Your favorite Royal Robbins route

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Chaz

Trad climber

greater Boss Angeles area

Mar 17, 2017 - 05:32pm PT

My favorite Robbins Route has to be The Overhang at Deep Creek Narrows in Running Springs, CA. Goes all the way back to Day One for me.

It's just a half-rope length 5.7, at a non-destination type crag, but like a lot of Robbins Routes, when you look at the rock, this is the line you want to climb.

Starts in a roof, and goes up into a jam and a lie back.

I have never seen credit in print for the R.R. F.A., but word on the street is Royal Robbins is the one responsible.

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Mar 17, 2017 - 10:29pm PT

John Gill chose:

Queenpin . . . Needles

A very intimidating looking line. Most things in the Needles of South Dakota are!
IIRC, visually, it is an exercise in vertical and undulating concavity.

Anyone with an eye for a route would see that thing commands immediate respect! And it is "only" 5.9.

Didn't climb Queenpin. I'd like to hear more about it.

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Mar 17, 2017 - 10:32pm PT

My favorite Royal Robbins routes:

Salathé Wall FA: Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, Chuck Pratt, 9/24/1961

Royal dubbed it, "The greatest rock climb in the world." Enough said! (What the hell ... had to do it twice, once with a Euro, and also guided it).

Slab Happy Pinnacle, Left, El Capitan: East Ledges Area FA: Royal Robbins and Jack Turner, 5/1962. FFA Mark Chapman and Art Higbee, 2/1974

A menagerie of wild burliness, and one of my favorite Valley free climbs.

The Vampire, Tahquitz FA: Royal Robbins and Dave Rearick, June 1959. FFA: John Long, Rick Accomazzo, Mike Graham, and Bill Antel, 1973

Stunning line, continuously elegant movement, perfect rock.

The Yellow Spur, Eldorado Canyon FA: Layton Kor, Dave Dornan, 1959 FFA: Royal Robbins and Pat Ament, 1964

Not necessarily my favorite route in Eldo, but a classic for sure, and it achieves great position. I prefer the direct start, and I established a direct variation in the middle of the route.

big ears

Trad climber

Mar 17, 2017 - 10:36pm PT

Havent done many, but Country Club Crack in boulder canyon. And i did the first pitch of The Vampire at Tahquitz. Both were stellar

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Mar 17, 2017 - 10:46pm PT

Country Club and Athlete's Feat are both really good crack climbs and have very challenging face climbing starts.

But Country Club's attribution is FA: Ted Rouillard and Cleve McCarty 1956. FFA: Pat Ament, Mike Stults, Tom Ruwitch, 1967.

Athletes Feat FA: Stan Shepherd and Don Davis, 1961. FFA: Royal Robbins and Pat Ament, 1964.

I think Englishman's Home is probably the best of those 3 routes at Castle Rock, Boulder Canyon.

big ears

Trad climber

Mar 17, 2017 - 10:50pm PT

Oops. Dont know why i had Robbins in my mind for the FA. And youre right. The low face moves are crazy hard

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Mar 17, 2017 - 10:57pm PT

You thought so because it is totally a line Royal would have done!

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Mar 17, 2017 - 11:07pm PT

And how come no love for Vendetta?
Textbook straight-in OW. That triangular roof at the start of pitch three is too cool for school!

Vendetta, The Cookie Cliff FA: Loyd Price and Roger Gordon, 6/1967. FFA Royal Robbins and Galen Rowell, 1968.

drF

Trad climber

usa

Mar 18, 2017 - 03:02am PT

Athletes Feat FA: Stan Shepherd and Don Davis, 1961. FFA: Royal Robbins and Pat Ament, 1964.

Such a good climb. So impressive that this was freed "back in the day". Still a difficult, awkward route by modern standards.

I'm bummed that I glossed over his name when I lived in Boulder and did this route regularly. I was prolly fixated on Pat Aments name.

Fantasia , like others have mentioned is really of the highest quality too

Alpinist63

Mountain climber

Mar 18, 2017 - 04:14am PT

American Direct on the Petit Dru west face ( not the american directissima further right) Excellent line, excellent climbing and a major alpine peak. the route is still climbable after the major rockfalls, but the upper part, above the 90m dihedral has been partly erased, so after the 90m dihedral, the route now goes left to join the standard north face route ( Allain-Leininger) . The fallen down upper part is the classic west face route, which the American Direct follows after the Bloc Coincé. Although the route is still there, the first couple of low-angle pitches are very exposed to frequent rockfall, the whole mountain is kind of 'unstable' and so the west face as well as the classic north face route see little traffic these days.

Eric Beck

Sport climber

Bishop, California

Mar 18, 2017 - 09:34am PT

If my favorite is the one I have repeated the most, Hoodenett at Tahquitz, 6 times.
The best one is unquestionably the Salathe.

Chris Jones

Social climber

Glen Ellen, CA

Mar 18, 2017 - 12:20pm PT

Due to its position, history, and amazing climbing, The Salathe gets my vote. And as others have noted, the route meant so much to Robbins.

In a different vein, Nutcracker has it all for a crag climb. As an additional point of personal interest, Royal was partnered by Ken Wilson.

Edit: I meant to say Fantasia just above! Yup, Nutcracker also great.

Don Lauria

Trad climber

Bishop, CA

Mar 18, 2017 - 01:50pm PT

Chris,

You and I climbed Nutcracker on June 26, 1967 - just looked it up - one month after Liz and Royal put it up. Remember?

Chris Jones

Social climber

Glen Ellen, CA

Mar 18, 2017 - 01:53pm PT

Don: But did we do it all clean?

Don Lauria

Trad climber

Bishop, CA

Mar 18, 2017 - 01:58pm PT

Don't remember, but I doubt it.

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Mar 18, 2017 - 02:14pm PT

With the nuts that were available at the time, the crux mantel was an ankle breaker. Royal was really good at mantels.

Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber

San Francisco

Mar 18, 2017 - 02:33pm PT

With the nuts that were available at the time, the crux mantel was an ankle breaker.

It still is a potential ankle breaker! And still is protected with nuts (in my opinion the best placement one can have there is a small/med nut).

Great video of the nutcracker here, starting at 2 mins 30seconds in..
[Click to View YouTube Video]