Yellow Rose of Texas

5.11 trad · 7 pitches · ★★★☆

Route 9 of 17 from left to right on The Texas Wall / West Velvet Wall, with The Shuffle on its left and Plein Air on its right. The Texas Wall / West Velvet Wall has 17 routes, from 5.9 to 5.13a PG13; 9 are harder, and 2 others are the same grade.

First ascent: Joe Herbst & the Uriosites - 1978

Description

With a few good pitches and a few bad ones, Yellow Rose of Texas is a mixed bag. It is also a bit of a sandbag - I’ll try to correct the grades in this description. In my opinion, the best value might be to climb the lower half of Texas Hold ‘em to the top of Texas Tower, then to rap into the last pitch (the OW) and do this in isolation, but if you want to do the route in its entirety read on. Begin just behind the large water pool in Black Velvet Canyon - about 200’ past Epinephrine. Tunnel through some bushes and scramble onto some boulders below the starting crack.

Location

Begin just behind the large water pool in Black Velvet Canyon - about 200’ past Epinephrine.

Protection

1x 0.2 to #5 Camalot (a single #5 should be considered mandatory but multiples or larger cams are unnecessary if you’re comfortable walking the #5). Stoppers. Draws and Slings.

Access

The 13-mile Scenic Drive requires a timed-entry reservation October to May and has seasonal gate hours. Calico Basin and Kraft Mountain sit outside the Scenic Drive and need no reservation.

Wet rock: Aztec sandstone loses much of its strength when wet. Do not climb for at least 24 to 48 hours after rain or snowmelt, or holds break off and routes are permanently damaged.

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