Metropolis

This route, which was originally graded 5.12d, somehow worked its way down to 5.12b after Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, and Adam Stack began using it as the crag warm-up and got it ultra-dialed. Luckily, common sense prevailed before it hit 5.12a.

A more realistic consensus seems to have emerged somewhere in the 5.12c/d range, though I've also heard this called harder than

The Eighth Day

(5.13a) at Rifle and, alternately, 5.12c. I dunno. You be the judge. It's plenty hard.

This is the rightmost route in the Metropolis Sector and climbs the immaculate black/pink streak on Euro-quality stone. It tips just so slightly past the vertical but is at a good angle where you can use your feet and work with most of the micro-features on the rock. Start just above the juniper tree and climb up blocky rock to a first bolt left of the big chimney. Run it out to the second bolt (5.9 PG-13) on good holds, some of which are hollow. Above this the route is well-protected and bullet. You may be able to clip an intermediary bolt on the route just left,

Shazam

(5.12d), between bolts one and two with a long sling to keep you off the deck if a hold broke.

From here, the climbing stays tricky, sustained and engaging, with hard-to-find holds, funky laybacks, and micro-crimps on bullet black stone. The crux bit seems to be the very sustained climbing above the huge hueco, finessing up the shallow groove (50 feet of stemming and pimping). A final mini-roof caps the action. Two

in-situ

draws above this roof let you lower off with a 70-meter (a 60-meter just might work) if you've done the route before and/or had enough, as the climbing above is "merely" 5.11. It is, however, slabby, thin, tricky 5.11, so a true ascent goes all the way to the anchors at a no-hands ledge, 40 meters up.

Take in the view, then get down safely.

Many, many quickdraws (18?) and a 80-meter rope, if you want to come down in one lower. Otherwise, with a 60- or 70-meter rope, you can lower twice.

Caution, however: an 80-meter rope just barely makes it back to the ground.