Excellent, steep climbing on a salad bowl of holds.

Start on jugs, move to an "ok" sloper, then move up a series of blocky crimps to an easy top out.

Raiden is a great example in proper footwork, and if you don't have good beta or technique, the whole problem can feel difficult.

Raiden

Titian

Brain in a Jar

Nonfat Milk

The Kraken

Dunn Woody

Kane

Taking the Stairs

Reduced Fat Milk

Big Cheesy

Dunkin' Donuts (Direct)

Grateful Dead

Start under cling big move then climb up rails on compression.

Sit start on the large sloping rail. Fun moves through slopers with a tricky jump off a shallow right hand mono.

Start sitting just left of center, with your right hand on a low blocky sloper/sidepull and your left hand on a sidepull or edge in a seam. Move right via slopers, gastons and sidepulls. Top out directly above the left facing flake on good, but somewhat sandy holds.

This is a really great traverse on a fantastic selection of holds, with outstanding movement and great rock.

One of the classic highballs of Joe's.

The climb is two distinct sections. With a substantial rest in between. Stand start on crimps.

The first 15ft is the technical crux with a V4 move to get into a pocket. After this, you get a great handholds of the rest where you can shake out and eye the holds to the top.

The second 15ft is probably in the V2-V3 range, but feels a lot hard because you are so far off the ground. Two less than ideal pockets will get you up to a good rail and pocket from which you can feel for the top out holds.

You can downclimb off the back left end.

Really cool holds and really good rock make this one or two move move wonder worth doing if you're in the area.

Start sitting on the right side of the face, with two side by side underclings just left of a tan streak. Pick some feet to use and make a hard pull off the ground to reach the lip above. Match (kind of tricky) and figure out the top out.

Done!

Kind of a variation of Raiden, though only shares the first two moves, and climbs quite differently. I thought it was every bit as good. Solid at the grade.

Start as for Raiden. After the first 2 moves, move right through some hard undercling moves (the crux), until you get the obvious jug flake with the right hand. move straight up over the first lip, then either traverse left and finish up on Raiden, or better, finish straight up for a more independent line (same grade).

Start sitting on a big right hand pocket/undercling and left hand on a worse pocket to the left. Move slightly up through a pretty positive sloping crimp rail and a strange and somewhat tweaky split finger pocket/crimper/sloper/pinch on the arete up and right (hard to describe this hold, but you will know it when you see it). Grab one of several options of slopers then move up to the good holds above. Keep it together through the awkward and sandy topout.

This is a great problem with powerful and insecure moves above a good landing. Looks like there are several ways to do it.

Start sitting with your right hand on a low blocky sloper/sidepull and your left on a sidepull/edge in a seam. Pull off the ground and bump your right hand up to a crimp. Then figure out a way to deadpoint to the small crimp in the face (basically the only hold). Latch that hold and dyno to a good hold on the lip.

The top out is a little sandy and somewhat tricky.

This problem has outstanding movement and perfect rock (except for the last bit of the top out). Get on it!

Start sitting with your hands on underclings. Power up to a good crimp above and surge out left to a good jug. A tenuous and less than straight forward mantle guards the top.

Short, but powerful, with good quality rock.

This problem is one of the most debated grades in Joe's Valley, especially since it is somewhat of an eliminate. The direct version was given v10 in the guidebook, but the grade seems to be settling in somewhere from v8 to soft v9. The other version seems to be around v6-ish. While clearly not v10, this climb is a tricky one to grade because the difficulty will vary depending on one's wingspan. Ultimately, what gets lost in all of this discussion is that this is a fantastic problem with really fun and enjoyable movement.

Start sitting in a pit, with both hands on a right facing sidepull. Pull off the ground and head left and up towards some good underclings. Make a huge move from the underclings with either the left or right hand to some slopers. Figure out a way to reach the good jugs and top out directly above.

The 'direct' version is somewhat of an eliminate as you can can traverse further left from the good underclings and reach some sidepulls that make reaching the top out holds easier. However, I feel that the direct version (even if an eliminate) is a lot more fun and worth posting as a climb unto itself.

With that in mind, it would be ideal if people contribute star ratings and grades that are for this specific 'direct' version and not for the other version, since the 'direct' version is what most people climb. Feel free to post the 'indirect' version up if you feel strongly that it deserves its own listing.

Sit down start on the arete. Slap your way up onto the bulge using the gritty, sticky rock. Grab a slash pocket then work your way up a tricky slab to a frightening top out.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Raiden Area