The Value of Audacity

The Value of Audacity is an awesome route that is just as cool as its name. It doesn't get the traffic that a lot of the other Castle Valley trade routes get which has pros (no lines, more adventure) and cons (not quite as clean and user friendly). If you've ticked off the other nearby towers, then you really have no excuse not to climb this route. It has mostly straightforward meat and potatoes hand crack climbing with a few short but burly cruxes. There are a few wide sections, too, but they're pretty clean and straightforward.

Heres how it breaks down:

P1 (150', 5.11+): Traverse from the right into the corner below the huge roof. Climb the corner to the roof, get in some gear, and dip into your inner orangutan to bust out the roof. The moves aren't obvious, but it's obvious that there are no feet and that if the hike up the talus didn't wake you up, this section of climbing will. After the roof, battle the inevitable rope drag through fun hand cracks and a wide section protected by a #1 camalot crack in the back. There are a few good ledges to set up a belay (save some hand-sized pieces).

P2(120', 5.11+): Climb a super clean hand crack that starts at #1 camalots and goes to a #4 or #5 C4 before pinching back down to fingers and thin hands. Where the crack gets wide, there are lots of pockets and face features to make things easier. Pull a small roof via some really cool and fun moves (5.11+, but both my buddy Charlie and I thought it was WAY easier than the crux of P1). Then keep climbing up a crack that eventually turns into a low-angled clean finger crack. Belay in a recessed area.

P3 (~120', 5.8ish): Continue up the crack system, which is basically a chimney at this point. Work your way up through some ledges, and belay when it seems like it's just a scramble to the top.

Then scramble to the top.

Descent: We rappelled the very large corner system located to the climber's left of the route (2 60m ropes required). The first rap is from a single good, vertically-drilled bolt on a ledge located between the Value of Audacity and the very large corner. The second rap has 1 good bolt and a bunch of junk. The third rap has no good bolts and only junk (Someone needs to back this up. A bolt would be great. You might also be able to ditch a #10 hex in the crack here)

Note: There are no fixed anchors on The Value of Audacity (and with a name like that, it seems like there shouldn't be)

The Value of Audacity is visible from the road leading to Sister Superior from US128. It is located near the left side (closest to the Colorado River) and it faces downstream/toward the Crooked Arrow Spire. The huge roof on the first pitch can be seen from the road near the bottom of the cliff as a 2-tiered roof in a right-facing corner. The route is located just right of a very obvious, slightly left-leaning corner system near the left edge of the Convent.

Doubles on blue tcu to #4 C4. You may want to bring a #5 C4, but not having this piece would not be a deal breaker. Extra hand-sized pieces (green C4 through gold C4) are also nice. We accidentally brought up 4 #1 C4's and placed them all on the first pitch. A few nuts and some long slings, too.