Shylock! It sounds like the name of some medieval creature to me, but apparently the modern use of the word refers to someone with the qualities of a loan shark. It comes from Shakespeare's play, "The Merchant of Venice." It's Saxon root evidently means "white haired," and I think I may have sprouted one or two after leading this thing.

The climbing starts off with a few pods and tight tips, eventually becoming impossible. The plaque says .12+, and it felt damn hard to me. I would love to hear from the FAist, or anyone who has Houdini-ed this thing. The gear protecting the crux is the smallest possible, and the moves are very perplexing. After the crux there is a substantial but easy runout amongst some choss to the anchor. I replaced the ancient draws with two of my own. Good luck!

The Shylock

Trading Places

Pop Quiz (aka Brown on Butter)

Big Guy

Sicilian

Death of a Cowboy

Lt. Uhuru

Cocaine Blues

Desert Sunset

He's up Here

My Little Friend

Unknown 5.9 (AKA: P1 of American Psycho)

Carlito's Way

[Redacted]

Fertile Crescent

Internal Scar

Vienna

Unknown Bandito Route

Comic Relief

Cross Dihedral

Dirt Cheap

Ravin' Daves (previously called "Your Mama")

Mantel Illness

Polaris

The Fat Farm

No Scar

Anal Leakage

Banditos !

Wavy Gravy

Desert Vuarnet

Twitch

Scard Face

Unknown 10

Sudden Impact

Not That Funny

Desert Shield

Steel Pulse

Way Of The Gun

Montana Gangster

Black Uhuru

The Cleaner

Where's Carruthers?

Cement Shoes

Columbian Hit Man

Big Jon

Spam

Italian Combo

Red Rain

Polarizer

unknown (Wide Hands LF Corner)

Powder Your Nose

Torque Wrench

Route of All Evil

Route 666

Scarface

This route is located on the left aspect of the Scarface wall about 50 feet to the right of the splitter Scarface.  It is recognized as a chalked up series of changing corners with a #0.5 Camalot crack inside.  It is a relatively short climb with anchors about 50 to 60 feet high.  As is the case with many Indian Creek corners, Sicilian may be jammed or laybacked.  I used a combination of these 2 techniques.  The crux comes at mid-height where one must negotiate an obvious change in the corner's direction using difficult finger-stacking jams.  Once through this section, "cruise" to the finish on thin hands jams.  An exciting an strenuous route!  It's 2-star rating is only due to the length.  The book rated it 5.11, but I feel that 5.11+ is more appropriate.  Have fun!

This is a good left-facing corner system on the left side of Scarface wall.  Find the Classic Scarface and head left to a dark and shaded area of the wall on the left side.  On the left is the right-facing Black Uhurhu and on the right is this left-facing Corner

It ascends the obvious crack through dark solid rock to fixed anchors.  The crux for me was a bunlging between-hands-and-fists section, probably 2/3 up the route.  I have small hands, so your individual experiance may be different.

This is a nice climb, overall.  A basic Indian Creek dihedral, and a nice break from the typical thin corner.

This route takes the fingers-to-tight-hands splitter just left of Big Guy. Begin with some soft and sandy climbing to gain the ledge at the base of this striking crack. Work through some bomber finger locks with good feet (red aliens/0.5 camalots), a short section of .75-camalot size, followed by tight hands (very tight #1 camalots) through a curve, finish on soft rock.

Death of a Cowboy is a five-star route with a great boulder problem start followed by one of the best 100' stretches of 5.10 hands in the creek.  The in-your-face opening demands powerful moves on first knuckle locks with crap for feet to a total hero move to a jug.  Standing on this jug provides a nice rest and time to soak up the glory of the send before tackling overhanging hands to vertical wide hands forever.

Lt. Uhuru climbs the left facing corner left of Black Uhuru.  Like Black Uhuru, Lt. Uhuru is mostly laybacking and jamming between good stances.  The significant difference is the short corner roof at about 80 feet.  If you  are like me and hang out beneath the roof for a couple falls the end isn't bad, otherwise you may need some juice to get to the anchor.  Note, the roof may be a little sandy, and something crumbled under my feet at one of the other stance and my belayer had to dodge.

Mistakenly labeled as 5.12 in the newest Creek book.

