Climbing Route Log

I've climbed a lot of different routes and many of them are described in overly-verbose detail in my Adventure Library or Climbing pages. But many don't rate a full trip report. I'll list everything here for easy digestion. Unless otherwise noted, all climbs were with Amy Danforth (nee Rosenberg).

Flatirons > First Flatiron > Fandango (5.5) (5/8/10, w/Fabio, Peter)

A fiasco on Fandango from start to finish, but a great climb anyway. Fabio forgot his helmet, harness, and belay device. Fortunately, we were able to scrape together spares. I lead all pitches, including an alternate for P3 and the first half of P4, a variation to the left of the usual crux pitch which was lovely. P5 brought us to the top of the next-to-last tower whence we unroped and trotted to the summit under leaden skies.

RMNP > Loch Vale > Timberline Falls (1/16/10, w/Fabio, Scott, Julien)

Finally made it up to Timberline Falls at the outlet to Lake of Glass. Great conditions and pristine, untouched ice. Left side (main flow) was 100' of sustained WI3. Right side was a steep bulge to a low angle ramp to a choice of short, hard boulder problems. Two laps on each in perfect conditions.

RMNP > Glacier Gorge > Jewel Lake Ice (yet again, 12/12/09, w/Fabio, Matt)

  • Main Flow (WI3) - Not our first choice, but a wise one given the weather. 'Decent ice conditions. Everyone got three laps and I started things out with my first serious ice lead (or at least 75% of it).

    Flatirons > Satan's Slab (11/24/09, w/Fabio)

  • Enchanted Devil (5.4 Trad) - Fantastic route despite the arduous, icy approach and gnarly, bushwhacking descent. A seven pitch route which we stretched into 3.5 thanks to my long 70m rope. Two nice pitches on the third piece of the second-stratum on the north side of skunk canyon to the ridgeline, then a traverse around a huge boulder, and another pitch and a half of glorious sunny rock to the summit. Consistently 5.4 the entire way with decent pro (for a flatiron).

    Eldorado Canyon > Wind Tower (7/16/09, w/KG Lee)

    Hot, low-key day at Eldo with an e-partner from Back East.
  • Tigger (5.5 Trad) - My second climb of this route. I took the first pitch and found it pretty easy except for the two-move crux right before the belay ledge. KG took the second pitch and headed straight up the dihedral under the Tagger roof where it looked like there was a ledge to traverse left. This was not the case. He downclimbed it, took a quick break, then tackled the left-leading ramp and blocky roof to the easy going above. I attempted to pull the first move on the third pitch and decided against it.
  • Recon to Bomb link-up (5.4 Trad) - KG was looking for something a little easier, so he lead P1 of Recon. From the belay ledge, we spied what turned out to be P2 of The Bomb, so he lead that. The route must have been a little non-standard as he climbed a very runout, loose slab with little pro and lots of lichen.

    Boulder Canyon > Rock Island I (7/3/09, w/Amy, Geary, Julie, Jeff, & Dyan (plus kids))

    It was a very "Boulder" moment; three couples and their young kids alternating climbing, belaying, and minding the kids. We had the pack-n-play set up in the shade of the overhang between the routes. Tourists, runners, and cyclists passed, the whole nine yards. I don't know much about these routes, including names and ratings. So I'm making it up.
  • Dihedral (5.7 TR) - Steep dihedral directly across from the bridge. Steep and thoughtful, but all the holds are there. Very nice route. Strangely, I didn't see any permanent anchors for this one and set a gear anchor. Tried a second variation by scaling the arete to the left. Hard but feasible for the first fifteen feet, then gets very hard.
  • Zig-Zag Bulges (5.7 TR) - Jeff lead this short route through a series of four bulges to a two-bolt anchor about fifty feet around the rock from the dihedral. The difference between this rock and the adjacent climb is like night and day. More challenging than it looked.

    Boulder Canyon > Solaris (6/26/09, w/Amy)

    The first time we've been out together on rock since November of 2007. Checked out a new area and did an exciting Tyrolean traverse.
  • Don't Get Me Started (5.6 sport lead) - Strange little climb. I was expecting it to be quite easy, but there were a couple of genuinely hard moves (especially on lead). Seven bolts to a nice anchor with a great view.
  • Start Me Up (5.7 sport lead) - Nice steep face past three bolts to a more mellow slab for another two. Great climb, but ended just as I was getting into it. Too bad it's not twice the length.

