This venerable classic is many people's first 13a at Rifle, and has been a mega-classic since it went up in 1991.

This route is just right of

Never Believe

and climbs directly up the center of the blue-grey panel of water-sculpted rock in the middle of the Wasteland. It can be recognized by a high first bolt (generally stick clipped) and a series of perfect two and three finger pockets at the opening sequence. Constant traffic on this route has turned the footholds black -- almost to the point that you feel like you're smearing on marble. Nevertheless, the climbing on this line is great -- sustained, powerful and aesthetic.

Phillip Benningfield returned later to add "The Beast with Two Backs," which continues past the original anchors under the roof (RIP anchors—there's just a single bolt there now) via long moves to good holds in the ceiling. Bring four or five more draws for this, and finish on slabby white stone up on the headwall above the cave.

The Beast

Gun Shy

Believe It

Espresso

Java Creek

Ruckus

Popular Demand

El Chapo

Vision Thing

Lady Luck

Slacker Direct

Guilt Parade

Community Service

Automatic Leg Spreader

The Beast with Two Backs

Never Believe

Thieves

Capuccino

Slacker

This route is a continuation of

Never Believe

and punches through the big roof above the anchors. It was drilled as a bolt ladder, and as such is plenty easy to dog up

Climb

Never Believe

to the anchors. Rest at a stance here, clinging to large tufas and getting that pesky lactic acid out of your forearms. A V8-type boulder problem leads out and past the lip of the roof to a short but fairly sustained section of climbing over a finishing bulge. The pocket in the roof is sometimes wet.

This isn't the best route by any stretch of the imagination, but sporadic traffic over the last few years has helped it clean up a bit.

Per

Scott Hahn

: it was rebolted on 6/2021. The rusty time bombs have been removed and replaced with glue-ins. The anchors were raised slightly to find solid stone. It's now in great condition and ready to be played on.

Just below the large dihedral on the right side of The Wasteland is a cluster of routes that converge just below the start of the dihedral. This is the

Espresso

,

Capuccino

, Java Creek group. Immediately left of this group is a narrow overlap or roof about seven feet off the ground. Running through the overlap and just left of

Espresso

is Gun Shy, an excellent line that fires through the blue/grey limestone found on

The Beast

. The beauty of Gun Shy is that the powerful crux comes right off the deck, in getting over the overlap/roof. Difficulty eases back to very sustained 5.11+ climbing on pockets and rounded open hand pads. This rock greased up very soon after the line was established, and has not improved with use. However, Gun Shy is one of better lines on the wall and is a lot easier on the hands than routes of a similar grade on the left side of the wall. This is an excellent project (for some of us) with good pro that gets a bit more spacey near the top.  The only detraction in my mind is the grease factor.

Originally touted as "steeper, longer and harder than

The Beast

," this route is merely longer. Nevertheless, it's a fun climb up a funky pillar-type feature, and has become pretty popular in recent years.

This is the second route from the right in the Wasteland, and is one route right of

Gunshy

(more or less the last route on the blue/grey sector of the wall). It has gold-shut bolts on it, and climbs over a small roof to start, then up a groove onto a pillar, and through a second roof to anchors.

Pull over the opening roof on square holds, then amble your way up the groove on cool features. As the angle steepens, the holds get smaller, until you must overcome the roof moves on bizarre pinches.

A second pitch climbs the friable corner above the anchors at 5.11, but is not recommended on busy days due to rockfall potential.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of the Wasteland, this route sits forgotten.  Unpolished and with a short crux at the very bottom, this might be worthwhile for those looking for a far less committing 12b than something like

Easy Skankin'

.  With that said, the quality is much lower.  To start, stick clip the second bolt (the first no longer has a hanger), push the bushes out of your way, and get ready to boulder to the third bolt using one painful undercling along the way.  From here, the difficulty drastically diminishes.

