Fun route ascending the west aspect of the Blackline Buttress. Feels like a scarier version of the Waltz and a little tougher. Pull roof off the ground, get in whatever gear you can (finger-ish size), traverse left to flared hand-ish crack, then take the obvious weaknesses (with better pro) to the top of the buttress pulling through a fun roof. Don't blow the first 30-40 feet. If this route sounds at all appealing to you, you will enjoy it. The R rated climbing is honest Montana 5.8 and is sustained at the grade. Good route and cool position make this a worthwhile climb.

Callis' Warts and Corns

Rambo

Black Line - Directest Finish

Kabooki Direct

Fringe Benefits

If Peterbilts Could Prance

Sour Diesel

Mirror Image

Thintucky

Blue Dream

Lacy Panties

Black Line

Diesel Driver

Alto Ray

Raven's Roost

Fakir

Baby Moose

Just Effacin' the Crowd

Very fun route, with rather atypical movement for harder routes in the Gallatin.  Begin as for Diesel Driver, cutting right at the lodged flake on top of the first finger crack section.  Moving past 3 bolts on the face comprises the crux, with the hardest moves being around the last bolt. Another 40ish feet of 5.10 over sparse but adequate gear deposits you at a chain anchor.

An unsuspectingly fun climb. Would be a lot better if it got more traffic to wear down some of the mosses on the route and clean the loose rocks.

Start under the bottom of the obvious large dihedral that occupies the middle of this route. Sling your gear while in the main dihedral to reduce rope drag near the top. Trend up and right out of the dihedral to the right of a very small roof for a balancey, airy finish. Gear/sling large rocks for the belay.

Descent:

Walk off right.

This great new variation to one of the most classic crack lines of the canyon adds a nice "sting in the tail" finish that maximizes the pump. Climb the standard

Blackline

to the point of the "5.7 traverse", instead of cutting right to either of the standard finishes (original 5.7 crack or direct 5.9 with the bolt) crimp directly up and slightly left over a small bulge and up parallel right-leaning seams. Sidepull and crimp your way up these to the crux last move right (look for a key mono) into the very top of the dihedral on the 5.9 finish and clip the chains. This makes for a great addition to this classic line, but the protection is not very straightforward. It would be a tricky onsight, and may be most enjoyable as a TR.

Start at the anchors for the first pitch of Alto Ray and climb straight up the face past three bolts. Continue up the nearly perfect finger/hand crack to another ledge. Continue up the arete past three more bolts. Top out and walk a few feet back to the anchors. A great climb with three very distinct sections that would all be worth being a climb of their own.

Start on the same large ledge (40' up) as French Lace, which is accessed by a mid 5th class scramble from either the right or the left.

Climb the obvious finger-hand crack just right of French Lace. It starts thin and progressively widens. The bulge mid-height is powerful, it helps to pull it on the left and then cut back right into the crack. There is good gear anchor opportunities immediately above the route on the major ledge, or you can use the huge pine tree 20' back from the edge.

This is a good crack climb and an obvious line. It was done OS, ground-up, so only the minimal necessary cleaning was done and it's still rather grungy; if it was scrubbed thoroughly it'd be another great line on the wall, I will do it if I get back up to Bozone with some time to kill.

From a two bolt anchor above the slab, climb up the face and tip toe through a band of gross rock. Cut right, through the face and eventually to a right facing dihedral below a roof. Boulder a series of roofs to the top. Chain anchor.

Weird and surprisingly good route up the backside of the Diesel Driver formation. Tunnel/ scramble up underneath both chockstones (or start on the left of the second) and work your way up and right on steep cracks. Routefinding is kinda tricky but gear is good. End on the upper anchors for Diesel Driver and rap per that route.

Start up Blackline for 20'. Branch left, following bolts through sustained thin slab. Access the break and start plugging cams in horizontals. Finish on Blackline Direct. Offset cams are super helpful here.

Interesting, varied face climbing. Start in a left facing dihedral and move left at the feature that looks like a left-pointing finger. Pass a bolt, move left at the horizontal, clip another bolt in the bulge, then follow shallow gear placements in the black rock to the anchor.

This fun slab line starts directly to the right of Blackline and suffers a bit from a very scary start above a large backbreaker boulder.  Lay your backpacks over it or have your belayer give a good spot so if you don't make the first clip (12ish feet off the ground) you don't go splat.  Otherwise continue up following bolts through relatively easy terrain until the 5th bolt where it turns into true slab climbing.  Pull through 2 more bolts and then head into the top of the Blackline crack.  Pull through that to the chains!

A beautiful line, one of the best in the Bozone. Sustained crack movement! Somewhat pumpy...

After busting the "5.7" traverse at the top (I thought it was a bit harder!), you can continue up a grungy 5.7 crack to the top of the buttress, or take a newer, 5.9 bolted finish which is a bit more direct.

Deisel Driver is the striking wide crack on the north side of the blackline butress. Some feel that this climb is a bit of a sandbag, but the gear is bomber, so go ahead and send it! After a few overhangs that require some cupped hands/fist jams, step right to a chain anchor or continue to the top of the formation. Shares anchor with If Peterbuilts Could Prance (5.12).

Look for a small roof with a hand crack spliting the left side. Easier terrain leads to a large ledge with anchors. Stop her and descend via the large Merolius hangers or continue left to a right facing corner which dumps you atop Blackline

This fantastic, widely overlooked 30m moderate sitting on Blackline's west face is the little brother to Ashes of Stone. What was likely very run out climbing 40 years ago is somewhat less runout with tiny cams.

Start up the obvious corner in the middle of the face and place solid gear before the right-facing flake.  Follow the weakness through a cruxy but well protected bulge up the left side of the face until the weakness ends with a snug #0.2 critical gear placement. Stay towards the left of the face / arete past good gear options in horizontals until the anchors.

2-bolt anchor. Rappel or lower with a 60m or longer rope. Get on it!

Short and stout. Climb the crack up to a fixed pin then follow the seam up and right to the top. Bolted anchors. "Thuggish"

Beautiful crack line with some face climbing.

Starts from the same ledge where If Pleides Could Dance and French Lace start from; this ledge is reached with a 40' 5.4ish scramble, either from the right or up the obvious dihedral on the left.

Begin just left of Pleides, and pull diagonally left off of the ledge on steep, solid orange rock (crux). Once the arete is met, follow the left side of it until the obvious horizontal crack, cut right onto the arete proper, and follow this into a thin crack to the upper ledge. Good climbing, but there is some hollow rock and lichen. Done on-sight, ground-up, so not much cleaning was done.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Black Line Buttress