    Boulder Canyon > Bihedral (4/26/09, w/ Eric, Ben)

    A mellow early-season cragging trip on a day of better-than-expected weather.
  • Hold the Line (5.9 sport lead) - Last time up this, I remember it being pretty mellow. On lead, it's a different matter with one very dicey section near the top.
  • Rhodian Shores (5.10b TR) - Lots of very very thin face moves to some nice flake action up top.
  • High Hard One (5.8-ish sport lead) - New crappy line. Easy and over-bolted down below with 10' of hard (9+) slab up top that I avoided by traversing to easier ground.

    RMNP > Jewel Lake Ice (aka Overflow) (1/10/09, w/ Matt)

    Second time at the Overflow with a bit less ice than last time. Took three laps on the main flow. Nice and mellow.

    RMNP > Jewel Lake Ice (aka Overflow) (11/16/08, w/ Andy, Matt, Peter)

    First ice of the season and a worthy breaking-in of my new CAMP Awax tools (wow!). Two pitches on the main flow; about 75' of WI2-2+. Then one short pitch on the left side pillar (very fragile, maybe WI3?). The new tools were a big hit with everyone who used them exclusively after my inaugural climb.

    First Flatiron > Standard Route 5.6 (10/29/08, w/ Eric)

    A much-needed day of hooky playing to celebrate our respective 36th birthdays. Swung leads with Eric. First two pitches were quite stout, second two were much more mellow. Bailed off the top of Baker's Way since we were feeling mellow and hiked up to the top and down the regular trail. Wonderful day on the rock.

    Eldorado Canyon > Supremacy Rock (5/18/08, self-rescue practice with large group)

  • Simple Simon (5.6 TR) - Set up for belay escape and jugging practice, I figured I'd climb it anyway. Harder than it looks, but still not that hard.
  • Supremacy Slab (5.9+ TR) - It was nice to climb this one again since it was one of the first routes I climbed when I moved to Boulder. While I struggled with it before, it wasn't bad this time; so maybe I have improved in the last four and a half years! Nice, delicate moves on steep and slick slab.

    Vedauwoo > Nautilus (4/19/08, w/ large group)

  • Etude for the Right/Left Hand (5.5 sport and TR) - Four laps total on this easy slab, two on the right (easier) side including the initial lead and TR set-up, and two on the harder left side. Nice slab, but short.
  • Hair Lip (5.9+ TR) - "5.9 plus what?" Seconded for Dan Dalton's epic lead. Steep and very physical mix of fingertips to fist jamming on parallel crack systems. Very hard for someone as out of shape as me.

    Eldorado Canyon > West Ridge (3/8/08, w/Cushman, Fabio, Eric, Jeff)

  • Verschneidung (5.7) - My first climb in four months! I lead P1 which was largely easy and then belayed Mark on the harder P2. The dihedral was pretty physical and I was just as glad to have not lead it.
  • Unsaid (5.9, TR) - a classic hard slab and dihedral climb. Being tall, I could reach through many of the cruxen. Still challenging and fun.
  • Mesca-line (5.7, TR) - First pitch only. A beautiful line that gets harder and harder the higher you get. The last 20' is pretty challenging, especially in my weakened state.

    Boulder Canyon > Lower Falls (1/19/08 w/Tim and Adam)

  • Ramp (WI 2) Bitter cold and windy, but a nice enough half-day of climbing anyway. Cleaned Tim's lead of this long, easy pitch, then tackled the first 40' as my FIRST ICE LEAD!!! Overall, it was extremely mellow and a non-event. Placed three screws confidently, then rapped off the bail slings up there. The new tool leashes worked wonderfully.

    Clear Creek Canyon > Coors Light (1/5/08 w/ Andy, Jeff, Adam, Scott, Brian, Fabio, Eric)

  • Coors Light (WI 2-3) Four pitches on the upper flow, one on the long lower flow including a mock lead. Lots of fun, warm and social. TR and photos here

    Vedauwoo (11/10-11/07 w/ Eric B., Eric L, Jeff, Andy, Amy)

    Walt's Wall

  • Foolishness (5.4) - backed off P1 and seconded for Jeff. Tough, flaring fist crack crux, then easy underclings and face climbing on P2 and P3.
  • Walt's Wall (5.4) - Impromptu lead of P1 to retrieve a stuck rope. A one move wonder.

    Fall Wall

  • Easy Overhang Layback (5.5) - Seconded for Eric B. on his fourth lead. Nice climb.
  • Cold Fingers (5.7 sport lead) - Bolted face route. Got off-route at the top and ended up on Drop Zone (5.10ish) for a dozen feet. Not too bad, but stiffer than the actual route there.