There is a first anchor at the 80' mark, but for full credit continue to the second set of anchors near the coveted Wasteland summit.  A 70m rope *might* get you down from the second set - watch it closely, or just re-lower from the midway anchors.

Two lines to the left of Never Believe, this short route packs a powerful punch.  Climb the overhanging right facing dihedral, then move up left and up to the ledge to the anchors.  The crux revolves around a thin, funky move that gives many people trouble. Good footwork is the key here. The rest of the route is enjoyable overhanging climbing, but quite short.

This is the easiest route at the Wasteland and the furthest left. It's basically a 5.10 version of

Community Service

with slightly sketchier rock, but it makes for a decent outing nevertheless.

While the bolt line punches straight up, you're better off either staying slightly to the left or the right most of the way.  At the last couple of bolts, you can either stay right in a funky corner or move left onto the face, which is crimpy and slightly harder.

This route has cleaned up pretty well over time, but it used to be very loose. I was climbing this route during a super-wet spell in 1997 when a TV-sized block about 15 feet to my left spontaneously detached and almost killed my belayer. Maybe the vibrations from my shitty footwork cut it loose -- I'll never know.

Anyway, just an anecdote to prove once again that stuff can and does fall off the walls at Rifle (as if the giant blocks that occasionally nail the road near the Project Wall weren't warning enough!).

El Chapo is a new addition by Steve Hong to the Wasteland. It's a little sharp through some parts, and the top is still cleaning up some (as of 6/18). I'd recommend it though - especially if you're looking for a less popular morning B. There's a hard bit down low (bolts 2-4) and some funk up top - pulling into the red stone on the headwall. I believe some people hand jam on it, but this is Rifle, and that drops it a grade....

This route is about as Euro as it gets, replete with incut huecos, interesting tufas, crimps, and of course pockets. If not for the hands-off ledge which separated the lower and upper bits, it would get three stars.

Vision Thing is one route left of

Never Believe

and about 10-12 feet right of an obvious huge hueco in the rock. Power endurance is the name of the game for the first half and a dyno or two will get you over the final roof and up to the anchors.

People have been bickering over the grade for years now -- Is it 13a?  Is it 13b?  It would be light-duty 8a in Europe, which puts it at about 13a/b.

Lady Luck is on the left panel of the wasteland, in the tan/brown vertical stone forming the upcanyon side of the amphitheater. It is just right of Community Service, the popular, well-chalked 5.11 with the roof band at mid-height, and just left of Guilt Parade, the long 5.12c up the blue, flake-type features.

The route starts with a small bulge (you can either boulder up to a good hold level with the first bolt or stick clip it). Stand up over the bulge and negotiate the thin, technical face climbing above via small crimps and a couple of dynamic stabs up into underclings. More funky, pimpy, pinchy, blocky climbing takes you through the finishing overlaps to a gold-shut anchor.

This is a tricky route that ends up being pretty damn fun once you figure out the Beta.

The direct start to

Slacker

may not be quite as good as the standard route, but the thing is stout!  There is a V8/9 boulder problem around the second bolt involving a sharp, heinous, shark tooth crimp for the left hand and a bump to jug off of a miserable pinch.  Stuff your foot in the hole and rest out fully.  Now complete the top boulder of

Slacker

and give yourself credit 'cause you just sent 5.13! Yay!

This guy goes V8/9, to mega rest into V5 to the top.

Guilt Parade takes the fourth line of bolts on the left side of the Wasteland cave. While often described as slabby, this description is a major sandbag. The line starts with a very powerful slap that, for me, uses a lot of ape index. Passing the first bolt is close to 5.12 by itself. A series of technical face moves on good edges sends you up into something of a corner system where the gear used to get very spacey. A retro bolt was added in 1994 to protect one very cruxy move in this region. The route stays powerful and pumpy right up to the finishing bulge. The stone on Guilt Parade has always been sharp, particularly in the start, so plan on a rough job for the hands. The cumulative pump factor and mental game (lots of spacey pro higher up) add up to an excellent line (project for some of us), that sees a lot less traffic than it deserves. A couple of funky spots drop off a star.