Execute an awkward boulder start to the ledge 15' up. A nice left-facing corner with rattly fists or butterflies (there's a thin-hand to fingercrack on the right wall) leads to the slanting upper bulge which pinches down from off-fist to cups where it rolls over. A challenging wide line!

The rock along the right-hand thin crack and on the right face along the bulge is a bit crunchy.

Climb through varied blocky terrain to a zig-zagging splitter high on the wall.

This is the extended OW version of Where's Carruthers.  Climb Where's Carruthers and keep going through the bombay offwidth and up through more steep OW and fists. Somebody should add 3rd pitch roof!

Far left side of scarface wall. Tips boulder problem to 3 bolt face finish. Cool crux, more like granite .

Crack in corner starts as hands and quickly turns into big hands. Somewhat difficult moves where the corner opens up and you have to climb over a large wedged boulder in the crack. Felt hard for 5.9, but it's only 40 feet so....

scramble up some to reach a 3 sided crack thin hands on right fingers on the left work yer way up to some bomber wedged rocks move over them in to some face/wide pod move rest up an then charge up fo about 35 feet of crisp 1.5 inch crack to a roof that's #4 cammlot pull sed roof an chug fists on down to tight fingers..

'Nubian Slave' is a dark R-facing corner immediately right of the climb Scarface, notable for the Castleton-style calcite decorating the right wall of the dihedral below a roof at the 40' level.

Slightly dicey moves on calcite edges get you up to the roof, after which the corner becomes a smooth, slightly acute slot with big hands/cups.  The anchors are not granted until after a creepy OW move around a bulge.

The David Bloom guide describes this as big hands, but it's probably more accurate to describe it as fists in a corner, with a wide crack to the right that allows for good stemming, keeping the grade at 5.9.

walk about 3 feet in to the formation climb #3 camlots to some #4's super mellow as you can stem or grab the crack to your left ware the light shines through move out of the crack to some #5 crack with feet.bolt an pin anchor ..then you can climb .75 crack till you can stem over to the wide crack on the right .. stack squeeze fight yer way up .. you can get small c3 00 out left . then dive in an squirm yer way to what has to be the coolest hang in the creek a 20 by 20 perfect room that is flat as SC parking lot ..not to be missed !!!!! rap bolts are on the left wall as you squeeze up to the room..a 70m rope will get you down to the ground .. this pitch go's at 5.11

Offset splitter.  Crux is getting out the tiny overhang at the bottom into the crack proper.

Nice route consisting of a thin splitter down low, V-slot hand crack in the middle, and a cool moderate step across to the anchors.

One hanger is aluminum stamped BANDITO and now the anchor has chain and biners/rings.

Head up easy hands in a corner to a roof (stem). Best to backclean or run out the hands stretch to avoid rope drag. Pull around the corner into fingers leading to a strenuous stance beneath the 2nd roof. Pull this roof to another strenuous stance beneath the 3rd roof. Above this roof sequential jamming leads to the chains but there are no stances so you'll either need burl to place gear or balls to punch it for a short ways.

A classic desert pitch.  A little bit of everything: chimney, fists, off-widths, hands, choss, loose flakes/rocks and roofs.

Climb an off-width/fists crack on left side of a pillar (the first ten feet are chossy) to the top of the loose block riddled pillar.  Climb a squeeze up the left side  of a "block" for 6-7 feet.  From the top of the "block" climb hands and fists up a hollow flake in a chimney.  From stance on top of flake climb a chimney with a flake (protectable with #3 Camalots) to a small roof.  Pull through the roof with #3.5 Camalots and climb corner to flaring chimney.  Climb flaring chimney (#4 Camalots) to a anchor of two drilled angles.

Careful pulling ropes on rappel, they have a tendency to get stuck.

Good climb with the start being the crux. Climbs a variety of sizes in cracks in twin corners.

Good crack climbing in a left-facing corner. Gets a little funky where the two cracks join before the anchors.