    Valley Massif

  • Powder Puff (aka Power Puff, 5.4) - Eric B. lead in a very bold climb. Amy cleaned and then brought me up. Route is a delicate ramp to nice hand/fist crack, then a few optional stiff slab moves. Interesting "walk" off involving some chimneying. Nice route.

    Big Thompson Canyon > The Monastery > Magical Mystery Tower (10/13/07 w/ a big group of people)

    Andy and I have been talking about going up to the Monastery for years now and it's nice to finally do it, in honor of his 30th birthday no less. Weather was less than ideal, but we had a large, rambunctious crew anyway.
  • No Mystery Here (5.7 sport lead) - Fabio backed off this lead, tallest route (by a long shot) in the entire area. I gave it a shot and got through the initial crux since I have a few more inches of reach than Fabio. From there on it was a marathon of pebble pinching on super-rough 70 degree granite past 12 bolts to the top. At 135', we didn't have a long enough rope to top rope this, so I brought Fabio up from an uncomfortable semi-hanging belay. We tied two ropes together and rapped off. Amy climbed it next followed by Eric. No one else seemed to want to take it on, so I climbed it again to clean the gear. The rumbling of thunder in the background made it a bit of a tense, accellerated operation.

    Boulder Canyon > Second Elephant Buttress (9/23/07 w/Eric)

  • Pine Tree Route (5.5) - Eric's second trad lead. Without much ado, he jumped on and scampered up placing about ten peices of gear along the way. I cleaned each peices (almost all were great and the rest were okay). Nice route and a good beginner lead to be sure. Rapped out and spent an hour working on anchor building before the rain started.

    Flatirons > Fern Canyon > Pellaea (5.5, 9/2/07 w/Amy)

    Back to my favorite flatiron. It was a long, hot approach, but the climbing was stellar. I took P1 and had less trouble on the first crux (a steep chute 30' above the last gear on dime edges, whee!). Ran out the entire rope and set a belay at the last good ledge for quite a while. Amy was coerced into leading P2 and got a bit wigged at the lack of good gear. But she persevered and set a decent anchor a little short of the belay ledge. I took over again on P3 and found it a lot harder than I remembered. Scant gear and lots of steep, thin bulge moves. Ran the rope out to it's full 60 meters again, but reached the summit. Despite taking care with the rope this time, we still nearly got it stuck on rappel and only by both of us hauling away were we able to get it unstuck. It was really nice to get out with my favorite climbing partner again and on one of my favorite rocks to boot.

    Eldorado Canyon > Redgarden Wall (8/16/07 w/Richard and Nina)

    P1 of Rewritten (5.7, scary!) followed by Swanson's Arete (5.5). Hot with long and annoying raps. Richard and Nina's first real outdoor climb. The climbing went very well, but they were a little wigged by the exposure. See more complete report.

    Eldorado Canyon > Wind Tower (7/26/07 w/ Eric)

    Casual morning of climbing before Eric moves out here permanently. Went to Wind Tower for a trad lead clinic. I set up a TR on P1 of Recon (5.4) and Eric did a mock lead. Unfortunatley, the gear isn't all that plentiful and he only got in five pieces the whole way up. Admittedly, this is more than I placed, but I wasn't looking all that hard. We simulrapped off and Eric boldly tackled The Bomb (5.4) next over for his FIRST TRAD LEAD. It went quite well. He placed about 8 peices, most of them quite good with only a few stinkers. More importantly, he moved with confidence after some initial nerves at the bottom. A very nice job, and at Eldo, no less! See more verbose account.

    Rocks State Park (6/28/07, w/ Indy and Steve!)

    What a perfect way to wrap up a business trip to Baltimore, return to my roots at Rocks State Park with Indy. We met up with the ebulant Steve at the rock. Swelteringly hot!
  • Vertical (5.6 TR) It's nice to be on the slick Maryland rock. I used to do laps on this one, but I'd forgotten how steep it is. Plenty of holds, but I'm not used to the pump anymore. Did two climbs of this one.
  • Breakaway Right (5.9 TR) This one and it's left variant were still on my list when I left the state four years ago. Climbed the thoughtful dihedral below the block, broke away right, and pulled up crimpers and finger locks on the long, steep face above. Finished pretty gripped out.
  • Breakaway Left (5.9+ TR) Figured I'd come all this way, I might as well go whole-hog. Climbed the dihedral again, then broke left to the big ledge at the crux. Couldn't manage the awkward, shallow finger layback before and didn't have sufficient chutzpah to do it this time either. Oh well. Good climb anyway.

