Not an easy place to get to the base of this climb. The line is the furthest west I've tried. It also seems to be at the end of the line for any climbs in this area. It is the best section so far. Solid, clean for the most part sticky for the shoes rock. Climb the line of least resistance of your own choosing (run out). Go direct or traverse left on top of block's outside edge to ramp with a few crack options that go right up this steepest section also. Lots of variations again to section above all these crack starts. Most have been done now and go at (5.5-7). Higher up there is broken glass on the ledges. Hasn't been a problem so far. People do throw bottles off of the summit. Bottles go towards this area.

Freedonia

Maze

Rumney Rocks Climb

Skywalker

Ora the Explorer

Beeker

Jack Knife

The Stones

Jesus Nut

Dystonia

Jack O'Lantern

Lost in Utopia

Smashing Pumpkins

Hannah Flower

Bumble Bee

Makamah Road

As in Jim Henson's, puppet, 'Beeker'. Start left of Freedonia, going direct up to veer left a little to reach some chock stones 40 ft. Surmount stones is crux to a foot crack that ends up at a tree section 30ft. After the chock stones the climbing is lichen covered to the trees. After the trees are more clean ledges tiered together to the top. I headed towards the west as I went.

Climb the left center side of outcrop for 15ft crux and then climb the lichen covered slab using twig trees sometimes for hands. It is difficult because of these twig trees and little positive hand gripping holds. I started it direct and I wanted to escape midway left.  Wasn't happening so Moved up left and found to vertical cracks. Committed the cracks provided enough grip to get up this gripping slab crux. After this slab wander right towards the summit very easy 5th class low angle slabs and 10ft boulder problem outcrops at the top. Free soloed and not don't want to repeat it without a rope. It is actually the easiest fastest way to the summit. The slab cleaned up a little would make this a star climb. As it is, feel accomplishment against the odds to have gotten through it.

This climb has lots of rocks on sloping grass beds and the rocks are stuck in place (frozen) to get up and over on. After the switch  backing on rocks on the right is a stacked rock section past a want a rope and gear wall to climb it. I almost got up it and down climbed back to where I started instead. After the stacked rocks move much higher left through rocks and trees to large clean slab along side separated from the slab of 'Makamah Road'. After starting on the left side of this slab finish direct. Do another wall lichen covered to reach the top. I cut off left avoiding a bulge with crack finish also lichened.

Furthest right water coarse up steep rock 4th class 40ft. Above steep open book always wet. Detour up right to the ledge. Put rock shoes on and climb up going left on rock horns. For feet leaves and rock ends at large chock stone above. This is the lucky break to get out of here. Crux arm cam crack on the right side of this stone over a shallow ceiling. Good climbing in a bad place. Above this an awesome rock a giant rectangular horn suspended and solid. Thirty ft above. Above this horn is a large pine tree. That's the target. Stopping here the climb isn't bad. Tree is good for rappelling. Above tree move left on slab until ridge can be found (rope optional). Go up ridge until it ends. Move left and right. Now go left a lot over boulders until large opening to slab above is reached. Go up slab directly to the summit.   

Start on left side of lichen slab on big holds. Smear up to a rail. Traverse rail right to groove. Climb groove to smear up to giant grass ledge. Forty feet up come onto the grass ledge fifty feet wide headinf towards the hillside. A nice walk off instead before tackling the crux bulge. The battle of bulging clean slab crux irresistible. Smear up to the rail and get smear foot higher than rail to reach a bucket hand hold. Next rail is out of reach without another smear or two. Then it's over. Low angle rock and grass fifty more feet to trees. The climb should have two stars and the forty feet of slab to start, though of it as approach on lichen covered rock. Long and clean enough finish to make up for the poor start. Free soloed.

Foot steps up facing ledge right side of slab. They end with lichen rock for feet and decent fingers. Continue until small foot ledge on right. Going up straight on the right side was where the holds went. Not what I wanted to do. Left side was my choice. Made the wrong start for that. Right side was difficult for feet because the lichen and rock look the same. This difficulty also during crux ends with no lichen fun climbing and a easy traverse into Jack O'Lantern. It could use a lot of brushing up but that would diminish its naturalism profundity. It is such a bad fall into rock and trees.

