Climb a powerful start to tricky stemming.

Honeymoon In Beirut

Lawyers, Guns, and Hilties

Mud Shark

Hoss

Gunsmoke

Pandora's Bosch

Little Joe

The Wild, Wild West (aka Wild West)

Occupied Territory

Killer Elite (AKA Ms. Coolie's Saloon)

Piece Process

Drive By Shooting

Pinch A Loaf

Miss Kitty

Dodge City

Life During Wartime

Apostrophe

Rawhide

Mighty Mo

Great line!

Go past all the lower routes and keep going up hill.  From

Occupied Territory

(13a with an obvious dihedral start), continue past 5 or 6 lines uphill until you come to a 100 foot piece of stone with a hueco-loaded line going right up the middle.

This line is Wild Wild West.

The crux comes early and is not straightforward.  I found that the way you attack it changes the grade significantly. After getting through this difficulty, there are several other 11 to 11+ moves as you work to the anchors.

This has great continuity and spectacular rock!

This is a great route that isn't over till it's over! The crux is just off the ground and looks to be a "

Partners in Crime

" clone (Shelf Road) with a big pull-reach out of the hueco at the second bolt but climbs totally differently. The fun, bulging section above goes at easy 10 with jugs to a final shake just below another small roof, (milk the shake for all it's worth!!). A long, devious secondary crux sequence climbs over the roof, leads left, then back right to the anchors.

Mud Shark climbs in a bee-line from behind the big pine tree on the ground to the pine tree on the ledge above, passing a small crux roof just below the top. This goes on thin, sharp edges. Rap off the tree. This 70 foot route comes equipped with sharp edges, corners, and run outs throughout. While additional camming pro is advisable between clips 1 and 2, things get really juggy here, and the route is more often led without the Friend. Getting to the first clip is sporty but not difficult. Mud Shark is a cool route from a band of degenerate DOCs (Dirty Old Climbers).

The lower angle face a little ways up from Wild West has two climbs:

Little Joe

and Hoss.

Hoss is the one on the right.  The crux comes at the first bolt after the pin - pebble pulling with poor feet.

This route ascends a vertical face. The first piece of protection is a fixed pin. There are two cruxes - the first is at the 1st bolt, & the second crux is at the 3rd bolt. It is one of the first routes on Ridge 4.

This climbed is capped by a roof with small, left-facing corner above. After the first 2 bolts (that

Dodge City

shares), move right & up. Climb the face to the left of the arete past 4 bolts (.11) to a right-facing corner. Follow the corner (5.6) to the roof. Traverse up right underneath it. This part of the route is runout but easy.  A 1.5" - 2" cam can be placed, if you desire protection. Reach the bolt at the lip. The final crux pulls the roof into the short, left-facing corner. Reach the anchor below the top. The anchor still had unwelded coldshuts in November 2012. This climbed was first documented in my guidebooks to the area "

1993 BSCG" & 1995 Boulder Sport Climber's Guide

".

This is a fun route with a section of the greatest crimps I've ever been on!! Pull over a low bulge and get past the business using a few left hand pulls on the sharp arete. An incredible sequence follows, up perfect, crisp edges on an immaculate shield leading to easier climbing and the anchors.

A great line in a spectacular setting!

Ridge 4 is a climber's dream - beautiful routes on killer sandstone, no crowds, and a really gorgeous spot. There are a variety of sport routes and trad routes up here, but Ridge 4 is mostly a sport crag, and one of the best routes on the crag is Occupied Territory.

When you get to Ridge 4, you will likely first come up to a big flat spot where

Killer Elite

(12a) takes off up the crag.  Uphill just a little ways (50 feet) is

Mud Shark

(10d).  The next route to the left is a short 3-bolt 12c.  The next route left of that is Occupied Territory.