    Boulder Canyon > Bihedral (6/19/07, w/Amy, Jeff, and 8 others)

    Another after work gig and this time we actually got all the way up to the Bihedral. Definitely non-trivial approach, but worth it.
  • Hold the Line (5.9 TR) Nice face climb with a few thoughtful spots. Did it twice, second time avoiding the crack features which makes it a bit harder.
  • Rhodian Shores (5.10b TR) Nice face line with a pretty tough crux down low. Ended up doing a stange sideways dyno to a big hand ledge. Upper part much more casual.

    Boulder Canyon > Riviera (6/13/07, w/Amy, Joby, and Kat)

    Nice after-work climb ostensibly at the Bihedral. Justin and Kristie managed to scramble up there, but the rest of us bailed out to the Riviera instead.
  • Topless Etiquette (5.8 sport lead) - I'm not a sport climber, but I'm not too proud to clip bolts occasionally. This is a really nice line with lots of little cruxes between decent stances and bolts about a body-length apart. Nice way to shake the dust off my brain.
  • Devil's Dihedral (5.9+ TR) - Wow, this is my new favorite climb in the Canyon. Fantastic stemming, laybacking and other gymnastic moves on a very smooth dihedral. Total fun and pretty hard.
  • Birthday Suit (5.10a TR) - Man, I can't believe Joby lead this sucker! Side-pulls on dime edges and lots of smearing. Wicked-hard (for me at least).

    Eldo > Wind Tower (6/9/07, w/Amy)

    I was feeling mellow, but Amy was gung-ho to get out and lead something, her first lead in over a year. She scampered up P1 of Recon (5.4) trying out some new gear and playing with anchors for a while. Nice mellow day.

    Eldorado Canyon > Wind Tower (5/20/07, w/ Mike and Amy)

    A casual day at Eldo. Set out to climb Recon but got a bit confused. Climbed first pitch of Recon (5.4) to the big ledge. Then traversed left and got on what turned out to be a face just left of The Bomb (5.4) which I would say went at about 5.5 or so to a pair of bolts. Easy enough climbing, but needed more small gear than I'd brought and was forced to improvise a bit. Rapped out rather than continuing up. Nice day. Mellow.

    First Flatiron > Fandango (5.5, 5/9/07, w/ Eric)

    Eric was out for a quick work visit, but we managed to get in two days of fun. On his last day, we scampered up my favorite route on the First, Fandango. I've modified the route a bit and can now do it in 5-and-a-bit pitches. Beautiful day and a great route. The crux pitch (P3) was exciting since someone else had already sewn up the (few) key gear placements.

    South Platte > Turkey Rocks (4/21-22/07, w/ Justin and Kristie)

    A last-minute substitution for a planned Paradox Valley climbing trip. Spent two nights camping and two days climbing on grippy granite cracks. It's been a long time since I climbed anything, never mind challenging cracks at or above my level, so I am left sore, scarred, and satisfied.

    Saturday, Turkey Perch: After a sunny start, it clouded up and became quite chilly. Still, we had a social, dog-infested time at Turkey's most popular crag.

  • Sangaphagos (5.6 lead) - First climb of the season? Why not make it a lead up an off-width crack? There were moments when I doubted my sanity, but it wasn't that bad and definitely blew the dust out of my system. There were features inside the crack and some on the faces as well so I got great gear and so-so holds.
  • Reefer Madness (5.8 TR) - One route over from Sangophagos, Justin had set up a TR on this nice, varied crack. I don't remember much of the bottom, but the middle and top were lovely. I got to work on hand cracks and then finish off on a dicey little bit of slab. Fun!
  • Left Handed Jew (5.7 TR) - A classic that I've had my eye on (mostly for the name) for years. A nice, easy hand jam up a left-facing dihedral-and-crack system. Traversed left under a small roof on a nice ledge and then pulled through the roof (the crux) to more crack above. Really wonderful. I'll lead this next time.
  • Honky Jam Ass Crack (5.7 TR) - Just left of Lefthanded Jew and actually a bit harder. The crack is full of flakes and all kinds of good holds, but the crux comes high at a very committing couple of crack moves.
  • Steppenwolf (5.9 TR attempt) - After Justin's bold send of Steppenwolf, someone had to clean it. I drew the short straw. The first third of the route was flaring off-width and I struggled mightily, but just couldn't stick it. Justin finally cleaned the gear on rappel.

