Alma B

If the style of this route relates in any way to the personality of the namesake lady, she must have been quite a challenging wench to be around!

At time thin and delicate, sometimes thuggy and powerful, often balancy and insecure, this line will do its best to chew you up and spit you off using every trick in the bag.

Start in the creek (or on the plank a few feet higher) and rise out of the watery abyss via technical face moves on small holds and polished feet. The route shoots up and slightly right after the 2nd clip, the left bolt line leading into a stunning-looking 12+ (

The Fat Boys Sipping and Chipping Club

). Ignore this distraction and prepare for a taxing sequence with off balance moves followed by long reaches to small crimps and sidepulls with absolutely worthless feet. A thank-Jeeubs sidepull caps this section and marks a brutal change of style, from thin face to overhanging thuggery though a series of steep pods littered with bomber pockets. As soon as you're getting comfortable with the movement though, Alma changes her mind, taking away the holds and replacing them with a beautiful grey-streaked slab. Get used to feeling off-balance, switch to smearing mode and launch up this friction/lieback/barn-door adventure, eventually latching a couple or monster pockets. One last effort will see you over the roof and to the chains.

Immediately to the left of the largest line of caves/pods/holes/whatever you want to call them sits a smooth face with a number of graffiti. The inscription which gave the route its name sits about 20' right of the first bolt. The route heads straight up the thin face into a series of pods capped by a black roof.

Two variations lead in/out of Alma:

The Fat Boys Sipping and Chipping Club

branches off at the 2nd bolt, heading left across a black face via an amazing line of mail-slot pockets to reach the anchors of

The Eleven

Bomb Track

comes in from the right via a series of obvious pockets and merges with Alma at the 4th clip.

7 bolts to cold shuts (the book says 9, I think my count is accurate). Stick clip the first bolt or risk decking in the creek or on the plank (even worse). Watch your rope when lowering, it goes over the fairly sharp lip of the roof.