Start on rock to approach to Chock Stones up left. Climb awkwardly on dirt and rock left and up to stones (crux) to move up like the stones are a chimney. Go up the indented curvature of the cliff now that is sort of like a dike or gully but is neither because it is chocks stones and grasses then chock stones and forest and the chock stones to bulwark right. The mystery, was what's above this? It is being an impasse. The bulwark can be avoided left before approaching it. The bulwark is covered in wet green moss except the right side is clear. The height of the bulwark is 5 ft on the right side and 7-10 ft on the left.    To get over this thing, I chose not doing the right side and climbed two oak trees on the left side at the same time strenuously. Got high enough up the trees to stem over to get left foot high up up and reach for a tree.  Made it onto the short dirt slope to enter the bowl of car size boulders or really big chock stones. There are, about 30-40 feet of them with many choices to proceed. The volcano like rim of it can be ascended. I went up to the direct finish that was too wet. Its very geometric and has sharp jagged edges. All of the top is a steeply overhanging short ceiling with extreme blind sided problems to solve to get over it. Most of the rock here is jagged also, other than the rim.    I checked things out before I left. All slabs below lead to the rim bulwark and its defenses are weakened on the east side by cracks and a giant long fissure. Two, maybe three slab approaches to the east side of the bulwark rim.    Awesome geology. I escaped right and up below the ceiling. 300 ft higher is the pyramid shaped, east summit.

Climb the black slab under 'Hannah' arch until grass ledge is reached. Climb up rock protrusion to grass covered ramp. After ramp climb up face to woods and rock. Climb wall in front of you on right central side (crux.) Exit wall moving left at the top. Continue up rock slabs to the top.

This was the last slab wall to be climbed. There were some oak branches to be cleared on the ascent. 100ft up the climbing is severely green lichen covered and the shoes actually stayed put on the stuff. The climb starts out switchbacking left to right face climbing to reach the long left facing corner. After corner continue up right to steep right facing corner. Exiting this corner is the crux. After the corner continue up slab outcrops to the summit of Rattlesnake Mt. There is plenty of clean rock to be had on this one but the green lichen section most climbers won't enjoy it.

Step over oak tree onto short friction slab onto traverse ramp. After ramp up low angle slab with crack. Continue up and before crack ends in slime and moss traverse to the right. Go directly up steeper lichen slab capped by white quartz crux. Plenty of good holds. Another short slab to grass clumps. Then rock steps up to the 20 foot high bulwark. Go up direct at the 10+ foot break in the bulwark. Its a one move wonder mental crux barn door blind faith maneuver at 5.4. right to the sloping platform ledge. Go out the left onto the stance exposed edge and step up crux to face climb. Some pine needles. Up low angle exposed slabs above that are giant chock stone blocks. After the blocks the climb is done in the rock rimmed ceiling above. 15 ft. of inclining impenetrable except for the one break above the rocks. Go up right to pine trees for belay. Walk off right up the dirt ramp to the rocky forest. Traversing west there's the bench ledge that looks like the top of a pumpkin. Its a perfect rock seat and will sit three or four people.        Its an alpine three star adventure but in cleanliness a bomb. Reminds me of climbing in Maine. It is the only continuance climb to the forest up here. Exciting cruxes. Best 5.4 in Rumney for elevation exposure. The forest below is open old oak. Repeated free soloed. Tick area.

Get on the moss covered rock ramp and go up. There is no other way. Follow the arching rock wall up left diagonally past trees near the wall. Now onto the rock climbing. It begins up right and goes direct over the black rock bulge. Unnerving crux this bulge. It is not easy. Not difficult after commitment. More short walls slabs and terraces. One more unnerving crux at length in there. Then the top slabs. Over three hundred feet and lots of easier climbing on it. Ridge moves on this one. Don't remember much. Didn't see pro. Saw lots of trees.

Start above the bottom of slab that has lichen and big holds or start above the lichen by traversing onto the slab. Go straight up at indent and the slab gets harder to climb as you go. The crux is above the indent. Make your way up to a horizontal seam (useless for fingers). It becomes a shallow finger crack by traversing right, then the heart rush is over. The slab remains steep or steeper at the seam. I bailed out over to Jack O'lantern. It goes on steeper for ten more feet. The slab is open for some distance below and falling at the crux with a rope this goes to boulders and trees, you might live. Free soloed but escaping from directly up wasn't supposed happen. It needs bolts!

Climb onto lowest tongue of rock below pillar. Move right to blocks. After that move left and up to base of pillar. Climb block corner up to ground between pillar and wall. Climb right side of wall to traverse left under large dripping ceiling, excellent crux and it gets easier by stepping across the void under the ceiling onto a foot ledge. Move up and left in overlap to reach a big crack. Take crack through overlap (5.4 and a seriously bad pendulum fall for the leader and second) At the crack's end is the ramp to the edge of the slab. Belay with small wires under and above the edge. Get creative with oppositional placements. No pro on next pitch slab (5.3) A little dirty in places.

