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Grand Funk Railroad - 5.9 popular

Average Rating = 4.64/5 Average Rating : 4.64 out of 5
Route sequence (left to right): 35
Route Summary | Ascent Notes (17)
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Rock (Trad)
PG13
Light rack; some horns can be slung for pro.
Consensus Ratings
  Difficulty 5.9
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure 4.00/5
  Rock Quality 4.50/5
  Scenery 4.80/5
  Fun Factor 4.80/5

Description:

Climb thin dikes to the bolt and then traverse right over some thin friction to the railroad feature, a larger dike system. Follow this system to a bolt, the belay, and then up subsequent pitches. A steeper first pitch variation, 10a, follows the thin dikes up from the first bolt to the anchor. Falling high on the variation could prove deadly as it is farther to the anchor than from the ground to the bolt.

Submitted by: admin on 2009-05-09
Last Modified: 2011-03-29
Views: 2732
Route ID: 43318

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17 Ascents Recorded

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Ratings
  Difficulty 5.9
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Red Point Red Point ascent by: johnnyb336 on 2013-08-25 (View Climbing Log)

5 out of 5 stars Saved By The Clouds

This was our second climb of the day. I lead all five pitches, mostly prepping for a project. The clouds kept the sun off of us for most of this climb. This is a very fun route and I have yet to tire of it. I did place two small #4 BD nuts in the cracks at the bottom. I have always found this section to be quite slick so I like to have a little pro up to the first bolt. I always keep going past the pitch 4 belay rings and belay on the Pulpit flake since it is so much more comfortable. Then I just move back to the tracks and finish to the top.

Added: 2013-08-26

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.9
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Red Point Red Point ascent by: johnnyb336 on 2013-05-26 (View Climbing Log)

5 out of 5 stars Pleasant Lead

It was a rather warm day but the climbing was great. The first pitch can be a little tricky this time of year. Even though the section up to the first bolt can look very easy, it becomes very slick when hot. It can be protected with micro cams and small nuts. While I did not have any difficulties, I did have to rely more on the handholds and be careful of where I placed my feet. After that, it was smooth sailing. I lead the full route and took my time, enjoying the beautiful day.

Added: 2013-05-26

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.9
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Red Point Red Point ascent by: johnnyb336 on 2012-10-28 (View Climbing Log)

5 out of 5 stars Wanted Something Easy

This is a rather fun route, especially when you are looking for something that's not very strenuous. We use a 70M rope, so I combined pitches 1 and 2 into a single pitch and 4 and 5 into a single pitch. On the fifth pitch, I just stopped at the last set of belay rings on The Pulpit since there was no more challenging rock and we wanted to rappel back down the way we came. It required five rappels but we were able to easily rap back down the same way we came up. I highly recommend this route. The views are awesome right now.

Added: 2012-10-30

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.9
  Safety Rating PG13
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Red Point Red Point ascent by: johnnyb336 on 2012-04-01 (View Climbing Log)

4 out of 5 stars Great Day to Climb!!

Lead the first four pitches. We decided not to climb the final pitch since we have done it several times before and it isn't very exciting. Plus, there was a lot of water running down the tracks and we had a non-dry rope. This is a really fun route with no hard moves. We did make the mistake of wearing shorts since it was so warm. Even though there were no falls or slips, we all ended up with cuts and scratches on our knees.

The first pitch is probably the hardest. Small gear can be used in the shallow grooves leading up to the first bolt. I did place a couple of small cams but I doubt that they would have held during a fall. The traverse from the first bolt to the tracks is easiest if done directly right of the first bolt. The climb past the second bolt to the first belay is rather uneventful. The second pitch is easy climbing past one bolt to a belay. The only spot even remotely difficult is the water groove before the belay because of the smoothness of the rock. The third pitch goes up through some really nice flakes and jugs. There are no bolts but there are plenty of opportunities to place gear. I used a couple of slings and draws. Pitch four is where the tracks actually look like train tracks. There are no bolts between the belays, however, the climbing is too easy to really need any protection.

Added: 2012-04-05

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.9
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Onsight Onsight ascent by: gogalac on 2011-10-30 (View Climbing Log)

4 out of 5 stars grandfunk

do yourself a favor and traverse hard right from the first bolt. don't get sucked into seams or risk a do or dive moment like i did. upper pitches are plain fun.

Added: 2011-10-31

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