This is a fun climb, with a crux unlike most in the Creek. It's easy 5.10- climbing up to the crux. The crux is a great bouldery mantel/highstep move. It's well protected by a green alien or, if you're scared, a #0 TCU less then a foot higher. After the mantel, the climb is pretty much over. Easily done with a 60 meter rope.

polaris is a long right facing corner system approximately 100 feet right of desert shield.  using the beta photo below, it is behind the 'Sh' in Shield.

per Devin Fin - it's a long route 2 ropes #3's #4,s 1#6 an Big Bro's . save some hand pieces for the top.. hope we can shift some picks an post the proper info for Polaris .... cheers DF

This route starts off as an offwidth then pinches down for a couple moves to big hands and then back to offwidth.  The top gets really big but you can easily climb the outside of the crack.

A wide to thin hands route to the right of Wavy Gravy. On the outside of the pillar.

The first pitch is OW to a mean squeeze to full on chimney and tops out on a great mini tower that is as flat as they come. Pull your partner up and get ready for one of the most crisp corners in the creek! Thin hands, fingers, and ring locks to some crisp fist or two at the top. 2nd pitch is long ...

Way down towards the right end of the Scarface wall (but not quite as far as 'Twitch') lies a sinuous left-facing corner formed by a precarious-looking pedestal with an hourglass shape at the base.  It's mostly hands, in some form or other, the whole way, and not very long- maybe 70 feet.  Gets great morning sun, a good warm-up.

Begin by laybacking and jamming up the small left facing corner, stemming for rests when possible.  Make a corner switch and climb through a short awkward section and position yourself below the widening splitter above.  Now climb a offset thin hands splitter (crux) to the anchor.

Great route.  This route is many hundred yards right of scarface and about 200 feet right of Wavy Gravy.  Starts with a perfect hands roof crack which widens just above the lip to wide hands.  Pulling the lip is the crux.  After that its a 5.10 thin hands corner to the top.

[The roof is about twenty feet long and 4 feet deep. You can't miss the fist sized crack that is the start of Twitch.]

Although on the shorter side, this is a classic warm-up route on the far left side of Scarface.  Go past Black Uhuru and Lt. Uhuru and you will see it.  Quick boulder start to gain a left-facing hand crack.  Then #3 camalot changing corners and up to the anchor.

This climb is a great thin-hands crack in a corner with occasional rests. The roof will probably be the crux for most people. The crack starts out a tad smaller (green Camalots) and then becomes great thin-hands climbing with nice holds on the face for rests. The roof packs a bit of a punch but perfect hand jamming awaits above, taking you to the anchors. Definitely recommended.

Up a left-facing finger crack to below a roof.  Pull through the roof and then up a right-facing crack to another roof.  Pull this roof and finish up a short final section of tight hands.

The mega classic corner looming overhead when you get to the top of the trail. Desert Shield is probably one of the best .12s in the Creek, IMHO. The climbing up to the bolt is casual, then some funky moves get you past the bolt and to a fun bouldery sequence, and then it’s into the perfect enduro corner for the glory.

Just left of Dirt Cheap. Start out on top of a block under a small roof, pull over the roof on ring-locks into good jams, then thin-hands for the rest of the way

This route deserves more attention that it receives!! It is a classic thin splitter. There is a plaque at the bottom. It is about 50ft. right of wavy gravy and not as far as twitch. Get up on it!!!!!

An unusual Creek outing demanding a variety of techniques. Start with a short fingers corner, pull onto a shelf, face climb up some dubious soft rock, grapple out a strenuous, bulging slot, and jam up the nicely varnished upper corner with sustained ringlocks and tight hands, stemming on the occasional face features. Shelf belay stance.

The lower section was cleaned/trundled a good bit after the lead, but still needs some love. It's a softer band that will never be great, but should be safer now at least. Some traffic cleaning will certainly help. The upper corner is quite nice, and worth the lower choss wrangling IMO.

Black Uhuru has got to be one of the best 5.10s anywhere. Begin on the far left side of the wall, well past scarface, sicilian, etc., at a huge varnished right facing corner. The climb begins up some easy ledges to the splitter corner. Climb this with jams and laybacks. The climb has several difficult sections with good rests/hand jams and takes all sizes of gear.

A 70m rope will reach all the way back down to the ground. You can use a 60m if you belay from the upper ledge, make sure to knot your ends.

The Cleaner is a lesser known but excellent climb at the far right side of Scarface.  Begin just left of Twitch by climbing an obvious tips corner.  Good features allow stemming and prevent the green Alien sized crack from feeling downright impossible.  As the crack pinches to blue Aliens, bust right and up some fun face climbing protected by a bolt.