Start up a dihedral (pretty easy) until you reach a roof around the 3rd bolt. This is where the crux sequence starts - a burly problem that involves a sick reach to a shallow pocket.  The route stays in your face with bad feet and steep climbing for the next few bolts, and then eases off.  One more 5.12 move awaits high on the route to keep your full attention!

Some say there probably is no 13a move on the route, although it definitely pushes into the 12+ range at the start of the crux sequence, and several 12 moves stack on top of each other to get through the entire crux.  So, I think the grade is justified.

Regardless of the rating, this is a really fun line with lots of engaging, continuous, burly pulling. It is great for a nice winter or fall day!

My favorite climb on Ridge 4, Killer Elite takes the face just left of

Pinch

. The climbing starts in a shallow alcove off a flat base. A thin, left-facing corner is actually taken on the face to the left, with the fingers in the corner.  The corner fades away with a reachy traverse left before kicking straight up to the anchor. Chase upwards on a relentless series of thin fingery edges and crystals. For its grade, Killer Elite is fantastically continuous. I thought that it possessed at least 5 sequences at 5.11c, perhaps even six. The moves right off the deck are just a tad easier than everything else. The sequences are tricky, the feet are bad, and the moves are absolutely Killer. Three stars for the great moves, excellent stone, and relentless continuity. The route has no 5.12 moves on it, so someone else may down rate it to 5.11+.

Climb the obtuse dihedral between

Killer Elite

and

Pinch a Loaf

.  Start up the first few moves of

Killer Elite

, traverse to the the right on bad rock, and face climb straight up the corner to the top.

This climbs ascends a prominent overhang. Start with a short 5.7 slab to reach the overhang & the 1st bolt. Power upward to the anchor above the lip. This climb was first documented in my guidebook "

1993 Boulder Sport Climber's Guide.

"

100 yards uphill from Drive By Shooting is an ominous looking roof that goes comfortably at 5.10. Two or three bolts up the slab lead to an awkward clip near the edge of the roof. Pull the roof on jugs - the moves are a kick.

Begin atop some boulders below the arete just left of

The Wild, Wild West (aka Wild West)

.  Launch up through an overhanging section protected by wires, then out right to the first bolt and the arete.

Rap off at

The Wild, Wild West (aka Wild West)

or the new bolted climb next to it.

The crux is near the top. This is a great route.

Per

Mark Rolofson

: this starts with the first 2 bolts of Pandora's Bosch. Pandora's Bosch moves right, and this route moves slightly left and then straight up. The crux is brief but tricky, and the best sequence may not be the most obvious one.There is an exciting runout up a slab above the last bolt. The runout isn't hard, but it may be scary. Stay close to the bolt. There are a total of 8 protection bolts.

This is a good sport climb in a beautiful, secluded setting.  It is atypical in its steepness for this area, which I typically associate with vertical crimping.

The climb basically consists of two interesting boulder problems over bulges seperated by a great rest.  The first boulder problem is perhaps the harder one to figure out.  Good beta is very helpful in getting over the bulge.  The second problem pulls over the steep prow above with long moves between sharp, positive crimps.

Start Apostrophe off the large tanning slab right of the tree. Thin edges and corners take you to the roof and the blank looking headwall above. Like its neighbor to the left (

L.G.H.

), Apostrophe holds a crux until you are in the middle of the headwall. There are really two options for finishing. One can power up and traverse left to the original anchor or cut it short a bit and traverse to the

L.G.H.

anchor, which has always seemed sensible. Apostrophe is quite similar to

L.G.H.

but seems a bit easier (more like 5.11c), since it does not have the difficult opening move of

L.G.H.

The final crux seems a bit easier as well. This is a fine route as well.

Ascend a vertical to gently overhanging face with a small roof below the last bolt. This route never got much attention, but I liked if much more than its neighbors to the right (

Little Joe

&

Hoss

).

This is short route that stops less than halfway up the wall, just below a ledge. The holds are small & the moves are bouldery. It packs a punch for such a short route.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Ridge 4