Upper South Side
routes by G.Cornell, winter-summer 2006
River Crossings: likely the best two options to cross are near the beginning. The First Crossing option is at a spot between the Beaver Flat campground and Old Tracheodon where the river is broken with a sandbar at some rocks. For the Second Crossing, hike down the trail from Old Tracheodon about 150m and find a low erratic just off the trail. There is a cairn built directly on the Father side.
Depending on the river crossing you choose, hike up the bank and walk south along the rim. From the First Crossing it’ll be about 200m and from the Second Crossing only a few feet until a narrow forest cutline( flags) appears. For boulders along the river simply continue hiking parallel to the river, but for routes in the upper forest take this cutline.
Follow it straight for 50m and at the hillside, go into the trees 25m to the Enchanted Forest Boulder. From here, gain the hill above staying on the ridge proper until you pop over the upper rim and into woods and soon the Lego Piece. From here it is possible to take a multitude of ways to catch onto boulders but following flagging may be the best choice.
It is very easy to get lost on the Father side of things, but to get back to the river it is recommended to either return this way or descend the ridge directly from Southern Depression. It is also a very pleasant walk to follow just above the rim overlooking the valley. To just hike from the Lego Piece up into the Asteriod Belt to Pluto, past the Tree of Knowledge and down Southern Depression, and along the rim back to the Lego Piece, takes about 40 minutes.
96) Utah Monument, V2*** Left overhang, stand reach end of a white horizontal crack. Get up and follow it up and over the crest. b) follow up the right ridge after surmounting bulge on rat pooh ledge. Big main overhanging crack is unclimbed….nice!
97) Fungshwai, VB* Below the Utah Monument. Hang off left heuco, move low and up right face. A Banded Peak view.
98) Octoberbound, V0* From two eye sockets, layback bald flakes and traverse on up.
99) The Bloods, V3*** A big flakey boulder on forest edge. a) SS low in backside cave and come out laybacking a mossy groove. b) SS up small face of subsidiary rock to left of the cave c) low traverse of east scruffy face behind a tree-go from left to right and beware of loose flakes.
100) Knievel Pants, V3*** SS off lovely heuco, lunge to bulge, then second lunge to top.
101) Harriet Beecher Stowe Boulder, V1** SS north nose and traverse around to the west using the top ending near the southeast. East not completed yet.
102) Manger, VB Crouch start using top jug, mantle over using sinkhole-near The Bloods.
103) Da Kine, VB Rock in woods. Traverse right from snout on scruffy stone. Not good.
104) Sunnyvale, VB SS and go up 2 jug sets or traverse from the right.
105) Buffalo Soldier, VB Move up across overhung side of prickly face. Up chickenheads, sides are out.
106) The Exercise Ball, V3** Just above the catch basin for the Southern Depression. SS and go over the north nose-a pocket helps le mantel.
107) Pelt Hawker, V3** From Throb Rock, traverse the hillside on a animal trail(cairns) for about 10 minutes. At an open spot overlooking the far river valley a boulder should be above obscured behind foliage. SS and go over just left of the tree using nice heucos. Now either walk up the hill above and drop into Southern Depression or go back on the trail and hike in at an undiscribable spot.
108)Between Hither and Yon, VB Somehow find a draw up from the hillside trail, which, will lead into the Southern Depression eventually – which is where this scruffy thing is. Climb easy steep jugs to a very loose top. Don’t go looking for it, let it find you.
122) Home Again, V0* HB For that choss fix! From a busted ledge, get onto blank slab and move over right edge of roof then right near the top- Beware it’s crumbly and you’ll feel like your on McGillvary Slabs. Unclimbed wall up the draw.
123) Ripples, VB From Whale Boys walk up and south across open slope and down into some trees. SS, monkey up the low-angled slab.
Kidnapped PROJECT: A cool looking boulder but seemed to have vanished on the second attempt to climb it. It is believed to be somewhere near Between Hither and Yon or near Mutual Alajeula. Please let us know where it went to!
