Day 49: Ultraman

We had heard that the Ultraman wall was runout and were under the impression it was slabby. The climbs we did were actually not slabby at all, they were basically featured face and at a lower angle. Some of the climbs were more run out than others (described in more detail below). The rock was high quality except for Rodan, which wasn't that great of a climb. The rest of the climbs were fun.

Scent of Ultraman

Climb: Scent of Ultraman (Sport) (5.7)(1 pitch - 110')
Wall: Ultraman
Beginner's Lead? It may be ok for a new leader, but one that has some confidence because there is some space between bolts
Conclusion WTF? What the FUN!

Scent of Ultraman is the best bolted of all the 5.7s on this wall, but there is still some space between bolts.
It's an easy climb and, unfortunately, someone chose to "enhance" some of the holds with a drill, making it such that there's never really a blank spot.
This climb need at least a 70m rope.

Mothra (7+)

Climb: Mothra (Sport + 1 small nut or cam) (5.7+)(1 pitch - 115')
Wall: Ultraman
Beginner's Lead? It may be ok for a new leader who can place some gear, but one that has some confidence because there is some space between bolts
Conclusion WTF? What the FUN!

Mothra is more run out than Scent of Ultraman and can benefit from one a small nut or cam placement near the top.

There is really only one spot on the climb that will take additional gear. A nut can be placed in the black petina OR a cam in a crack in the bulge nearing the top. A cam will need a long sling because you then go left to clip a bolt. Then a sling on the bolt, because you go back right up over the bulge towards the anchors. Otherwise you will be fighting rope drag.

The only + about this climb is the start. There is a small lip you need to use to pull yourself up on (upper body strength) while trying to avoid a beautiful, big barrel cactus (please protect the cactus - ones this big are over 100 years old.) Having a stick clip helps to protect you while making this move (and not falling into the cactus.)
A minimum of 70m rope is needed for this climb.

Godzilla

Climb: Godzilla (Sport) (5.7)(1 pitch - 130')
Wall: Ultraman
Beginner's Lead? No. But it's good for practicing runout lead head.
Conclusion WTF? What the FUNOUT!

This is the most runout of the 5.7 climbs on this wall. It is fun, but we wanted to really acknowledge the runout in our WTF rating (What the FUNOUT!)
There is no place for extra pro, so you are committed to the bolts.
The start is the most difficult part of the climb and the first bolt is quite high. Because of the terrain below, a fall would be consequential. We had a stick clip, so Rick climbed up partway and clipped the bolt to protect the first moves.
The second bolt is pretty far, so a fall before clipping would mean a deck, but the angle does soften between bolts 1 and 2 and there are lots of good holds. It's still heady though.
We actually didn't finish the last 15-20 feet of the climb, so we can't comment on that terrain. Instead, Rick cut over to the anchors on Rodan. He clipped one bolt on the climb in between (Destroy All Monsters) on the traverse over.

The rock gets more frail as you approach Rodan.
Cutting over to Rodan did two things: (1) Rodan has zero protection (it's rated X), so we wanted to toprope it; And (2) We only had a 70m rope. You need an 80m or two ropes to get down from Godzilla. Rick brought me up as a second and then we set up an anchor to TR Rodan and then rappelled down.

Rodan (5.7X)

Climb: Rodan (Toprope or Free Solo) (5.7)(1 pitch - 100')
Wall: Ultraman
Conclusion WTF? What the FRAIL!

There is zero protection on Rodan so you either toprope it or free solo it. I would definitely NOT recommend it as a free solo, and I'm not sure I'd even say it's worth a top rope.
The quality of the rock is significantly worse than all of the other climbs (a chunk broke off in my hand) and it just doesn't have much personality.
It's not a terrible climb, it's just meh.

Climb Stats to Date

DATE OF CLIMB: July 5, 2020
WALLS HIT: 1
NUMBER OF CLIMBS TODAY: 4
NUMBER OF PITCHES TODAY: 4
NUMBER OF FALLS: 0
NUMBER OF TAKES: 0
VERTICAL FEET CLIMBED TODAY: 455
DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TODAY: 0

START & END TIMES:

Arrived Parking Lot: 6:05 a.m.
Arrived at Wall: 6:30 a.m.
Began: 6:45 a.m.
Done Climbing: 11:00 a.m.
Back at Car: 11:30 a.m.

TOTAL CLIMBS SO FAR: 115
TOTAL PITCHES SO FAR: 157
TOTAL 5.7 VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 13,875'
NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 123 (out of 237)
VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: 36,872'
FALLS SO FAR: 0
TAKES ON LEAD SO FAR: