Any 5.10 in Rifle that's not polished is 3 stars.  The Bloody Corner is an excellent left leaning finger crack that would probably be a classic 5.9 at Eldo.  The bolt spacing is quite spicy around the 4th or 5th bolt, so don't fall there.  Cross the "bridge" for the Ruckman Cave and then hike left about 100 yards and you'll find a quiet isolated wall with 5 routes.  Bloody Corner is right above a large 10' X 10' boulder and is the 3rd route from the left.  Just right of "

Bovine Impact

".

Bloody Corner

The Rave Over Truth and Beauty

Nessun Dorma

Long Barrel

Kenose Eskapa

Extended Family

Shibumi

Loose Cannon

Pinch Fest

In Your Face

Call the Cops

Princess of Turandot

When the Levee Breaks

The Promise

First Steps

Pellet Gun

Beer Run

Head Full of Lead

Waiting For 21

Wreaths of Wrath

Noble Wife

Supre Guide

Route

Prime the Pump

The Rolling Log

Cooch

Overstoker

Return to Sender (aka Cap-gun)

Objectivity Exchange

Street Knowledge

Bolt Action

Red Dawn

Choss Family Robinson

Bovine Impact

Primer

Don't Point That Thing At Me (Head Full of Lead extension)

Le Frimeur

Prime Time

Prime Evil

Smoking Gun

Firearms

Kielbasa Run

Bovine Impact is not in the "Ruckman Cave" proper.  Walk left on a trail past "

Beer Run

" passing many stinging nettles along the way through a bit of forest to an opening in the canopy a good 100 yards past the Ruckman Cave. This route is just left of the obvious open corner, which goes at 10c.

Scramble up onto some blocks to start. Move up right in kind of a chossy corner clipping a couple bolts along the way to a stance on a pillar. Climb up a few feet then traverse straight left with not so great feet to some steep terrain.  Some powerful, cool climbing through a roof brings you to a slab with some hard climbing getting situated on the slab. Clip one more bolt, and

voila

you are at the anchors.

This route could use a little cleaning. Worth doing though and no crowds.

This is a nice clean line on beautiful stone. It is similar to

Red Dawn

, just a grade harder. This wanders a little bit around bolt 5/6.

"

Nessun Dorma

(None Shall Sleep) is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera, Turandot, and is one of the best known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf,

Il principe ignoto

(The unknown prince), who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot. However, any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles. If he fails, he will be beheaded."

Nessun Dorma begins in a grungy dihedral then wanders up the light grey streak using a variety of pinches, sidepulls, and slopey edges.  Right now it is pretty sandy and at times it is difficult to determine which way to go, but it may clean up nicely with time.

Eds. there is now a 2nd pitch called, Princess of Turandot, 11c.

This is the extension to

Firearms

.

Fantastic new addition to the Ruckman Cave, Long Barrel puts the top of

Firearms

another ~45 feet higher. Step out left to the anchors of firearms, but don't clip. Instead, step back right and fire away on long, tricky moves through a roof and then collect yourself before finishing off the technical but fun face that follows.

Apparently the FA called this 13a if you stay true to the bolt line. I don't know anything about that variation to this route. I'm giving this addition the grade if you follow the obvious line of holds to the right of the bolt line (12c). It is difficult to clip the last bolt if you climb the right variation, and it may be better to skip it. This runout certainly adds some excitement as if you pump out at the anchors (a definite possibility), you will plummet past the lip of the roof for a nice 30 footer.

This ascends the beautiful blue and gold streaked wall just left of

Red Dawn

.

Climb easy stone up the right side of the huge block that sits next to the wall. Move out right onto the wall at the third bolt, and climb though a series of powerful deadpoints to a good shake at about mid-height. Another difficult section on small holds leads to a tricky traverse out left to a shallow, right-facing corner. Balancy moves up the corner lead to jugs at the anchor.

This is an extension (not a second pitch) of

Choss Family

. Continue on from the the

Choss Family

anchors past 8 more bolts.  This route is very steep and can be done from the ground with a 60 meter rope.  This is a new route so be careful of rock fall, I cleaned as much as I could, but I wouldn't sit or belay under someone climbing.

Even though the crux is short-lived on this climb, it passes througt very aesthetic red rock and offers lots of cool dihedral/corner climbing along its length.

