- Edit (TBD)
Description
We thought this was Jokers Wild based on the old Southwestern Mountaineers topo
Topo from around 1980 compiled by Southwest Mountaineers.
but apparently it is not. Nonetheless, it is a good, well-protected route on excellent rock, worth repeating.
P1 (40ft, 5.7?): Climb directly up a finger crack to the small tree above. You can also scramble up a ledge heading up/right (low 5th), then angle back left (3rd class) toward the tree. Gear anchor in crack just left of the small tree.
P2 (80ft, 5.6): Traverse directly left from the small tree toward the big tree with old webbing around it. This starts on a slab with somewhat hidden pro at first (small cams), then turns into a interesting, rather exposed sideways traverse under a small roof (big cams) until a step up gains the ledge with the big tree. Tree anchor.
Note: P1-2 could be pretty easily connected, especially if you brought 2 ropes to help reduce drag.
P3 (100ft, 5.7+): Step out left of the tree and onto the main face of Ace's Face, which has been hidden from sight thus far. Navigate upward on a system of cracks (nuts useful) until the angle eases a bit and larger ledges are reach. Gear anchor in cracks.
P4 (180ft, 5.9): Locate a fist-width weakness in the roof above and follow cracks to it. Pulling over the roof is the crux of the route, fortunately well-protected. After that, follow cracks upward to the top and build a gear anchor.
Location
The route starts on the far right-hand side of Ace's Face, reached via a short scramble. Descent remains to be worked out, but in general you can escape into a gully to the south via at least one rappel and some scrambling/bushwacking. A good topo of the route as viewed from far away has already been posted.
Card Deck as seen from Baylor Canyon Road. Joker's Wild marked, based on old topo.
Protection
There is no fixed gear on the route. Bring a double-rack from #000 in C3 up to #3 Camalot and a set of nuts. Don't forget plenty of webbing and quicklinks for getting down. We did the route with a single 60m rope, but two ropes would have permitted an easier descent.