    Sunday, Leftovers - After snow in the night, the sun came out fiercely and melted things in earnest. The south-facing rock was pretty warm and dry.

  • Reptillian Wall (5.6 lead) - Kristie lead this one and had such fun, I had to give it a shot as well. It's a short, leaning hand and finger crack next to a big, scaly wall seperated by a wide chimney. The crack takes gear like crazy and there are enough face features that I only did the really good jams. Very casual and fun.
  • Chicken Legs (5.9 TR) - From the top of Reptillian Wall, we TRed a face with a crack on the lower half. The top slab was steep and challenging, but largely forgettable.
  • Mellow Yellow (5.8 TR) - Towards the center of the Leftovers, Justin did a long, bold lead up Mellow Yellow, then bringing Kristie and I up in sequence. The bottom was a bit of awkward but easy chimney with opposing cracks. Then some thin finger cracks to a ledge. The crux came with a long, hard hand crack with occasional foot ledges over to the left (the only thing saving it from a much harder rating) followed by a nice series of powerful moves over the yellow flake from whence the route gets its name. The second pitch is short and looked quite easy from below. Justin lead it to the summit and brought Kristie and I up again. Turns out the pitch isn't very easy at all (5.7) with a very steep, thin-hands crack and largely featureless face. Great, chilly views in all directions, then an involved scramble and hike down to the base.


    Boulder Canyon > Upper Falls > The Slabs (1-14-07, w/ Chris, Bill, and a bunch of other folks)

    A quick, impromptu half-day of climbing. Heavy snows followed by cold temps lead us to believe that the ice would be in. Lower Falls was pretty thin, but Upper was relatively fat. Three obvious lines available. A party of four including Cornelia, the woman who taught the CMC Class almost two years ago to the day, had the right-most line up (WI2-ish). We scrambled up to the aquaduct and rigged a dandy anchor on the left-most line (WI4-?). Two laps on each gave my new tools a good workout. Bill arrived after two climbs and got in three himself, his first on ice of any sort. He did very well after some initial misgivings. Claims to be hooked now. I know the feeling. All in all, a nice day out that trippled my pitches so far this season.

    RMNP > Wild Basin > Hidden Falls Main Flow (WI3-4ish) (12-10-06, w/ Fabio, Andy, Peter, Brian, Chris)

    Six of us headed up for some ice cragging at Hidden Falls under Brian's auspices. We had the place to ourselves and winter seemed to have taken a break for a couple days, but the ice was far from in the best possible conditions. The upper pillar was completely chandelliered, while the lower blob was mostly too fragile yet to climb. We rigged a TR and managed to find a relatively fat line on the far right of the lower blob. Each of us got two climbs in. Chris, Brian, and I tackled the thin smear on the right. My ice system is better than last time, but still needs some work (new crampons, sharper picks). Didn't place any screws on lead, but messed around extensively on flat ground. The new speed knobs make an amazing difference!

    Flatirons > Fern Canyon > Pellaea > East Face (5.5) (11-25-06, w/ Fabio)

    I wasn't feeling well, so we canned the planned long trip in RMNP and opted for a mellow Flatiron climb. Pellaea is on the Roach top ten list but few people every climb it. It's isolated and still has that wild feeling. I took P1 and found the crux about 100' up to be a 20' smooth, steep chute. Dime edges 30' above my last gear. Very intense. Fabio took P2 and stretched it out over all kinds of slabby terrain. I took the last pitch which was also about half a rope length to the summit. Pure fun with lots of interesting, airy positions. Beautiful place, very isolated, lots of ravens. Rapped north into the Pellaea/Onoclaea notch (cool!) and got the rope stuck. Yarded hard enough to get it out finally (lucky!). Great, casual climb on the best flatiron I've climbed in quite a while.

    Eldo > Redgarden Wall > Icarus (5.6) (10-29-06, w/ Fabio and Andy)

    A nice birthday multipitch during unseasonably mild weather. Andy had never been to Eldo before and Fabio had only climbed the lower rocks, so we headed for the mid-Redgarden wall. Fabio tackled a bold lead on the first pitch of Rewritten (5.6) to get us to the Red Ledge. Not as bad as I'd feared, but the very cold rock made the moves challenging. I took the first pitch of Icarus and enjoyed wandering under a bunch of roofs and dihedrals for a while. Easy enough although I ended up overshooting the belay to a tiny belay step in an otherwise sheer face. Fabio took the remainder of P2 to a large ledge with trees. I tackled the final pitch which is the same as the last pitch of Yellow Spur. First 10' were okay with good holds and pro, but after that it became a blunt arete with no holds and no pro. The strong gusts and mega exposure made me retreat and use an easy escape on the left.

