This a traverse of most (and the most often climbed portion) of the Buzzard Rocks cliff face. Climb to the bolt on Anonymous Flake and begin trending left. You follow a system of cracks and ledges most of the way, encountering a few awkward moves along the way. Most of the climbing is in the 5.4 range. We set up easy belay stances and trees the entire way. The route ends when you top out on Three Amigos.On any downward traversing pitch, consider letting the stronger climber follow rather than lead.  Route finding skills may be tested on your first attempt.Depending on time of the year, you'll encounter some or a lot of lichen and loose pine needles, which are very slippery.It may not be a good idea to climb this on a very busy day.

Buzzard Guts

Ass Cannibal

Prajapati

Half and Half

Pulp Friction

El Gordo

The Bulge

Kimberly

Unknown  1

Melungian Brotherhood

Slope Surfer

Unknown v0

Slope Surfer Direct

Arêtetrifying

Three Amigos

Edge of Sunshine

Rather be Sk8boarding

Obscure Adventure

Anonymous Flake - Left Variation

Zig Zag

Three Amigos Double Direct

Anonymous Flake Direct

Like a Hurricane

Arêtetrifying Right

Cortez the Killer

Adam Kopley Memorial Route

Anonymous Flake Right

Failure to Communicate

Raising Arizona

Keep Off the Riff Raff

Run up slab, stick in some pro on suspiciously hollow sounding flakes, sneak underneath a tree, clip the first bolt, cruise through lichen and pick your anchor tree at the top. The left tree may require a 70m rope to rappel from, while the tree 15 ft to the right allows for a rappel with a 60m rope.

Didn't name it :)  Another long slab climb that gets thin in spots but is a great climb to practice leading on.  This one really goes more like 5.7 at best. 

   If lowering, be sure to belay from the ledge just directly next to the wall with a 70 Meter rope and from the trail.  

  Start climbing on the darker colored slab. Make a fun move to gain the roof and continue up the face. Make an awkward move around a small tree growing out of the rock. Then cruise up the more featured face to the two bolt anchor.

Very fun route once you get past the first bolt. Below that it's more like a dirty 5.5. Bolts are spaced out but it's easy climbing in those areas. Crux seems to be after the last bolt to the top out. There are two 1/2" ASCA bolted ring anchors on the ledge at the top that can be shared with all three of these routes.

The bottom is easy slabby, but some people may get a little freaked by the distance between bolts. The top is easy, whith the crux move getting over a small roof near the top. There are left and right variations at the crux that finish at different spots (and probably require a bit of trad gear for the rest of the route). You can easily split the route into two pitches with a decent ledge and tree about 50 feet from the bottom. Makes for a good intro to real multi-pitch climbing. Good stances for clipping all the bolts.

Great route to test out your friction climbing.  5.8 climbing though the first four bolts will bring you to the crux and the fifth bolt.  A few friction moves and you begin the runout to the finish.  Bring some gear if you're not comfortable after the last bolt.  It's around thirty feet to the top.

To the right of unknown 1, climb the edge of the flake and the wall keeping most of your body between the flake and the wall.  Good protection in the cracks, top out at either the anchor for Unknown 1 or go straight up to the tree.

Very good climbing on with some great movements and holds.  Crux seemed to the starting the route and the bulge at the top.  There are some run out spots on easier terrain, may want to bring some smaller nuts or cams.  The top half was pretty dirty so I don't think this route sees a lot of ascents.

Follow an undulating crack on good holds along a low angled slab.  Thins out and steepens significantly at the top, culminating in a crimpy crux top-out.

Look for the single bolt in the slab to the right of Three Amigos. Typical slab climbing on small features brings you to a few good stances where you can place smaller gear below the bolt. Continue past the bolt and straight up for the block and tree behind it. Lots of options at the top for building an anchor including the tree. Easy walk down since you're right next to the trail.