Route update: June 2021 - the route has since seen a face lift. In 2020, a large chunk of loose rock, the size of a refrigerator, was removed around the 3rd bolt. The top crux of the route was rebolted June 2021, and bolts were moved to make the route safer and climbable without massive slings and runouts. The route has since regained some of its popularity now that the choss has been removed and the bolts are once again clippable. 13a seems to be the current consensus of the route.

On the left side of the Wasteland. CS is the right of two lines firing up the near vertical face on pale to tan colored stone. Continuous movement on edges and side pulls with narry a pocket in sight in the land of pockets. This excellent "warm up" has always felt closer to 5.11d to than 11c, and it was originally rated 5.12a. Certainly no single sequence adds up to 12a, so pick your preference somewhere in that range.

This wall can pick up some stunning heat in the warmer months, and can be deadly in the middle of the day. On one such tour of CS the heat got to be so much that I nearly blacked out at 60 ft and took a good solid 25 footer onto an unsuspecting belayer. CS has also been the scene of some truly senseless climbing antics, perhaps because it is reasonably moderate. History aside, CS is fine line with high continuity, crisp edges, and solid rock. Just stay out of the sun.

Easy (5.10) climbing leads to a no-hands rest below the roofed dihedral. Technical stemming and a hidden crimp get you past the first roof and into the crux. Micro-holds and more stemming maneuvers get you to the second roof. Gather your wits for some heads-up climbing and a couple of good holds on the arete with a jug sidepull allows you to clip and pull over the third roof and onto the upper headwall slab. More rests on the upper slab headwall allow you time to contemplate the final crux at the last bolt. Sidepulls, pinches, a sloper, and an optional kneebar will deposit you on the final section of vertical terrain that's pumpier than it looks.

This is the extension to

The Beast

that adds two more bolts of climbing and surmounts the small roof above the original anchors.

If you've made your way up

The Beast

, it just makes sense to keep the bouldery fun going for a few more bolts.

This was Rifle's first sport route for a reason -- it follows a compelling line on a brilliant wall and starts on a streaked limestone pillar reminscent of the finest stone in Europe.

It is the 8th route from the left in the Wasteland, sitting just between

Vision Thing

to the left and

The Beast

to the right. Think of it as the leftmost route on the grey, central section of the wall.

Start on the pillar and climb up to a bolt high and right. Bust to a horizontal slot, clip, then climb past a bouldery crux to an overwhelmingly sharp finger lock. Sustained climbing up the brilliant blue/grey stone leads to cold-shut anchors under the roof.

This is one route right of

The Beast

and joins the upper two or three bolts of

Gun Shy

to finish at the same anchors.

It was named Thieves both because a fixed line was stolen off the route and because of the hungry beta sponges loitering around the base of the line waiting for it to get sent!

Anyway, a bouldery, somewhat painful start on underclings leads to easier ground and a "slabby" crux on thin sidepulls. This route is a bit hard on the tips, so approach it with a good attitude and lots of fresh skin. This is a good route to try if you have more power than endurance . . . .

Climb the boulder problem start of

Espresso

and head right at the third bolt into the corner.  Things settle down quite a bit after the start.

This an anomaly: a bouldery route at Rifle. If you're a thick-torsoed power junky and you're sick of pumping out at bolt 15 on the Project Wall, this micro, but engaging, rig provides plenty of entertainment.

This is the short, very overhanging route one route left of Vision Thing and finishes on the same ledge and at the same anchors as Ruckus.

Start on the Euro-pods of

Vision Thing

and move left. Make an easy clip followed by a strenuous clip, then bust past slopers to good, deep huecos. Shake out here (or crawl up into the niche -- lame, lame), then bust the crux: hard moves up and left to an obvious spike.

Flounder and flop onto the ledge. Some call this route height-dependent.

Description

Protection

Routes in The Wasteland