Myth Wall, 5.5-5.11a

Polished limestone is the norm in the Greenbelt, but back in 2014, Adam Mitchell, owner of Rock-About, in my opinion the best guide service in the Austin area, gifted the climbing community with 10 new bolted routes on 2 "new" walls: Myth and Rubber. Both walls, while becoming increasingly popular, still have plenty of sharp, sticky rock. 

 

Rubber Wall is a little easier than Myth overall and is starting to get some polish to show for it, but Myth Wall still feels and look great. None of the lead routes here are easy (there are 5 bolted routes and 1 TR route), not even the 5.8 that is the easiest lead on the wall (it has some awkward and tricky moves for the grade). The other four bolted routes go from a height-dependent 10a/b to an 11a; I know 5.10 is now a moderate grade to many minds and that some are even calling 11a moderate these days, but many people who climb the routes on this wall find the grades to be pretty stiff.

 

Myth Wall is the second, from left to right, of five walls in the Gus Fruh area: Gus Fruh (some divide this into two separate walls), Myth Wall, Kingdom of Ging, Rubber Wall, and Guide's Wall. It is easy to identify because it is just before the obvious long overhangs that define Kingdom of Ging and because all the routes have glue-in bolts.

 

A 30m rope and 5 quickdraws will cover you for anything on this wall; all routes have "sport anchors" that you can clip and then lower/TR off directly.

 

From left to right:

• Poseidon, 5.10c
• Athena, 5.10d-- Crux is a tough roof pull, but the finish is deceptively hard.
• Rhea, 5.10a/b-- Good route and fairly sustained.
• Phoebe, 5.11a-- Tough moves after second bolt to a good pocket. Once you have the pocket, pull onto the ledge and enjoy easier climbing.
• Aphrodite, 5.8 PG 13-- Some awkward moves make this harder than the typical area 5.8. Even after you know the moves, it's still awkward. For a 5.9 or 10a variation, start directly beneath the first bolt instead of right of it as most do. The PG 13 is my addition; storms associated with Hurricane Harvey bent a huge tree down very close to this route; now, a fall before the second or third bolt may involve hitting the tree.
• Unnamed TR, 5.5-- It's easy to hang a TR on this after leading Aphrodite. I've also seen people just free solo it to hang the rope for kids or newer climbers. And it will go on gear, though you wouldn't want to fall. ;-)