Long slab route that has some thin spots but is pretty fun.  Good place to practice leads.  I'm not sure about 5.8 but that's what it's currently rated at.

Start far right under the overhang.  Pull up into the crack line and traverse left until reaching the start of "Slope Surfer Direct".  Finish by climbing "Slope Surfer Direct".

Sit start and go up some licheny blocks to a large shelf, traverse right to the big ledge and top out.  There's a secret jug on the large stone platform that makes the climb worth it

Start in the crack under the overhang.  Pull the overhang.  Top out.

This climb starts at a natural cave formed by rocks. Go up an initial slab to a dirt ledge. Step across the ledge and continue up the arête to the first bolt. Go up to a small rock ledge. Clip the next bolt and carefully move up the steeper face. 

  Be careful as there are some loose holds and plates on the face above. 

  Make a high clip to a bolt (bolt is high because the large flake below is not fully attached). Continue up steep sections, but with good holds. Clip one of the rappel ring bolts before pulling over the top of the wall. Rappel down using the two rappel ring bolts. 

  First ascent: Mark Fletcher and Josh Shifflet, February 18, 2012.

Climb a slabby lieback for twenty feet until a small roof is encountered on your left.  Traverse under the roof to the twin hand cracks.  Jam and jug haul your way for the last ten feet.  Great route for aspiring trad leaders or for new climbers to TR.

Follow Prajapati through the first two bolts, then break right toward an arete through a lichen garden. Search for some reachy moves hidden by the lichen until you can stick a small piece of pro in at the base of the arete. Finish out the arete to the shared anchors.

A slightly more vertical slab with pretty straight forward moves.  There's a bulge down low and then the crux is the bulge in the middle.  To the left is too easy, straight up the bulge is pretty hard and to the right is a bit reachy but interesting on small holds.

Climb past three bolts to a brushy ledge with a large pine. Rappel from there or place some gear in a broken overhang and pull a one move wonder to reach another bolt and easy, lichen-covered climbing up the center of a large flake. The PATC description recommends rappelling from the ledge and says "the dirty, easy top section is not worth another lap down the Anonymous Flake walk down" but I disagree.

Climb the slab on the left side leading up to the flake. Protection down low is tricky. Make sure you check for good rock before placing pro. When you get to the flake, head up, on crimps, through the vertical crack that is on the left side of the flake, first crux. Once you pass the overhang you will be at a good stance to clip the lone bolt. Getting past the bolt is the second crux and will require a high step and good crimps before reaching jugs to rap rings up top.

Start at a ledge with blocks and go up many cracks to the top where there also many blocks. Although this climb was originally free soloed, there are good cracks for natural protection.  

  First ascent: Mark Fletcher (free solo), December 24, 2011.

The double direct climbs the cracks on the two faces to the left of the Three Amigos flakes. Start up a zig-zaggy crack in the licheny face. At the top of the face cross the brushy ledge and climb the double cracks through a roof.

This route fires straight up the middle of the slab and the flake above. There are 2 bolts high on the route, the first 8 ft below the flake and the second 8 ft above the flake. Stay out of the broken vertical crack to the left that leads to the lone bolt on the A Flake Left. The moves below the flake are easy slab climbing with occasional shallow cracks suitable for tricams, nuts, or small cams. The moves above the flake are where the business is, thin technical moves take you from just below the second bolt to 5 ft above to a nice slopey rail that ends the crux and yields a short path to the anchors above.

This route goes up the center of the slab. Start at a discontinuous crack with two small trees growing out of the crack. Touching these trees with your feet or hands is off route and bad karma – let them live! Move up to a stance where you clip the first bolt and then dance your way up past two more bolts. The crux is between the 3rd and 4th bolt. 

  At the 4th bolt, join the “Adam Kopley Memorial Route” and climb up the previously mentioned crack and then past two bolts. Near the top, do not go left, but rather go straight up to a crack. If you go slightly left and then right to the crack above the last bolt, you will drop the grade to 5.10a, so get the full value and go straight up. A Grey Alien cam or equivalent may be handy in the crack. Finish at the horizontal ledge with two Metolius rappel bolts. A single rope rappel will get you to the bottom.  