Start left of

Promise

, and climb the surpisingly thin face past red hangers to the ledge. Move into the layback corners, and power up to a devious crux at mid-height. Further adventure leads to the anchors, high on the wall. You might want to stretch a bit before this one, as it requires a fair bit of technical stemming.

This route shares the first three bolts of

Primer

on the right side of the Ruckman Cave. Where

Primer

traverses right, head straight up the steepening headwall. It is technical with good rests and a long reach near the top.

It goes up to a two bolt anchor a few  feet below the large roof.  Follow pinches up the wall with good clips.  The sequence is hard to follow 3/4 of the way up.

This is agreat route with powerful, dynamic moves.  The crux is about from halfway up the route to the belay with large moves at the top.  It's the farthest route right under the large roof.

Start left of

Shibumi

...go up an easier corner to a bulge crux to a slab crux. It is thin -- hard for the grade.

Named for the lead character in Puccini's Turandot, this route is an extension to

Nessun Dorma

. The crux is right off the deck of the

Nessun Dorma

anchors. After a difficult two bolt crux, the climbing eases to the second set of anchors.

A 70 meter rope is required. Knot the ends. It is a full value pitch.

When the Levee Breaks climbs the gray streak in between

Supre Guide

and the

Cooch

Cave.

Climb through a horizontal break at the start with a long reach and lock off at the second bolt. Above the second bolt, you can escape right to a dirty crack or stay on the steeper face with a series of pockets and more devious sequences before the difficulty eases around the fourth bolt. Climb through an easier section before the route steepens towards the top. At the second to last bolt, use a long draw or sling and then climb up and right onto the face proper, clipping the last bolt in a section of featured, sharp limestone below the anchor.

I hesitate to post this route so soon as it still deserves some good cleaning, brushing,

etc

. With some traffic, this route should clean up into a nice mid-5.10 or easier. I post it to answer any question about what it might be and to encourage anyone who wants to help do the climbing community a favor and put some traffic in on it and help clean it up. We'll be out there some more to get it cleaned up.

Promise is one route left of

Beer Run

and offers similar climbing in a less overhanging venue. With two very technical crux bits, one down low and one below the finishing corner, this route has some of the cooler blue stone around.

While the finishing corner is nice, it's much easier than the rest of the route and requires that you have a 70-meter rope to get down from the anchors. Many people leave bail biners on the middle two bolts in the corner and lower off with a 60 meter cord.

This route can be recognized by the giant, resting hole at mid-height and follows faint streaks and corner systems up the tan and blue wall left of

Beer Run

. Start as for

Beer Run

then move left on the ledge to access the base of the route.

First Steps is now the easiest bolted route in Rifle. Low angle, well-protected climbing starts from the top of the platform and veers left to avoid a steep headwall. After going left, you end up in a groove feature where the angle increases just before the anchor.

On the right side of the Ruckman Cave are several reasonably decent routes whose worst characteristic is being close to vertical. Pellet Gun is about 50 ft right of the overhang and shares an anchor with

Primer

. Pellet Gun is characterized by blocky climbing that has shed some terrifying chunks in the past, however, it is a good morning warm-up and the only 5.10 in the area. Worth a run as long as the belayer remains vigilant.

This is an incredible route -- you may recognize it from the cover shot on the first Rifle guidebook by Hassan Saab. It is a long, airy pitch on the beautiful white and blue streaked wall left of the Ruckman Cave.

Beer Run is the rightmost of a quartet of long, "slabby" routes on the towering wall left of Ruckman and can be recognized by an often-fixed long draw at the lower crux. It climbs just left of a huge round bowl at mid-height on the cliff-band and tackles a series of well-chalked laybacks.

Pass an initial bolt or two to reach a ledge (5.10) then step onto the wall and begin laybacking. The laybacks soon become thinner and you're forced to crimp a bit before a pumpy crux deposits you at an awesome resting hole. Surge up and right from the hole onto the expansive headwall and save some juice for the 5.9+ run-out to the anchors.

This brilliant line is a testimony to the power of beer and to one man's courageous journey down to the distant village of Rifle to procure a six-pack prior to the first ascent.

This route is a forgotten classic and, although not as good as other routes in the cave proper, it's a hell of a lot fun.

