Uncle Nasty (AKA: Willy B. Direct)

This route ascends as for the route called "Dihedral" in Rossiter's book. The online description for "Swing Time" is remarkably similar and appears to be the same as "Dihedral." I did not find these descriptions terribly good; however, so I will make an effort to re-describe this area. Take either description as you prefer.

Climb up to the Willy B from either side, eventually reaching a point where the tower begins to separate upward from the ground. There is some mossy slab below you, but this bit of climbing is of little potential interest and will probably not improve your experience.

Pitch 1: Get onto the Willy B tower by traversing our to its center from the point previously described and climb 100-120' to the "block" which runs from the center of the tower to the south. This perch is ~8 x 15 feet in size and slopes in reverse. A sit-down belay should [be] adequate to protect the second, as dragging the leader over this edge will be nearly impossible. Flake your rope up on the outside edge of the block so that it does not fall back into the crack, where it may become tangled.

From the belay: Look up. You will see a left-facing, left-arching dihedral, maybe 50' tall. The dihedral arches into a overhang/roof that runs to the left edge of the east face. The route "Dihedral" (AKA "Swing Time"?) climbs a few feet of this dihedral, and then strikes out diagonally left to where the roof meets the left edge (fixed pin) and then goes up. This is NOT your objective.

Pitch 2: Instead of climbing the slab as mentioned, go straight up the dihedral, placing a small TCU or two into the soft, but possibly solid crack when it opens up enough. One 1.5" TCU (wide cam won't fit) is the last of these in a little cleaved spot about 45' up. You WILL want this pro. Continue up until the dihedral arches into becoming a roof, and make long reaches and stems to work left under this overhang/roof to a small crack at it's right hand corner. Place a few small (0.3-0.5") TCUs and a pink/red tricam in this thin crack, then start moving up. I recommend multiple pieces, as the upcoming moves are difficult and the rock is not perfect- a single piece (or even two) did not give me the security I wanted. A #4.5 Camalot could be placed overhead in a small open section if you care to take such a beast with you. Do so if you don't feel strong on 5.10, but a solid 5.10 climber won't need it. Place said gear and make big reaches from finger-locks and opposition in the O.W. section to reach up and right of the roof, first to a good pinch, then to a great rail. Pull the roof, with nothing for feet on the right side. Heal-hook over and run up easy slab for the top. This was a 60m pitch, total; a 50m rope will not do.

Note - a #3 or #3.5 Camalot can be placed in a horizontal after the roof. If your partner is not SOLID on 5.10, I sincerely recommend leaving it there with some long and grab-able slings. These might come in handy considering the amount of rope out and stretch that will happen if they fall or hang.

The route is runout a little, but I consider this as standard fare for Flatirons climbing. Unlike MOST Flatirons climbing, the crux is in a definite place and can be protected reasonably well, or even BOMBER with a 4.5 Camalot. Take a standard light rack with TCUs 0.3-1.5" plus small tricams (pink-brown) or perhaps Aliens.