Crack leads to a strenuous digedral, then move left around the arete and climb a series of technical moves through bulges.  Lower off.  Might be my favorite sport climb, amazingly beautiful and exposed movement.

Living Dead

Sea Monkey

Holey Wars

Don't Call it a Comeback

Excelsior

Northern Pike

Blood Sport

Steelhead

Barracuda

Holey Mackerel

Catch and Release

You call that a come on?

Fight Club

Piranha

More Hypocrisy

Bird of Prey

Amazing route on some of the  best rock in the Gorge. It's climbing minimalism at it's best. Long moves on very thin holds. There are two rests before the last crux section which climbs through a mono - then you gotta hold on for the pump until the end. Powerful and techy.

Start 20 feet right of Excelsior below a chossy crack system. Climb up some jumbly rock clipping a few bolts until you get to an arete with crack out right. Though people have climbed more in the crack down low you do not need to. Laybacks with bomber kneebars is another option. Above the alcove do some weird stems in the chimney crack and get to a stance with some hard face moves moving left into a thin finger crack. A couple cruxy traverse moves at a bolt leads to a stance where you clip the last bolt. Continue up the thin seam mostly face climbing to an anchor.

Broken ledges lead to a wandering face, then up a steep dihedral capped with a bouldery finish.

Ultra Classic. This long, vertical, extremely technical route may not be "in style" anymore, but it is one of the best hard routes in the gorge.  It is very sustained, thin climbing on perfect rock.  Part of the Tom Herbert "E" series.  Big holds at the start quickly shrink into small edges and crimps with the odd pocket.  The crux hits you about halfway up and features a series of long thin moves with tiny footholds.  The top lets up a little but is no gimme.  A must do.

Northern Pike and its neighbor, Living Dead, make a great one-two punch for the 5.11 climber.  Throw in Catch-n-Release and Bird of Prey and you've got a four round knockout.

Start on the right side of Mothership, on a north facing wall with a couple of impossible looking climbs to the right of it.  Pass three bolts (~5.9), go left (right would put you on Fight Club, 13b) across an arete to a couple of easy moves, clip a what-for? bolt (apparently it directs the rope over a favorable section of the arete) then clip the 5th bolt with a longer sling than you'd like.  Getting to the 6th bolt is the crux and quite involved for the reach challenged.  The climbing from here on is extremely enjoyable -- steep and stimulating on fabulous rock.

This pitch might feel slightly run-out.  (It has six fewer bolts than the Living Dead which is 10' longer.)  A small nut can be placed between the 5th and 6th bolts, taking some of the bite out of the pike.

A short face leads to a dynamic overhang.  There are several long moves that might thwart climbers of shorter ilk.  Nonetheless, the full rig is an excellent route that feels more like a V7/8 with clips.

The rock on this route has cleaned up making it a gorge classic for the power junkie.

Do the beginning part of Sea Monkey up the chossy crack but about midway where you get to a stance on Sea Monkey clip bolts out right on the Arete and go into the steep arete just left of Holy Macerol. The open moves moving onto the arete on Steelhead are cruxy for a couple bolts (V4 boulder problem). From there continue up the beautiful arete for quite a ways with fun 5.11 climbing on good quality rock. There's one final (11+) heart break crux just before clipping the anchor out right. Rope stretching 35m pitch! The arete is super good quality rock and exposed!

Just right of Pirahna, climb gently overhanging jugs, crimps, and slopers to a bouldery crux at the fourth bolt.

Amazing line that climbs past the crux of Piranha and leftward.

The climb can most notably be broken into two bouldery cruxes, with some sporadic pumpy cruxes in between: the first crux is located directly after the Piranha crux through some really interesting, powerful, and finally delicate moves, the second crux is up high just over the roof which leads you to a jug hueco and "easier" climbing to the anchor. Overall an amazing, varied line, that is totally deserving of your effort! Rock is real good and getting better the more people get on it.

I recommend extending certain bolts and skipping a few for rope drag purposes. I specifically skipped the first bolt and extended every bolt on Piranha.

70M gets you to the ground.

Climb arête to the right of Piranha, then move left onto face up to a flake then to a cool dyno to a pocket on the arete, then follow arête to ledge. Great rock.

Climb up the middle of a shorter wall to a ledge, continue from there up a slab to splitter crack climb. Clean interesting climbing that is well protected by bolts.  The ledge detracts a bit from the otherwise good quality.

An edgy face leads up to a clean 15 degree overhang that delivers about 30 feet of sustained bouldering on immaculate rock. The top is a fun 5.10 slab.

A contender for the best hard route in the gorge.

A short, but relatively savage pitch for the grade.  Save mojo for the boulder problem finish.  The route heads right at the crux and finishes on a ledge.

Reminiscent of "In Your Face" at Rifle, but easier.

Climb the bolted line on the right side of the short wall to the right of the fight club. Pass a ledge then head through slab and up to some interesting thin crack climbing leading up to a pumpy finish.  Fun clean climbing with more mothership quality rock.

An off-vertical aerie leads to a slick, slabby arete.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Mothership Cliff