Head Full of Lead is located on the left side of the Ruckman Cave proper in between

Choss Family

and

Street Knowledge

.  Interesting and powerful underclings and no good rest make this route a fun challenge.  A difficult move guards the anchors and potential for a nasty fall exists...TAKE CARE near the chains.

Waiting For 21 is a great new addition to Rifle, and climbs very similar to

Beer Run

. Waiting For 21 is a long and exposed techy route.

Waiting For 21 starts on

Beer Run

and goes through the first crux of

Beer Run

. The route then moves out right on a very techy, crimpy, blue limestone face. The crux involves a high, left foot to gain a bad crimp, then going to a positive, left, side pull. After the redpoint crux the climb is not over, maybe 12b or 12c to the top on bullet limestone.

Enjoy!

Hard moves after an easy slab yield to a sustained but easier headwall.

The top may be dirty or unchalked due to runoff. It makes for fun route finding.

Like most routes in Rifle, Noble Wife climbs much better than it looks.

Do the semi-difficult start of

Call The Cops

, then with a ledge looming below, make a hard, committing move to establish in the steep, blocky corner.  Continue making awkward, strenuous, and off-balance moves until the angle eases off, and the climbing becomes more subtle, and technical.

It is a great route for anyone looking for something with a traditional feel.

Climb

Primer

to the anchors then traverse left to a small dihedral and continue up past 3 more bolts to the higher anchors. A 60 meter rope will get you to the ground.

This short route begins and ends with moderate boulder problems. The Rifle guide gives this 11d, but it doesn't compare to other routes of this grade.

This is a good route that follows up a large roof/bulge through pockets. It goes over the roof to a two bolt anchor.  There is also a project in this cave, it goes up the right hand side of the cave. Cooch goes up the left side.

Overstoker is an okay moderate that starts by climbing over a slight bulge and into the obvious corner. The corner climbs more like a trad route with stemming and even some finger locks if you care to use them.

Maybe they should call this the "reclamation" route since it sat unrepeated for years after the first ascent, which left the route in a less-than-perfect state for repeat parties.

Fortunately Western Slopers Jeff Achey and Lee Sheftel became bored enough to have a go at the thing, Achey removing many of the hanging death daggers that littered the route and Sheftel moving a bolt or two. Now it's a pretty fun climb and isn't all greased-out like everything else at Ruckman.

This is the long route on the overhung, pocketed buttress between

In Your Face

and

Firearms

. Boulder up a crozzler crack thing then move right into big pockets. Pumpy climbing leads to a crux roof and a perplexing headwall, after which you step right and clip the anchors on

Firearms

.

Be careful when pulling your rope lest it end up in the fetid mud pit beneath the route.

This ascends the vertical blue face on the far left side of the wall. Reachy moves on great stone lead to a short corner that trends up and left toward the anchor.

Street Knowledge was one of the first routes at Rifle and as such is now one of the most polished. This may also be due to the fact that the route sees zero water because of a 6-foot roof above the anchors.

It is two routes right of Choss Family -- basically the 3rd route from the left in the cave proper, and can be recognized by a chossy start that gives way to nice pocketed stone before ending below the roof at double cold-shuts.

Many holds have fallen off in the choss band between the first and second bolts, making it quite hard to make the 2nd clip. Use a stick if you're not sure. This route is quite bouldery and sustained, with one good rest below the last bolt to prime your fingers for a series of crimpy exit moves (these can be avoided by moving right on sinker pockets, dropping the grade to 12a).

While not especially aesthetic, this route has fun moves and some of the cooler pocket climbing to be found in the canyon. Enjoy.

Smack-dab in the middle of the overhang are several routes that end just below the big roof. Bolt Action hauls up on the ledge after a clip and then moves out right on huge jugs that look as though they won't last another year, but they always do. Power out right for several clips, and the jugs just keep on coming. The line straightens up to slightly past vertical climbing on big edges and side pulls. Most of the cimbing after the fourth clip is probably never harder than mid to low 5.11, however, for some of us the pump just keeps on coming right up to the anchors.

Frankly, I have always gotten a kick out of this line and have been doing it since 1991 and can't imagine going to the Ruckman Cave without doing it. If the rock were a tad better I would have no hesitation to give Bolt Action three stars. This line is terrific.

