This formation is around the right (south east) side of Zenyatta Entrada.  It climbs the prairie dog/alien looking towers separated from the tower of babel by a gash.  Start further right & climb a sandy crack into a U, then into a cavern, up on top of a fin, c2 or a1 chossy seam to a clean (for arches) section that ribs in a ridge.  Go around to the north of the formation, then go up a nice 9+ crack to the alien heads.  Full bridge stem up between the heads, then offwidth to the top of the lower two heads.  Clip Jimmie's psychological protection, and without falling, 11 slab move to the upper head.

The Three Gargoyles

Zenyatta Entrada

P1 original

5.6 C2, 25m.

Between the huge boulder leaning against the cliff to your right, and the largish block on your left make a couple of easier free moves onto the ledge atop the left block placing you below the thin splitter crack with the obvious pin scars. A yellow master cam can protect the opening moves, and a #5 or #6 BD Camalot can protect the move onto the ledge if you're so inclined.

From the ledge follow the splitter crack into the right-facing corner above and then over the small roof above the corner. HB/DMM Alloy Offset nuts work like a dream in the pin scars. Once above the roof microcams mixed with nuts are the ticket (again, offsets work well) until you reach the belay anchor.

P1 variation

5.4 C1 or 5.10, 25m.

Stem and climb up onto the large boulder on the right. Take the crack that goes up from the right side of the boulder. This starts as .75 BD and eventually widens to 4 inches. There is a bit of looseness just before the ledge so be careful.

P2

C2, 25m.

From the belay anchor step left and follow the obvious scars up the shallow, left-facing corner. Cams mixed with nuts work well; A four-inch cam is useful a bit below the obvious bulge above, but the cam placement can't be seen from below.

The bulge to the right of the triangular roof responds well to small nuts (offsets and Wild Country Superlight Rocks seem to be the ticket), and from there it's a mix of nuts and cams to the belay anchor.

P3

C2, 30m.

Head up the thin crack using small nuts for twenty feet or so, then a few larger nuts. The last 15 feet or so below the optional belay chains you'll be very happy to have doubles in red through blue tricams for use in the blown out pin scars. Without the tricams the placements will be somewhat nerve-wracking.

Note that if you are so inclined, you could stretch P2 to the optional belay anchor; it'd probably help a bit with rope drag.

From the optional belay anchor, head left and up to a fixed pin (a blue tricam is useful in a blown out scar before the pin). The first of two bolts is up and left from the pin. It's possible to do the required pendulum to the corner to the left from the first bolt, but it's a bit dicey so do yourself a favor and wait until the second bolt.

Once in the corner purple-C4-size cams work well as the right-leaning crack gradually widens to green C4 size, and then red C4 size as it becomes horizontal for four or five feet. More red C4-size cams to get over the bulge and then up the lower-angled crack to the belay anchor (a last purple C4 is nice, and a few easy free/french free moves to the chains are possible if you're impatient).

P4

C3, 30m.

From the anchors step up and slightly right using a bolt to a stance, and some dicey placements (a tenuous-looking pink tricam with an even more tenuous-looking nut above works) lead to a narrow ledge atop a flake, below a sketchy-looking wedge bolt with most of the threads visible. If you aren't abnormally tall, a large Ibis hook placement on the ledge directly below the bolt allows you to step up and reach the bolt.

From the bolt a small cam (yellow offset Mastercam or red alien) under the left of the roof leads to some offset nut placements up the left-facing corner. At the top of the corner under the roof are two bolts followed by a drilled angle. The moves out from under the roof onto the face to the right are strenuous, and figuring out how to make use of the boxed-out scars takes a bit of head-scratching (hint: orange Mastercam).

Once on the face traverse slightly up and mostly right using fixed pins to a bolt below the belay anchor. Various scary combinations of placements and moves are possible, but it will take some commitment,

P5

5.3 C2. 25m

From the belay head up and right using two bolts with hangers and a hangerless stud between to a thin left-leaning crack. A few not-quite-confidence-inspiring nut placements in pin scars lead to a fixed pin, and from thence it's up and a bit right along the crack with nuts and microcams to a short, tight-hands-sized horizontal.

From the horizontal it's up and right along a bolt ladder with two fixed pins. When the ladder ends a few easy free moves using boxed-out pin scars lead to the belay anchors.

P6

3rd class C0. 20m.

Walk counter-clockwise around the shoulder to the lowest point on the cap rock and follow a two bolt ladder up to the summit. A little more scrambling leads to the true summit.

Admin Note

: The above is aggregated from comments below and personal experience.

Description

Protection

Routes in Tower of Babel