Cool Hand Luke

This is a very good and sustained pitch with lots of variety. It's located on the north side of the Nautilus just west of the Horticulture area. Start up the left-facing corner system and climb through moderate but sometimes insecure terrain. The first half is harder than it looks, with [tricky] gear in spots, maybe 5.9+ or easy 5.10.

Once you've arrived at the base of the overhanging, flared hand crack, things get much harder. Power up this sustained crack for 15 or 20 feet, the crux is getting over the bulge at the top of this section. For people with thin hands, the jams may feel relatively secure, but many will find it thin and flared. A nice rest stance comes after the overhang and under the final roof/offwidth.

Work into the wide crack, this upper crux is getting off the stance and into the crack initially. This bit felt like 5.10c or so, and can be protected with a #4 Camalot. From there, easier 5.9 fists takes you to the top. Walk off to the west.

Quite a nice route, even by Nautilus standards. I took the liberty of increasing the rating a bit over the 5.10d listed in the guidebook. I've done other 5.1la routes in Vedauwoo that felt easier than Cool Hand Luke, and this felt similar to

Boardwalk

(5.11b) in difficulty and type of climbing, so the 11a seems justified by Vedauwoo standards. (Also, three others who climbed it that day thought it was 11+ so it may still be tough for it's rating).

Standard Vedauwoo rack with plenty of cams, and some nuts. The crux will require 1.5 to 2-inch cams, and make sure you have a couple of pieces in the #3 to #4 Camalot size for the final wide crack at the top.