Red Dawn is a dead vertical crimp fest on beautiful blue limestone reminiscent of the Wasteland routes.  Crimp your way up 6 closely spaced bolts and pull up onto a sloping ledge.  The bolts stop at this point for some reason but luckily the climbing eases to 5.9.  Hike the short runout to the anchors.

Red Dawn is located about 25 right of

Bloody Corner

(10c) on the "other" Ruckman Cave wall that is 100 yards left of the cave proper.

This is not a pretty route, but it is a fun one. This line climbs the series of ultra-chalked jugs on the left margin of the Ruckman Cave proper and climbs through the roof band right before it tapers into nothingness.

Some huge blocks came off this route in the 2-3 years after the first ascent (one almost took my head off, slicing clean through a gallon jug of water instead; another sliced my friend's brand new rope) but it's pretty damn clean now thanks to constant traffic.

The bolts and especially the anchor are probably in need of an upgrade, though they still seem pretty safe. Jug haul your way up the faint pillar feature to a crux at the chossy band and some pumpy moves getting established at the anchors.

Two lines emerge from a  first bolt about 40 ft right of the overhang. The right-hand version is Primer. Climbing is similar to

Pellet Gun

(5.10) but runs on somewhat better rock. Climbing negotiates a few big corners and crude ledges, however, it is overall a  fairly sustained warm-up with a pump that just mounts. After this, climbing in the Ruckman Cave area pretty much shifts to 5.12 and up so grab a couple of sunny warm-up while you can.

Climb

Head Full of Lead

, crank through the roof using bad pinches and kneebars(V7), and continue up the 5.12- headwall to the anchors.

Climb a gray streaked slab and through the roof to finish. Fun, technical climbing with a hard undercling crux at the third bolt is followed by steep, difficult climbing through the roof on mostly big holds. I broke a key foothold on the roof sequence (July 2011) which made the roof harder but shouldn't change the grade.

This route links

Pellet Gun

into the higher anchors above

Primer

.  Climb

Pellet Gun

to the end but don't clip the anchors.  Instead traverse left into

Primer

.  Continue past the

Primer

anchors to the higher anchors.

Start up

Loose Cannon

, then break right after the 9th bolt.  Continue up a technical dihedral to the chains.  You can reach the ground with a 60 meter rope.

This is the "escape route" from the center of the Ruckman Cave, punching out the body-length roof to climb the nice tan headwall above the uber-greasy cave. It is done as one big pitch, and ends at anchors about 50 feet over the lip of the cave in a small depression.

Begin on the central route in the cave, Bolt Action, a former 11d turned possible 12a by eroding holds, polished foot knobs, and the disappearance of a huge block. Follow this for 7 or 8 bolts to the double cold-shuts below the roof. (Skip this route's first clip so as to avoid rope drag.)

Put a long draw on one of the shuts, a double draw out on the bolt in the roof, and bust a strenous boulder problem out, and over, the lip. It helped me to climb up, clip the long draw, then climb back down below the cold-shut anchor to a kneescum rest.

Once over the lip, 5.12-type climbing on great rock leads to another cold shut anchor. Lower twice to clean your draws. If the route getting up to the roof were better, this would probably merit another star.

Firearms shares its first clip with

Primer

, but that is just about all they share. Climbing begins at the shared bolt 40 feet right of the overhang. Power up immediately on steep moves for three clips. My notes indicate that climbing eases back to pretty much a jug haul on vertical terrain. However, the climb offers little good rest and kicks up a good flash pump with very continuous 5.11 climbing. It is definitely a worthy addition.

Kielbasa Run is a new route on the far left side of the Ruckman Cave.  Just left of

Beer Run

and

The Promise

are three routes that all share the same two-bolt start up low angle rock.  Kielbasa Run is the first route to the left of this start; it also has a two-bolt start up low angle rock.  From the ledge above this, trend up and left into the corner system.  The tightly bolted start is reassuring due to some friable rock that will undoubtedly clean up with traffic.  Fun, overhanging corners lead to an exposed arete.  From here, step back left into the corner again and work through a stemming crux and then lower angle rock to the very top of the wall.

Description

Protection

Routes in Ruckman Cave