Mutt Ridin Monkey

Mutt Ridin Monkey is a wonderful route that climbs up a beautiful section of white rock on the right side of the Aspen Glade. The crux comes early between the ground and the second clip. Leaders at their limit should be careful at the second clip because given the bolt spacing, a blown clip will put you very close to the deck (this is fixed...see comments below). That said, the climbing in this section is fun and engaging with sidepulls and pinches; not your standard Iris fare. It is rare to find such a moderate, long route at the Iris and thus I think this route is a real standout (many of the other longish routes are at least 11+).

After the second clip the rock angle slabs out a bit and the leader is blessed with a nearly endless supply of sinker pockets and good rock until a horizontal break at about the height of the big roof that Spurs Equal Velocity climbs through. At this point the route character changes slightly to smaller crimps and feet, though the grade stays moderate. Move up and right clipping the last few bolts and end at nearly the top of the cliff at two huge open cold shuts (though the shuts are open, you can't slip the rope through, so you will have to hang and thread the anchor).

Locate the Aspen Glade wall and find the low roof in the middle of the wall. Spurs Equal Velocity tackles the right side of the roof. Two new routes with glue-ins (not fully equipped as of July 2013) are to the right of Spurs. The next route is Mutt Ridin.

Alternatively, find Californios, which is the farthest right route on the wall and find the next route to the left; this is Mutt Ridin.

All bolts (maybe 7-8 plus anchors). Be careful getting to and clipping the second bolt because a slip could be bad. From the second clip to the horizontal break, the bolting is safe but spaced; this gives the route a nice exciting feel. The bolt spacing after the break is much closer, which I assume was done to keep you from getting hurt ankles should you fall moving through the last few clips to the anchors.

The route shares anchors with Californios.