  First ascent: Mark Fletcher (roped solo), June 3, 2012.

Climb up “Arêtetrifying” to the third bolt and put a very long sling on this bolt. Traverse right on rock with lots of lichen using a large flake for foot holds and a horizontal crack for hand holds. Do not put a cam into the crack used for a foothold since it is flexible! 

  Put a long sling on a small tree growing on a dirt ledge. Then use cams in the wide crack on the right while you make a crux move onto the top of the slab. Use either micro cams and nuts or large (3 – 5”) cams to set up a belay on the ledge. Make 4th class moves down the top of the wall to the two rappel rings and then descend on a single rope. 

  First ascent: Mark Fletcher and Josh Shifflet, February 18, 2012.

This route goes up the right side of the slab. Try not to knock down the pile of pine needles and soil at the base otherwise the start will get harder. Go up the slab to a bolt and then gradually move right past two more bolts. Continue up past another bolt. Then move slightly left thorough sections with fingernail holds. There is a lot of lichen here, but with traffic the lichen will clean up. Move up to a steeper slab and reach up to clip a bolt. Mantle onto the top of the slab. Do not use the right edge of the slab, which is off route.While there are two bolts on the ledge to the left, they are not ideal for belaying. Rather, walk up the slope about 30 feet and sling a tree to set up the belay anchor, which can be extended back to the top of the slab. This climb is deceptive in that it looks easy, but the holds are not very big. A single rope rappel from the two bolts will get you to the bottom.First ascent: Mark Fletcher (rope solo), June 3, 2012.

This route is dedicated to Adam Kopley, who died in a climbing accident on April 6, 2012 during when Mark was developing this route. This route starts out fairly easy at a short vertical crack on the left side of the slab. There is some lichen here, but all of the holds are clean. Work your way up to a very short side pull crack. Although you could put in a cam here, it is not needed since a bolt is right above. From here the climb becomes a friction-fest, but is well protected until a right-tending discontinuous crack. The crux is between the 3rd and 4th bolt. A Purple Alien cam was used midway up this discontinuous crack during the first ascent. Above the crack, go up the slab to the left on finger pocket cracks past three more bolts. Near the top, stay on the left side of the slab, but do not use the left edge of the slab or the crack in the center of the slab. 

  First ascent: Mark Fletcher (roped solo), June 3, 2012.

Slab climbing to a lone bolt. Clip it and make the crux move of getting to the large flake. Follow the flake up and right placing finger to hand sized gear. Make an anchor on the tree at the summit or traverse back left a bit to bolt anchor. Not as hard as it looks from the ground, this is a great route. A 60 meter rope should just get you back to the ground -- tie your knots!

I don't think there is a real crux on this route.  Pretty featured slab climbing up four bolts.  Not a spectacular route, but worth doing if you're in the area.

I don't really think there was a crux on this route, there always seems to be a jug right where you need it.  Very fun and easy climbing all the way to the top.  Great warm-up for the other climbs in the area.

Buzzard Rocks makes for a great day or weekend adventure. The cliff faces West and you get full exposure to the valley below. If you're going to climb in the summer, mornings are the best suggestion. The face will stay cool for you until early afternoon. If you're going to climb in the winter you need to stick with afternoons and evenings. The great exposure to the sun will keep you warm and keep you climbing. There are around 25 registered routes, nothing that goes above 5.10. That makes this a great area for new leaders and weekend warriors. Bring a light rack and set of quick draws. Most climbs are bolted with a few exceptions. Bring your own water, it will be a long walk back to the car if you run out.

 Check out these awesome webpages for more area info!

PATC-MS Buzzard Rocks

http://rakkup.com/guidebooks/elizabeth-furnace-rock-climbing/

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Buzzard Rocks