This route climbs the splitter on the 3rd slab from the left.  Besides a scrambling beginning, this climb is beautiful.  It lends itself to perfect finger jams and stacked finger jams.  WOW!  I would hike to Penitentiary just for this climb.

Climb and Punishment

Climbs and Misdemeanors

Fresh Fish

Minimum Security

Sticky Zipper

Tax Evasion

Three Strikes

Jailbait

Jack the Ripper

Life Sentence

Ghetto Penthouse

Repeat Offender

County Lockup

Deception

S&M / B&D

Possession

Rehabilitation

Speed is of the Essence

Cell Life

This climbs the crack a foot off the arete that is left of

Climb and Punishment

.  In other words, the west facing crack on the right arete of the

Life Sentence

slab.  This line is contrived, as you can make it a lot easier than 5.9+, by using the

Climb and Punishment

face.  If you avoid that face, it might be a 5.9-, but the difficulty comes from trying to avoid that face.  No, just kidding.  It is funner if you don't use the face.

This route is a variation of Tax Evasion, and consists of thin friction.  It is worth doing as it makes you think for the solution.

Fresh Fish is an excellent 2-pitch entry level BCC-mixed-trad line. To us, that means face climbing protected with excellent gear plus the mental safety of bolts. Many enjoy the way Squeeze My Lemon in LCC is an awesome intro to crack climbing. Bring that idea to Big Cottonwood style and you might have same feeling.

The route climbs funky, wavy slab features in 2 pitches to an upper ledge above the original Penitentiary massif. The best climbing doesn't wander too far from the bolt line.

Be warned, there are a few flakes and features on either side of this that didn't make sense to aggressively clean.

P1:  Start a bit left of Rehabilitation, look for the bolt line. Plug some gear before bolt one if you want, then some gear between bolts 3-4. This pitch may surprise you if you aren't patient, i.e. it may seem a LOT harder if you aren't creative. 6  bolts to chains.  ~75 feet.

P2:   It's nicer (but not required) to build a quick gear anchor for the belay on the nice ledge

behind the P1 bolted anchor. Trend up a shallow dihedral that takes great gear to a silver bolt on the prow. Clip the next silver bolt, then jut out right, climbing just left of the arete on red bolts with an obvious gear placement up higher.  5 bolts (2 silver then 3 red) to chains.  ~75 feet.

Minimum Security starts up the thin crack/seam just left of a tree.  This is the first climb just right of the really wide crack called "Speed is of the Essence".  The initial crack doesn't take any pro, so it would be a dangerous lead.  Above, a flake affords small nut placements.  The wall above has a bolt (1/4 incher) and a piton which climb through the crux.  Apparently, the left arete is off route, which makes the route much harder.

This is a fun crack climb that climbs the 3rd slab from the left.  This slab has a nice splitter in the middle of it.  This climb works the crack that faces west on the right arete.  Foot jams and hand jams.  This climb was an exciting little lead.

If ya strike out on leading

Life Sentence

, 5th class up the shallow gully to the left of it for 50-60 feet where one can then move right and come around to the top of Life Sentence. The hardest move is 5.4 at best.

Jailbait climbs the right side of Penitentiary Wall.  Jam up really secure climbing below the roof.  Pop over the roof at a thin crack, then continue up through flakes (good holds) up to a set of chain anchors.  The upper face is difficult to protect.

On the right side of the Life Sentence slab is a thin edger's dream.  This beautiful route climbs micro edges 6 feet left of the arete with no pro until about 18 feet off the ground.  Here the pro (micro) starts, but the climbing gets a bit more technical.  Very thin, very balancey, and a couple of razor blade holds that cut at your fingertips.  A very enjoyable route. :) The climb eases and the gear gets better higher up, as Life Sentence joins back into this route.  An easy (5.8) finish awaits.

This climbs the second slab from the left.  It starts on top of a ledge system and works thin cracks and edges.  It meanders left around a hard area, and then traverses back right to join up with a thin crack that splits the center of the face.  Fun climb.

The top tier of a cell block, Ghetto Penthouse is the left option for pitch 2 of Fresh Fish.

Use the same start

as the second pitch of

Fresh Fish but cut left after bolt 2. Hide a .5 cam in your prison wallet for the bean slot up high. This pitch ends on some really interesting rock. 4 bolts.  ~75 feet.

Look for a 2'x2' blob of rock approximately 20 feet up and perhaps 10 feet to the left of S&M. Boulder up to the blob, step right around it continue up trending slightly left to a broken head wall.  The headwall has lots of nice holds for both the feet and hands. Finish at a flat ledge. Belay here with natural gear or continue up and to the left to the anchors for

Minimum Security.

The right arete of

Penitentiary

holds a route that protects pretty well with gear, just right of the climb

Jailbait

.  Start up the right facing corner below the roof.  Climb over the roof on the right side, then continue up the arete which has good edges and stopper placements.  Rap from the same anchors as

Jailbait.

This climbs the right arete on the left-most slab.  This slab also has

Rehabilitation

on it.  This is a fun friction climb that stays either on the arete or just left of it.

S&M

starts below the scooped out area, left of

Jailbait

, climbing past the silica snakes. A couple of fun moves before it moves up and right into

Jailbait

, 30 feet up (the original finish).

B&D

finish (independent of Jailbait). After the business part of

S&M

rather than moving up and right to join

Jailbait

continue straight up to a short headwall with a dish in it. After the dish, step left to a nice finger crack and continue up along the arete to a set of chain anchors. It is of similar difficulty and pro to that of

Jail Bait.

This climb starts on the left-facing crack, right of Tax Evasion.  After the left-facer jogs right, it climbs the thin crack in the face to the tree or higher.  The book calls it a 5.7?, I felt more like a 5.6.  Not too much excitement on the route, as it climbs like a face climb with crack protection.

The furthest left climb on the this section of walls.  It consists of a right trending flake that lends itself well to jams (finger and hand).

This is the obvious 6-inch crack in the left facing corner to the right of

Tax Evasion

and

Climb and Punishment

.

Contrary to the route name, speed is not of the essence, it is much better perhaps to take your time and look for good pro, use caution with the placements during the first half of the climb as there is a lot of junky rock.  Stemming works better than lie-backing for this climb, in my opinion.

This climb is worth doing if you are in the area and have the time, but it is definitely only one star.

Descent

: We traversed left to the slings above

Climb and Punishment

, use your best judgement.

The arete on the right side of the

Life Sentence

slab, is an enjoyable climb, a bit pumpy, but enjoyable.  There is a "secret", the book says, but it wasn't too hard to figure it out, so go and enjoy this climb.

Description

Protection

Routes in Penitentiary Wall