Battle of The Bulge

Overview

This section is under construction with more images to come, along with additional route beta. Battle of the Bulge is one of the more popular cliffs at Indian Creek. Sharing a parking lot with the Super Crack Buttress (doesn't) help(s) with its popularity. It has routes for nearly everyone from easier 5.10a to 5.13. The climbing can be from straight in splitter which is obvious from a mile away to devious stemming. The sizes go from tight fingers and tips to hands to offwidths. It should be noted, this crag is ideal in colder weather, as most climbs go into thee sun at around 10am. The exception to this would obviously be the Cave Route which as it's name describes is in a cave and can be done in much hotter weather. Note: The image on the header is from Liba Kopeckova taken from the Super Crack Parking Lot area

Getting There

Approach 1: Recommended in an attempt to minimize the climbers impact. From the back of the Supercrack Buttress parking lot take the trail which leads to the left, although there are trails which are shorter which lead directly to the switch backs. After crossing the dry creek bed head up the switchbacks which will deposit you at the base of the very obvious splitter crack (Swedlin-Ringle) Approach 2 Just below Ruby's Cafe/ Digital Readout/ Cave Route is there is a small turnout (appropriate for 2-5 cars). Hike straight up on a fairly good trail which takes you to the base of the three routes. Approach 3: Best for those routes on the far side of the cliff such as Think Pink and Disco Machine Gun.

Routes

Overview of Battle of the Bulge Buttress (not to scale)

Swedlin-Ringle (5.12a)*** The obvious splitter seen from the parking lot shared by Super Crack Buttress. Fingers lead to hands back to ringlocks then rattley fingers back to fingers and just as you get tight fingers you have the chains. A classic route. The extension is known as Air Sweden (5.13): Beta to come.

The splitter Swedlin Ringle(5.12a)

Railroad Tracks (5.10a)** Short (~45ft) and the easiest route in the area. Ring locks at the start (crux) leads to a right facing corner and good hands with twin cracks. Green 0.75 BD C4’s to Yellow 2.0 BD C4’s. Battle of the Bulge (5.11)*** A Steve Hong route and is worthy as the namesake of the cliff band.Once on the route, the name will become perfectly clear. Ringlocks and thin hands through a bulge. A perfect ringlock right facing corner leads to a bulge that feels pretty overhanging and is the crux. Power through the bulge to be rewarded with chains. (a few green 0.75 BD C4’s and a lot of red 1.0 BD C4’s. Gorgous climbing. Cave Route (5.10d)*** A unique position which stays cool or dry when the rest of the cliff is either baking in the sun or drenched in a downpour. Ringlocks in a right facing corner inside the cave (way cool and beautiful) leads to a pod about 18ft up and then 70ft of unrelenting tright hands (a green 0.75, a yellow 2.0 BD C4 and as many red 1.0 C4’s you need to protect 70ft. Ruby’s Cafe (5.12d/.13a)**** The obvious shallow left facing corner capped by a roof. Painful first knuckle pinkies at start leads to awesome finger lieback (easy for the grade) to a corner change. Either do the corner change or just punch through a couple of insecure jams and get rewarded with a rest and easier climbing to the roof. Technique and body tension gets you out the roof to knee bar (for those with technique and/or shorter legs) and then thin fingers lie backing to the chains about 7ft above the roof. 8-9 grey 0.4 BD C4’s, 2-3 blue 0.3 BD C4’s. A nice route by Lisa Gnade, but usually has a blood trail from bruised knuckles and ego's.

Just below the corner change on Ruby's Cafe

Last Battle (5.11)* A route which doesn’t get done as much as it should, and is better then it looks. Step up onto a left angling ramp until an overlap is reached, and is not as easy as it looks like it should be. Insecure locks bring you to a bulge with a flair. Either carry a large cam for the flair (ie: a grey BD 4.0 C4) or reach farther back and get moderate size cams in near the back of the flair (purple and green 0.5-0.75 BD C4’s). green and red 0 and 1 BD C3’s for the start and then blue 0.3 BD C4 to 0.75 for the rest of the route. Crack Attack (5.11a)*** Has just a little bit of everything. Wide funkness leads to enjoyable hands to a small roof to a narrowing crack with the crux just before the anchors. Disco Machine Gun (5.12)*** Technical powerful stemming is the key to this route. Technical stemming with good gear starts the route. As the gear options decreases, the stemming becomes more technical and powerful. Up high as possible major, huge fall potential increases, thank god gear placements can be found. Small nuts, green C3’s to yellow 2.0 BD C4 mostly in the smaller sizes. A grey 000 BD C3 allows one of the cruxes to be protected. Think Pink (5.11a) not shown but tone of the furthest left climbs shown by a wide hands overhanging bulge). Route favors those with big hands. moderate fingers lead to a slight bulge and tiny (and fragile) flakes to the base of a really steep (ie: overhanging) bulge with wide hands) tapering off to vertical to the end. Bring 1 (0.4) grey camalot, 2 purple (0.5) camalots, 1 (0.75) green camalots and 2-4 (2) yellow camalots, 3-5 blue (#3) camalots, and 1 grey (#3.5) camalot.

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