Ascend the the giant crack past a small tree. Afterward the crack ends move left onto face and go left to tree belay (30ft). Climb face to boulders scramble up past the pillar and ascend wall above at the lowest ceiling break on the right side (crux). Going left is to Hannah flower and this is an excellent connection of two climbs. Going right through the overlap we were stopped because of moss and dirt on the ledge. There is a a open step over to the slab left of Hannah Flower clean and spooky. We escaped upward east over low angle dirty ledges instead. The climb can be improved. 'Bumble Bee' can ascend the same slab as 'Hannah' does for the second pitch. This won't happen without some intense cleaning at the base of the slab. Still problematic because there is no protection on the step over onto slab. 60m rope and one long run out pitch? That'll be the stinger.

I rappelled down from a oak tree to get to the climb.    I start up the wide open clean green weak flaked slab, It was easily climbed 30ft up right to better quality rock next to the wet head wall. Went up the overlap above the slab. Big exposure crux getting onto the overlap. Choice rock corner to top and liked the summit exposure over the slab. Its spooky with the abyss below. Cool moves go right to the bulge where the corner ends. After bulge easy exit or harder ones. For maximum exposure right I did the crack to the summit mound. The summit is a mound or two higher.    This climb was okay but became a bomb. 

  The oak trees died. Anchoring for rappel would be on gear and a little of it below where it tops off. This is a false summit top, not easy too locate. 

  Second ascent At the bottom there's a few options to the start and I went up the white quartz outcrop to a very dirty cracked corner. Then clean slabs for a while to the second pitch with no belay cracks. 

  Getting there its a dirt bomb to a climb directly above Jimmy Cliff Slab in the woods in the middle of the long rock band. This 30+ foot band must be climbed by one of its severe 4th class, dangerous creature features. Your choice which one. They are all nasty rock and trees to small or fully supporting body weight trees. Was hard to tell the trees apart until I pulled up on one.     Lots of ticks and their in the thickest underbrush above this band. Its like the jungle up there I should of had a machete. Carrying a long rope way the up here would be outrageously stupid weight. Maybe its got fifty feet of good rock to climb.

The great fire incinerated plants and burnt trees dead. Lots of plants and small trees are competing for height growing like weeds below the tall dead trees. The ledges with this undergrowth can be an awful poor visibility bushwhack to find the area. Its not above Jimmy Cliff.    Utopia used to be reached starting at the top of Jimmy Cliff and going east beyond the next cliff band and up to ledges. Its really thick now with fallen trees and young trees. Utopia has plenty of clean rock. There's the east side, central and Freedonia side. Central has approximately 150-200+ feet of alpine trad rope climbing and the first fifty feet the steepest on all climbs. To the mountain summit are tree bands adjoined by slabs and by a little veering able to stay on rock. These are exfoliation slab ledges with short steep overlaps with holds or cracks. There's also a band of blocks to climb left central. They make up a 15-30' ground head walls about 40' long. The ways up here are extreme climbing beyond my ability and need bolts or pinned.       Freedonia is left and up from central. It begins at the next rock band over and has slab starts to fractured head wall to similar upper rock and tree bands to the summit   East side has long slabs to grassy ledges and rock gullies and upper 20-30' head walls. Furthest east the ground height is near equal to this head wall and not climbed yet.           The upper tree bands and gullies thicken east so directly or westward up the best higher slabs of rock to the summit. The actual mountain summit and trail are higher up.          Rescue from here is very difficult. Weather can be unbearably hot in summer or hypothermia cold by thunder clouds on the same day. Know the weather predicted before ascending. Loose rock is possible while hiking and climbing. I've been up and down much without any problems. There are many dog and a few dear ticks. Tree trunks often are charcoal. This gets on your hands and clothes. The new downed trees and their branches on the climbs continues. After fire, nature now doing its thing, young trees and tall plants competing for light in the incinerated enriched soil areas and rock cracks. There are nasty thorn plants.         The climbing season is best in October until the snow falls. Its very warm in the fall. Early spring has lots of ticks. Summer no vision ahead from leaves. Contend with there'll be an obstacle coarse on the approach and some climbs. Rock climbing to the summit has its bonus the view.       Don't go up there, unless you are capable of getting back to Buffalo Road. Worst comes to worst, there is the yellow marked hiking trail to the road but it'll bring you out several miles west on Buffalo Road.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Utopia Ledges (True Summit Ledges)