open project beta #1: "uber unagi" and "the basilisk"

the first installment of these articles is a double feature, as the two heavyweight projects are in all ways linked to one another. not only do they merge midway, both were bolted around the same time, and both developers participated with the bolting/cleaning of the two routes.

the routes: "uber unagi" and "the basilisk"

opened by: t-rock, aka me(unagi) and the teNgaiolator(basilisk)

crag: weeping cave, palisades creek, idaho

beta: "unagi" is named after the series of small tufas near the base of the climb about 10 feet off the deck. in the photo above, it begins at the black streaks directly above the backpack. in keeping with the serpent theme, matt named the right hand start "the basilisk", after the stone face looking feature of underclings that mark the start of the route. the cave seeps a bit, sometimes leaving the tufas a bit wet, but i believe both routes can be climbed in a light rain. both may require additional cleaning; beware of falling rock.

unagi: a few easy moves off the deck, into a beastly(emphasis on beastly, maybe even substitute the word "beastly" with "ridiculously heinous") crux bulge that still needs a bit of cleaning and possibly needs the bolts moved to better spots for clipping. this section comes to a close with a lunge to a sizeable pocket, another series of very difficult moves, though none are difficult in comparison to the bulge below. i believe there is a second crux around the sixth bolt, with some body tension moves that lead to a long pull off a very small crimp. the rest/finale isn't really of consequence in terms of difficulty, maybe 5.11 at most, and the anchor may be lowered to the seventh bolt to avoid this section and hopefully improve the overall quality of the route.

dean lords on the opening section of "the basilisk". the bolt to the left marks the end of the bulge of "uber unagi".

basilisk: start to the right of "unagi" on a face like feature of underclings. the opening moves are hard, maybe in the 5.12 range. then connects with "unagi". currently there are draws hanging on this route. please leave them in place.

the mid section of the two routes, just below the second crux.

difficulty suggestion: 

for unagi, i'm not sure. i'm not anywhere near strong enough to know. i've only done one or two of the moves through the bulge, and clipping is a huge problem as it is very difficult for me to let go when i pull onto the holds and actually take weight off the rope. so i'll just say, V-ridiculous, then maybe 5.13/+ after the bulge.

for the basilisk, it has been suggested to be anywhere from 5.13-5.14-. as far as i know, three people have tried it: dean, teNgaio, and myself.

basically, both routes are ridiculously hard.

photos by the teNgaiolator. for more info on the weeping cave, check out seiclimbing.com, also check out the link to dean's page.

I plan on updating these posts if there is progress on the routes. for easy access, look to the pages listed below the title photo(in the future) or the labels links to the side (open project beta).