P2- (12b) Start up the right facing corner until you can step right to 2 bolts. Switch cracks into a right facing corner near a bush. Make some tricky moves to the roof that leads you left to another bolt in a left facing corner. P1- (11+) look for two bolts in dark rock off the ground. He and Brandon have put dozens (maybe hundreds?) of days into developing high quality routes in Kolob Canyon and I’m thankful they allowed me to play a small part in their story.
Karl is a wonderful partner and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. It was one of the best days of climbing I’ve ever had, and one of the best routes I’ve ever climbed. He walked away having done every move but without sending the crux from anchor to anchor.
Karl and I climbed in blocks and he graciously offered to let me lead each crux pitch.
#Skull key cracker free
Ultimately I managed to free the entire route in about 13 hours. It was my last day before heading to Yosemite so our fingers were crossed that it would come together. After a rest day we set off to try and send the route from bottom to top. Karl took a rest day and I worked the route all the way through the crux on day 3 removing our fixed ropes on the way down. We spent 2 days getting ropes fixed from the ground up thru the crux on pitch 12. Karl was psyched to show me the line and we teamed up for 5 days in October 2020 to try and free the route. In 2020 Brandon reached out and suggested I reach out to Karl about trying to free their prized route. Some sections seem a bit spicy onsighting but the route is quite safe and well equipped. Every pitch features high quality climbing from beginning to end.
#Skull key cracker crack
The Skeleton Key features long crack systems connected by unlikely face climbing sections and could reasonably be climbed at 12a A1 with some aiders. There were many hours of hand drilling on lead that made this route possible. Thanks to them for this modern day Zion Classic. They managed to free all but roughly 50 feet of climbing on the first ascent. The route was established in a multi-week ground up effort by Karl K and Brandon G. The Skeleton Key is a king line of the North Fork of Taylor.