Jurassic Park, 5.6-5.12a

Overview/Approach

Of the miscellaneous smaller formations you pass on your way out to the Valley Massif, Jurassic Park offers by far the most routes.  It is divided in the local guide into a left and right wall.  This area is relatively well hidden on approach by Holy Saturday and Foreign Territory.  All three formations are elongated west to east south facing formations paralleling each other along the west side of the Turtle Rock loop trail.  The walls of Jurassic are located deeper in the forest and face slightly more east therefore are better hidden from view.  A climber’s trail turns off right of Turtle Rock trail into the forest where you go up and over a small col and up to a ledge system on the left that runs the length of the formation at about the center of the wall, therefore the division into “left” and “right”.  None of these routes are very tall.  The views are spectacular looking east to the backside of the Box Canyon area.

Spatial Juxtaposition, 5.9**, is a fun left facing corner that starts just right of a small tunnel cave.  The start is no doubt the crux, but in general the route is soft by Vedauwoo standards and is relatively short.  Lichen Lung, 5.10b**, is a short walk to the right of Juxtaposition.  Lichen is one of the more unique climbs at that grade in the park despite being only 45’.  It throws a bit of everything at you in that short distance and is fairly accurate at the grade, a main attraction on Jurassic for sure.

Park at the dead end at the base of the hill below the Main Area, at the restroom.  Hike the Turtle Rock trail northwest as you would for the Valley Massif.  Holly Saturday is an aesthetic formation that comes into view right above the trail on the right.   Continue past it and ignore the first climbers trail you see on the right (Foreign Territory).  Take the next climbers trail on the right and ascend through thick forest up and over a col.  Jurassic Park’s walls come into view on the left after about 15 minutes.

Routes Listed Left to Right as you Face the Southeast Wall

Prologue- 5.6/

Recombination- Mutation- 5.7/

First Iteration- 5.10a*/

Spatial Juxtaposition- 35’-5.9**/ Good left facing corner crack to the right of the large boulder tunnel. Steep tight hands start and ease up as you go.  Gear anchor.  Climb down mid-5^th to climber’s left or finish to the top to rap off the summit to the right.  Single to #3.  Extra medium pieces for a gear anchor.  Dow

Second Iteration- 5.10c**/

Crichton’s Crack Left- 5.9/

Crichton’s Crack- 5.11c/

Flake O Saurus- 5.10c***/

Get Up That Tree- 5.8/

Rowdy Joe Bad- 5.11bPG/

Lawyer on a Toilet- 5.8/

Anatomy Lesson- 5.9**/

Lichen Lung- 45’-5.10b**/ One of the best routes at the grade in the park.  Start off the deck on steep (slightly overhanging) hands that bite down to fingers on several occasions.  Keep both feet in the crack.  The crux is entering a shoulder tight/squeeze OW via fingers.  Take a rest on the shoulder jam and then finish off on some more stellar fingers/tight hands to a fixed rap.  Single to #3.  Dow

Mud in Your Eye- 5.10+**/

Velociraptor’s Revenge- 5.12a*/

Triceratops 1-5.10c/

Triceratops 2-5.10c/

Triceratops 3-5.10c/

Digripper Raptoris- 5.10a/

Epilogue- 5.7/