Barn Dance

Before there were bolts, setting up a climb at Redwing was a major engineering operation involving rappels into choss and requiring hundreds of feet of webbing. This was the route we climbed at the end of the day to pull ropes off many of the other climbs. We usually climbed it in the dark with hiking boots, too worn out from laps on Barn Burner to even bother switching to climbing shoes.

It is still a fun climb, and a safe, but challenging lead for the novice 5.9 leader. The climb runs left of the bolt line on Roof Burner, climbing the left corner of the roof, moving directly up and sharing the Roof Burner bolts. At the last bolt, there is an intimidating but fairly simple (5.7) left angled upward traverse to the Barn Dance anchors. From here, you can toprope Dead Dog Face if you so desire. From the last bolt you can also move right instead to finish on the Roof Burner anchors.

Alternately you can use the bolts on Dead Dog Face, but the last bolt takes you a long way off of the Barn Dance line.

Some feel the crux is pulling the roof, others find it in the dirty pockets following the roof. In either case, the holds are there, you just have to find them...

FYI, there is an alternate finish to the Roof Burner Bolts that is longer and also probably 5.9. It seems many people are climbing that as Roof Burner, but they are not the same route.

RCM&W #51, p. 126

bolts to the roof