dress Rehearsal.

Take the slab just right of Final Act to a small roof.

The Irritators starts in the crack just to the right of Dress Rehearsal (aka Practice Rehearsal) and proceeds up the brown face to the shared anchor.

The route starts easy and quickly involves good footwork - smearing and occasional small edges. Fun moves in the thin, crux section. Eases up after the crux to good holds and good feet.

I thought that this climb was a fun climb at the grade. This climb starts up a crack and corner, just right of Final Act. This crack runs out soon, so the climb then heads up a puckered-crack and flakes up diagonally right to another crack above the starting position. This is the left-most of the two twin cracks on the upper half of the crag, the right one being the top end of Psycho Groove.

The climb is quite fun and protects reasonably. Most of the holds are large and secure, particularly up high where the climb gets steeper, but remarkably, easier!

Belay up top using gear, then walk off to the south (climber's left) and scramble down the gully.

This route is near the right end of the face.  It goes up one crack system, then traverses right to a second one.  It's not worth doing.

This obscure route climbs the narrow face/arete between

Psycho Groove

and

I'm So Embarrassed For You

and then cuts left at a headwall to join

Curtain Call

(5.6) for it's finish.

The lack of protection in the lower (crux) section will make this a toprope for most. One star out of five.

This route is the left most line on Playhouse Rock. It follows the obvious crack and corner from the low point in the ground to a point up top near the walk-off. This is shown in the attached photo as being to the

right

of the two lines marked. The protection is available to be safe, but the route is not sewn up. You may also note that I have substantially upgraded the line from 5.4 to 5.6. Although the route is probably mostly 5.4 or easier climbing, I believe that there are a few spots substantially harder and would not advise this as a good beginner lead.

Belay on the top from gear and descend by walking/scrambling to the south (climber's left), down to a gully.

Description

Protection

Routes in Playhouse Rock