Occupied Territory

A great line in a spectacular setting!

Ridge 4 is a climber's dream - beautiful routes on killer sandstone, no crowds, and a really gorgeous spot. There are a variety of sport routes and trad routes up here, but Ridge 4 is mostly a sport crag, and one of the best routes on the crag is Occupied Territory.

When you get to Ridge 4, you will likely first come up to a big flat spot where

Killer Elite

(12a) takes off up the crag. Uphill just a little ways (50 feet) is

Mud Shark

(10d). The next route to the left is a short 3-bolt 12c. The next route left of that is Occupied Territory.

Start up a dihedral (pretty easy) until you reach a roof around the 3rd bolt. This is where the crux sequence starts - a burly problem that involves a sick reach to a shallow pocket. The route stays in your face with bad feet and steep climbing for the next few bolts, and then eases off. One more 5.12 move awaits high on the route to keep your full attention!

Some say there probably is no 13a move on the route, although it definitely pushes into the 12+ range at the start of the crux sequence, and several 12 moves stack on top of each other to get through the entire crux. So, I think the grade is justified.

Regardless of the rating, this is a really fun line with lots of engaging, continuous, burly pulling. It is great for a nice winter or fall day!

9 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor.