Houser Gully, 5.6-5.10d

Overview/Approach

Houser Gully references a remote slot located on the east side of Dodo Buttress.  Lucky Lady, 5.8*, is an easy popular climb located on the south face of Dodo and often used as a warm up for Loose Lady, 5.10a****, on Houser Buttress.  But the Houser Gully itself involves a scrambling bushwack approach that does not help you reach either of those more popular climbs.  All Booked Up, 5.6**, and Albatross, 5.10c*, actually require a weird, but fun, 4th to 5th class (depending on your experience stemming slots) slot squeeze north which pops you out into a pristine and surprisingly remote section of Real Hidden Valley.  The five published climbs in Houser Gully rarely get climbed.  Rock Out with Your Cock Out, 5.10a**, was not included in modern local guides, probably more to do with its name than anything else.  Four of the five routes in Houser Gully are quite worthy trad routes.  Herbie’s Hideaway is a bit contrived.

Rock Out with Your Cock Out and Dodo’s Delight, 5.10a*, share the same start.  They both require gear belays and can both be descended by rapping Lucky Lady and scrambling back to the base of the wall.  Albatross and All Booked Up require that you burrow through a narrow slot, under Herbie’s Hideaway, to an open alcove on the other side. They both offer stark splitters in the wall on your left.  And again, the best way off is to rap Lucky Lady.  You will have to scramble a few 4th to 5th class moves to reach the top of Dodo Buttress to reach the rap anchor.  Setting a belay on top of these splitters is not comfortable as both cracks peter out before the top.  However, there is a single bolt up and left of the top of All Booked Up that can be used with no pro available to back it up.  There is also a shelf to the west that a belayer can stand down in and do a hip belay. 

Getting to these routes, particularly Albatross and All Booked Up, could be the crux of these climbs.  The approach is not the same as it is for Lucky Lady on the south face of the Dodo Buttress.  Rather, enter a bushwhacked maze before passing the south face.  Scramble north up a gully and pop through a hole on the left below a massive boulder that lands you on a sloping ledge below the short east facing wall of Dodo Buttress with a forking crack above.  The straight up corner is Rock Out and the right leaning crack is Delight.  Herbie’s Hideaway is in the slot further north, dark, narrow and deep.  Continue 4^th class scrambling through the slot to pop out into a bushy alcove where Albatross and All Booked Up are two obvious splitters on your left.

Routes Listed South to North on Approach

Rock Out with Your Cock Out- 45’-5.10a**/ This is a relatively new route that is not included in the local guides as of 2023.  It is the better of these two side by side routes that share the same start on the east side of Dodo Buttress.  This pitch is definitely more physical for the grade, but also more straight forward.   Stem, jam, turn around a few times whilst enjoying a steep cool crack feature. No large gear is really needed, but a #4 or #5 will fit down low.  Gear belay is easily had at the top.  Single to #3 should be plenty for the competent leader including what is used to set up a gear belay rap.  When you are done with these side by side routes, rap Lucky Lady which is a short, bolted route on the direct south face of the Dodo.    Sun till noon in the winter. Dow

Dodo’s Delight- 45’-5.10a*/ Dodo’s Delight and Rock Out with your Cock Out are side by side routes that share the same start on the southeastern face of Dodo (to the right of Lucky Lady).  To get to them is a different approach than Lucky Lady as you need to meander through boulders and holes on the right side of the formation to reach the base of the east face.  There you will find a comfortable flat shelf below a right facing/leaning corner that splits into two routes of the same grade.  The right arcing crack is Dodo’s Delight.  Stem or chicken wing up the initial wide start and climb the somewhat awkward right leaning crack.  Some ring locks, some flaring hands with your right foot finding edges out on the face.    The pro is solid the whole way but the slab at your feet is exfoliating. You can set up a gear belay to rap and lead Rock Out and then rap Lucky Lady when finished with both routes.  While you are here, it would be foolish to not climb The Albatross, 5.10c, and All Booked Up, 5.6.  These are two stellar crack climbs that are reached by burrowing through the narrow slot canyon to the north which makes the whole experience more fun.  When you are done with those routes, you can still just rap Lucky Lady.  Single to #3 should be adequate for the competent leader, including building a gear rap.  Sun till noon in the winter.  Dow

Herbie’s Hideaway- 5.10d*/

Albatross- 60’-5.10c*/ See Dodo’s Delight for the approach information which offers a fun slot scramble that opens up into a cool remote alcove.  Albatross and All Booked Up have excellent rock and are located on your left.   Albatross however is rarely climbed and has a chossy and cruxy, for the grade, start. This is the most difficult 5.10c I have climbed in Jtree (leading over a 1000 routes in the park).  The start is sustained and difficult.  You are depending on flaring hands with sparse feet on slightly overhanging ground.  Takes a lot of thought to get this start clean for the typical 5.10 leader.  The 2^nd half is as fun as it looks through good hands and large features.  Medium to large gear belay on top.  Route gets morning sun.  Single rack to #4.  Dow

All Booked Up- 50’-5.6**/ This is one of the last published 5.6 routes I climbed in the park and for good reason.  It is a bit of maze on the approach.  It is worth it.  A stellar route on stellar rock.  This is a good solo choice.  All hand jams on great rock to the top where you find a singular bolt out left for whatever reason.  MP.com calls it 5.7 and seems to have a lot of conversation about the approach.  I recommend combining it with Dodo’s Delight and Rock Out.  Once you are at those routes, it does not take much more effort to reach All Booked Up.  Route gets morning sun.  Dow