R-facing corner goes hands to wide hands.  Bouldery start to gain face feet.  opens up to #3 camalot or 3.5 friend for the rest of the route.  Good stemming and crack feet though.  Really good route!

Start up the slightly overhanging, right-facing corner that is mostly fingers and tight hands.  Move around the corner to the left and up an offset crack in the face to a thin finish.  Good fun!

Full on right off the ground 5 inch fight for 20 feet or so, then 6 inch, then dive in for squeeze to full chimney car sized block at the top. Pull up on and over to great ring anchor. And if you like you could squeeze all the way to the back of the crack! And that back there is more mellow. as a hand finger crack is in the back .P2 from the anchors move left in to the wide hands an work yer way up to a over hanging hand crack with some feet then some thuggery will see you to some bomber chines. P3 LAZIER  crisp 1.5 inch crack for 90 feet with a roof at the end. 5 star all day..

Good warm-up or beginner lead.  Liebacking or jamming up dihedral with lots of feet ledges on the left wall. Both crack systems that continue from the top of P1 have anchors, making this is best done as a two pitch route! The left finger splitter is harder than the left facing dihedral.

A short but engaging route that runs from #2 Camalots to .5 Camalots with several face ledges to eke out some rests. Crux is 3/4 of the way up on ring locks, but there are good feet to take you through.

A Peter Gabriel song from the eighties references red rain pouring down. I have no idea where the name of the route came from but it may have something to do with the red choss I rained down at my belayer. Don't lose your stoke now-it gets much much better!

Scamper up past 15 feet of chinle choss. Gaze up at crisp beautiful black varnish, it is going to be so good. Fire in a few tips pieces and stem/chimney up to the obvious green camalot roof. Notice that all the feet are in just the right places. After the roof you are cruising through some hands to a nice stance. Somewhat strenuous, flared blue camalots lead to a small roof, a splitter and the anchor (which could use some work: angle, tat, bandito pull tab).

Scramble up to a big ledge then jam the clean hands corner that leads to a very short wide section. Pull the bulge(crux) above the wide on cupped hands and continue on cups into another OW slot with hands in the back and edges out left to the anchor. My 70 got me down no problem.

[editor's note - the following was originally posted by Tom T under the route name 'polaris']

Climb a short squeeze chimney to a large sandy ledge. After about 20 feet of perfect wide hands in a clean corner it's time to get busy. Grunt, cuss, and struggle your way through a slightly overhanging offwidth and deposit yourself into a tight squeeze chimney.  This chimney provides an excellent no-hands rest and protects with a hand crack that is just within reach. Follow the obvious crack to two solid drilled angles that had brand new [yellow] slings in March 2006.

Two meters of easy choss leads to a perfect, crisp wide hands crack in a left-facing corner. A couple of bulges make this a fun, strenuous pitch.

The anchor is three bolts, 3/8 inch if I remember correctly, and tat with two thin rap rings.

A left facing corner located between Big Guy and Wavy Gravy.

Climb a left facing crack that starts with mainly hands that goes to fingers with feet onto a small Ledge/stance. Then you will get into the shallow squeeze chimney and then pull the small roof; after the roof the crack gradually gets bigger and then pull onto the big ledge.

Go right from where the approach trail hits the wall for a few hundred feet.  This route is just left of the 5.13 corner called Death of a Cowboy (plaque).  The letters TW are painted at the route's base. A long strenuous handcrack which takes some thought to negociate the crux which pulls past/over a huge chockstone.  Don't get tunnel vision at this intimidating section. The majority of the route is great hands.  Enjoy it!

Shares the start with Route 666. Steep .75 left facing corner leads to fork. The right fork is route of all evil. Hands leads to big hands through a cool roof. The last third is varied strange crack, but mostly thin hands and off fingers. Anchor was replaced in 2017. Good route that is never done, hopefully with a good anchor it will see some traffic!

Although the medium is not perfect Wingate, this route is worthy- long, varied and pumpy due to the steep lieback at the beginning: crank out the left facing corner and then move left into another left facing corner that is mostly big hands.  The anchor is under a shady roof alcove at 120 ft.

To find this climb, head left when you reach the base of the wall from the approach trail.  Look for the perfect finger and thin hands crack.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Scarface