The right of the 2 shorter routes on the main face of Good M.W. Begin on some pretty good jugs in a crack like feature and shoot up and right through cimpers underclings and whatever else you can figure out. There is a pretty good rest just past the 3rd bolt. The nice looking rails in the DARK black streak are sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Fantastic bit of climbing to send this sucker!

Ghost Dance

Moon Stone

Indian Summer

Forgotten Warrior

Vision Quest

Medicine Man

Wounded Knee

Good Medicine

Ruthie Boulder

Sun Dog

Tribal Warfare

White Man's Burden

Black Elk

The Bear Dance

Spirit Guide

Adore

[Redacted]

The Legend

Sacred Hoop

Fire Water

I Am Haunted

Chocolate Moose

Peace Treaty

Dream Catcher

Wind Walker

This climb is located to left of Ghost Dance in the middle of the

Good Medicine Area

. A hard, steep start leads to easier but still pumpy climbing above.

This climb is awesome.  Awkward first bolt on slopers and pinches leads to jugs to a little inverted face climbing.  Go up through a small chimney and traverse right over the roof.  Then get ready for 5 bolts of vertical slightly overhung crimpfest.

This route starts in a fun chimney and finishes on the arete above. The crux is in the middle of the arete with some balancy moves.

Are you warmed up? Before hopping on the

Forgotten Warrior

make sure you ask yourself those four words. Besides commitment, the

Forgotten Warrior

requires poise, a level head, and proper stretching. A casual beginning leads to a small roof with a head wall so thin and blank it makes

Jean-Luc Picard's

dome look like a jungle gym.

Beginning on easy, but awkward terrain,

Forgotten Warrior

gets right down to business. The initial crux is a tendon ripping, eye popping, leap of faith. Keep your composure clipping the second bolt and continue through the gauntlet to a good rest. Climb through easier terrain to another larger roof and remember: You're Here To Have Fun! Choose your next moves wisely as you'll need to focus your strength on the upcoming power crux. Accomplish this feat to reach a rest that allows a quick breath for the final and fantastic finish.

A

Vision Quest

is a Native American

rite of passage

carried out by older children in order to find themselves and further their steps to joining adulthood. This quest is done alone in the wild and continues until the child finds personal direction and returns home. The quest's intention is to gain a spiritual connection by enduring hallucinations and overcoming feats associated with starvation and sensory deprivation.

Hop on this route too soon after warming-up and you too will feel like you're on a

vision quest

. This route begins steep with a highly sequential set of difficult and unrelenting moves over edges, side pulls, slopers, and poor feet. Choose the wrong path and suffer a sense of abandonment and solitude.

Start steep off the ground and power through a trio of tough, steepening bulges, passing four bolts. Move right-up-left-up and over some very difficult and pumpy terrain (this will also earn you 30 free guys on

Contra

). Surpass this

journey

and

graduate

to an easier, more

directed

path. Surviving this stunt allows passage over a quick and easy scramble to gain the ridge. The

trek

home begins here as you climb the sharp arete passing positive and sometimes awkward holds to the anchor. Conquer this achievement and feel entitled to

advance

to tougher, more

mature

routes at the wall.

While

Vision Quest

won't win any awards for being ultra-classic, it is still a worthwhile undertaking. An early crux is nice and allows a enjoyable finish.

The next bolt line over from Indian Summer, this climb starts up a set of double cracks and moves over to the right to obtain the arete.  Before venturing onto the arete, a good rest can be had.

Next to 'The Legend.' Wounded Knee is less roofy, more sustained, and without the rests of it's illustrious neighbor.  Quality climb, not cruxy but somewhat pumpy.  Well bolted.  Nice crack up high...lots of ways to skin this cat.

Lay back or jam the overhanging crack to a crimpy prow.  One of the steepest route in the Ruth Lake area and not a gimmi for the grade.  Try not to pump out or else be ready for some air time!!

There are many boulders in the area, but this one is the best!!!

Short fun route.  This is on the far right hand side of the Good Medicine Wall, next to Fire Water.  This route is hidden around a corner when viewing it from below, and starts from a big ledge.

4 bolts through steep juggy rock leads up to an anchor.  I think it is possible to scramble around to the right to setup a toprope as well.

Begins with stemming corner then moves to fun face climbing above.

Starts about ten feet right of Black Elk, in an irregular, slightly overhanging crack. Pulling through the short overhanging section is the crux. Continues up this crack to a slot to the right of a large bulge between this route and Black Elk. Slightly runout in here, but the climbing is easy. Pull over the slot to the base of another irregular crack on the headwall with tricky pro up higher.

If you happen to have brought your rack, this is a decent one to put the gear to use, but don't make this route a priority

Black Elk is a good enough reason to drive all the way down the Mirror Lake Hwy and take the 20 min hike to the Ruth Lake Crag.  It has an interesting, balancy beginning, followed by a bouldery crux, onto an exposed face.  The rock has good friction, the holds are positive, and the pro is place a safe, sane distance.

Same start as Good Medicine. Heads up and left on the slightly overhanging face.

There are 2 ways to tackle this striking arete:

The 5.11a intended line (I assume) starts on the left side of the beast. The name of the game here is long moves to small lichen-covered crimps with bad feet (you know the story with aretes, no matter which side you're on the footholds are always on the other). A couple of hard moves, a clip and a

holy-shit

deadpoint will get you to a good horizontal. Watch for choss, bring a brush, warm up your fingers, the start is for real.

The 5.easy (my estimate) way starts on the right side of the arete. The uber-blank face can be bypassed by stemming against a pillar until the same good horizontal can be reached.

After that it's cruiser climbing on increasingly large holds past 2 more bolts to the top. Once there take a second to ponder how such a good looking line can be so unrewarding. That is until you see the pics of yourself on it...

Fun thrutchy moves take you to the top of the wall and leave you feeling like you just got wailed on by a tribe of savages.

Legend is another fantastic route on the Ruth Lake Wall.  Lots of stemming, two roofs to pull.  Very pumpy moves on rock with good holds and friction.

The .10a rating seems a bit soft, given the number of rests on this route.  There is an awkward, bouldery crux at the bottom.  But it is so well bolted that you run the risk of z-clipping!  Some nice body position moves toward the top and a finish that makes some flop onto a roof like a seal at the zoo.

On the far right side of the wall is a buttress around a corner with a good ledge.  A few good moderate sport routes climb this small buttress.  The lefthand of the two is a steep but juggy 5.7 with an overhang guarding the chains.  Very good route.

Start below a small roof block and continue up just right of an arete. The climbing is fairly steep, with the typical

Good Medicine

jugs interspersed with short sections of less positive holds.

Some looser stuff appears on the right of the bolt line a little ways above the roof. You probably want to avoid yarding on it.

The climbing is enjoyable, but not much different than many of the other routes on the wall.

Start on the tricky face to acquire the hand-sized crack.  Go right after entering the V-slot above and then follow the crack/double crack system to the bolted anchor.

If you go straight up, that is "White Man's Burden," 5.10c, which uses the Black Elk anchors.

Peace Treaty is the 3rd bolted line from the far right side of the wall.  It starts just below the routes "Sun Dogs" and "Fire Water".  6 bolts total on this route.  Pass a small roof at half height, and then follow easier climbing to the anchors.

One rope rappel.

This route can be found just right of a chimney (Sacred Hoop) and to the left of the big roof on the crag.  The moves off the ground are bouldery, which lead to some easier climbing.  After about halfway up, its nothing but small crimps and nice exposure on a dead vertical face!

The crux is definitely the top facing climbing on small crimps.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Good Medicine Area