The left climb of the 2 west-facing routes on the Bubble.A fairly straight-forward face climb with lots of pockets for holds.  It seems like every time you think to yourself, 'that next one better be good!', it is!

Solar Power

Fistful of Hueco

The Ladder

b. boy bypass

Bubble Slab--Right

Bubble Boy

Catchy

Big Buddy

Sunset

"Left Edge"

Old Ladder Route

Chimney

Boba

5.9 Face

Excusez Moi

The Way of the Road

The West Arete

Dirty Harry

Little Buddy

Climb up the chimney between the routes Face and Solar Power.  This chimeny is a little dusty, but will clean out wth traffic.  It seems to be a reasonable warm up or beginner climb, and can be done without interfering with the climbers who (contantly) occupy Face.

Double fistful of huecos warm up

TR the awesome wide crack 'Dirty Harry' from same anchor

The Ladder is the left-most climb facing the fire road on the bubble.  Its pretty easy to recognize with the large pockets on the slighty overhanging face.  Older guide books tend to draw the route just right of the actual bolts - which aren't mentioned.  This is the 5.9 version of The Ladder.    The climb is neat and mostly straight-forward; big jugs, spaced widely enough to make you work for them.  The crux comes between the 4th and 5th bolt where the jugs end and you have to traverse a little right.  From the ledge, the next bolt is about 10 feet higher, and clipping this bolt and the following bolt are also difficult.

This is the way Bubble Boy is usually climbed...Bubble Boy Direct uses the old camo painted bolt (1/2", bomber) that protects a fun boulder problem down low.

That bolts still there. It's still the best way to do the route, but starting off to the left is now protected and fun and makes another classic moderate for the middle of the crag to go with Erics gem, Old Ladder.

The bolt line has been straightened out some, which shifts the climbing towards better holds and better flow. The dicey run out on the finish has been eliminated as well.

Throwing out 10c for a grade. Those who find the best holds first go and like overhangs should find it easier..if you grab the wrong stuff or get wigged out on bulges, you might find it harder. Give it the grade you like best and then head on down to the comments section and argue it out with your favorite grade arguing friends!

This is the bolted face route on the right side of the slab, just left of the chimney. Until recently it was nearly always top-roped, but a new set of four bolts were installed in January 2019. Before the bolts were installed it could be led by clipping the first bolt, slotting a small nut into a diagonal crack, placing a small cam in a vertical crack left of the chimney, and placing an iffy medium-sized cam into a hueco to protect the crux move at the top. Climbing straight up the steep face with thin holds between the two bolted face routes is much more difficult, perhaps 5.10d.

Climb out of the cave in the center of the wall.  The first move is the tough part, and its very height dependent (though do-able if you're short).  You have a slopey side-pull for your left hand, you're leaning way back, and you need to get up to the pocket which has a little feature in the bottom to help you pull until you can use the huge left side.  Be resourceful.  After that, a juggy overhanging arête awaits you, then once the climb gets less-than-vertical, it gets pretty run-out, though it's a lot easier.  If you bypass the cave beneath the first bolt, it's a 10c.

This is the longest route on the bubble.  Climb up over the rightmost bulge from the base (the first move is probably .10ish) and then up a slab with good pockets.

The final crux (around the 6th bolt) involves a tricky move over the final bulge that will frustrate you, until you know how to do the move.  Then the rating given is probably a little high.

Climbing is very runout after the crux, but the moves are probably the easiest on the bubble, so don't sweat it.

Consider this 2 boulder problems with a bunch of slabs thrown in to add to the variety.

Climbing this same line avoiding the crux and heading into the crack is another route, called "5.10d".  You'll want to bring nuts or friends and long slings to avoid a drag nightmare.

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Route has 3 distinct cruxes (roof pulls) one which comes right off the ground shared with little buddy and catchy. Next comes the second bulge, with a blind pull on pockets on the lip. Finally you pull the large roof to the left of little buddy. The crux is a little cryptic and a little spooky if you don't have the bolt pre clipped. The route is classic bubble climbing moving from crux to crux with great rests. The anchor can be reached from the top to rap down off its mussy's to pre place the draws.

Just around the arete left of "FACE" there is a nice face route that stays shaded in the morning, at least until mid day.  This can be lead by moving out to clip a few bolts on FACE and then back or TR'd from the anchors of FACE.

Hang your rope to the left of the arete from the bolts above FACE, but not as for that route.  Climb up direct only traversing around right if necessary to clip a bolt and otherwise work up to the crux, perhaps 10' from the top at a few slopers and crimps.

Bite down hard and move up and though some lichen to the top.

This route will improve if someone brushes the lichen from the top 15 feet and the gravel from the top-out moves.

Located just right of bolted route The Ladder, this older climb, which bears the same name, stears clear of most of the difficulties associated with the harder climb.  Jug after jug leads you up a slightly overhanging face to the ledge where the old top rope bolts were cut.  From here head up the right side of the block (whereas the bolted climb stays left.  The crack and dihedral are on.

Two new glue in bolts just left of the Ladder create somewhat contrived extension starts to the West Arete and Solar Power.

Join West Arete at its 2nd bolt and continue up, or traverse left from there onto Solar Power and finish on that route for a nice Bubble bonus.

The 2nd bolt is a bit reachy to clip (sorry).

Consider pre-hanging it for a more enjoyable send.

The "Face" route is the left-most bolted route at the bubble and is marked as "#1" on the topo attached.  The route goes up the slabby-to-vertical face on pockets beside bolts the entire way, and tops out to a bolted anchor, just left of an obvious left-facing dihedral with a chimney in the back of it.

The climb is mostly moderate with protection at the crux.  Shorter people may find this somewhat hard at the grade, but not harder than 5.10a/b.  The crux is a reach spot 2/3 of the way to the top.

The anchors are placed back from the top such that long slings or webbing is necessary to set a TR or to lower off.  This seems akward, but perhaps it was done to save wear from the people who would otherwise TR off of chains or shuts directly.

This is a tres magnifique  link up that butts in on six different routes!

Pay attention now because this gets complicated..

Start over on the right side of the Bubble on Little Buddy. At the 2nd bolt traverse hard left into a large hueco and the 1st crux.

Climb mostly up through the 2nd and 3rd bolts of Big Buddy on sweet gray rock and then left to the 4th bolt on Bubble Boy and the restful Pistola hold.

Again head mainly up to the 5th bolt on Old Ladder (hanger, not glue in) and shake for a bit, its all pocket pulling through here, on your way left to the 5th bolt of the Ladder.

Get your last shake before casting over and up to the anchors of West Arete, this section is fresh, with some great moves on pockets, slopes and edges.

Fun!

And double your fun by hitting it on a crowded Saturday.. Excusez Moi!

This is Catchy the way Chris Summit climbed it on the 2nd ascent.

I was a bit cheesed off at the time that he avoided the lower crux (contrived, chossy) and instead chose to climb above the bouldery traverse on some really sweet limestone like pockets and huecos.

The bouldery start to Catchy still has its bolt for posterity sake but I now recommend that any one intetested in the original start top rope off of the new bolts...

The new bolt line starts on the first bolt of Little Buddy and heads right where LB cuts left.

The difficulties arrive at the small roof half way up and ease off steadily as you get higher.

I eliminated the long run out after the crux,

It was fun but unnecessarily dangerous.

My apologies to anyone who liked it better that way..

Comments aplenty about this route in the Catchy description, but I'd say if you've never hopped on it you should, much funner now and safer too.

The right west-facing route on the Bubble.Full of pockets, since there's a little more lateral movement on this route, it seemed trickier, though less physically taxing than its neighbor, solar power.

Great intro to wide crack climbing. Use the key features and pockets outside the crack to make climbing easier. Be prepared to get your rope a bit dirty.

How did this one get overlooked??

While taking a closer inspection of the Bubble awhile ago, my lil buddy Sam wondered why no one had bolted the cool looking fin/arete on the right edge of the crag..?

Noticing that the fin zeros directly into the enticingly cool roof feature on the right side summit block, I began thinking why indeed?

Well its bolted now and if I do say so myself, an instant crag classic..

There are a couple ways to go about it.

We decided to bolt the direct line which takes the start of the old 10d top rope crack.

At the second bolt, traverse left into a large hueco..this is the crux section.

Keep going on cruiser Bubble style climbing up the buckety fin until you are standing on a small pillar, clip the next bolt under the roof with a long sling..(shoulder length plus a quickdraw best)..then tackle the surprisingly moderate roof.

If you use a long sling below the block and long draws on the rest of the bolts, rope drag can be pleasantly avoided.

8 bolts and a 2 bolt lower off anchor.

Update...some dudes were on this today and they went more or less straight up between the 2nd and 3rd bolts. It looked awesome so we tried it that way too and it was awesome so this is now the official way that the route goes.

:)

Description

Protection

Routes in The Bubble