    Upper Dream Cyn (9-10-06) w/Amy & Justin

    A quick half-day of cragging before the rains came in.
  • Standard Route (5.5 TR) - Amy lead this overbolted sport lead and did well.
  • Technical Remote Viewing (5.10c TR) - Hard hard hard! Didn't make it past the crux.
  • Long Dong Dihedral (5.6 lead) - Two pitch route which is no harder than 5.4 except for one 5.6 move. Still rated at 5.8 in the book. Feh! Nice enough, but short for a two-pitch climb. Swung with Justin.

    First Flatiron (9-4-06) w/ Mark

  • Fandango (5.5, 6 pitches)

    Scout Rock, S. St. Vrain Cyn (8-23-06) w/Amy, Kristie, Justin, Tony, Jason

    First climb in a while. Felt great.
  • KeeMoSaBe (5.9 TR) - Pretty easy for the grade except for one smeary-desperate move near the top. Nice warm-up.
  • Cornered (5.9 sport lead) - Jumped on this on a whim and did fine despite some tense moments. Four bolts up an easy slab, then four more up a steep, slippery corner/off-width. Cheated around the top (crux) moves by moving around onto the arete. Nice.
  • Rawhide (5.10c TR) - Weird and varied. Used to be 11c, but a key hold was revealed when a bush was removed. Super-wide stemming, then a fist jam+bulgy mantle into a chimney. Then 40' of 3-4' wide chimney climbing. Stiff, but fun.

    Nip and Tuck, Boulder Canyon (7-23-06) w/Amy, Peter, Eileen, Fabio

    Back to Nip and Tuck. It was mobbed with three different guided groups, but we still managed a couple of toprope setups.
  • Arette (5.10 TR) - This was a hell of a warm-up. Steep and crimpy, I only made it up to the crux before bailing.
  • Boiling Point (5.9 TR) - Way right on Tuck, a nice smooth face with a fingers-and-smaller crack. Crimpy and balancy. Just the kind of thing I like. Did it twice for kicks. Gave the gym rats something to thing about, that's for sure.
  • Hypotenuse (5.9 TR) - Overhanging dihedral route immediately to the left of Boiling Point. Works your knowledge of opposing forces (stemming). Nice enough, but very hot.

    Sport Park, Boulder Canyon (7-19-06) w/J, K, Lisa, Jason

    Love it or hate it, Sport Park is a bit different from the rest of Boulder Canyon. Over-bolted, over-rated, and with chipped holds, it gathers wrath from purists everywhere. Whatever. I'm just here to climb and am not too proud to clip more bolts than strictly neccessary.
  • Monkey Bob (5.8 TR) - One-move wonder on almost limestoney granite. That one move, pulling over a roof, is exciting, but the rest of the route was quite mellow and nice.
  • Frictionary (5.7 sport lead) - Nice climb with a couple of thoughtful moves. Probably a 5.6.
  • The Touch (5.8 TR) - Really nice line up a series of jam cracks with some face moves thrown in as well. Probably a legitimate 5.8, too.

    Nip and Tuck, Boulder Canyon (7-13-06) w/Amy, Kristie, Justin

  • Surprising Slab (5.8) - Climbed this twice with slightly different variations. None of them were hard enough to warrant a 5.8 rating.
  • Unknown (5.6) - Right side of the big dihedral. Made it difficult with a nice roof move, but otherwise quite mellow and easy.
  • Classic Finger Crack (5.9) - Repeated on this one with a lot less trouble this time. Nice and pumpy.

    Castle Rock, Boulder Canyon (7-4-06) w/Amy

  • West Face (5.5) - Amy wanted to lead something and lead P1 of this three-pitch moderate before. P1 was a steep climb up a chimney and face to a pair of bolts and tree. From there, things were less obvious and Amy backed off P2 after checkiing several possibilities. I took over and grunted through a fairly stiff crack to easier ground. Belayed behind and above the large pillar. P3 also featured several possibilities. I choose a stiff squeeze chimney which quickly lead to easier ground. Scrambled half way down, then rapped 20 meters from a tree.

    Nip and Tuck, Boulder Canyon (6-27-06) w/Eric

    A quiet half-day of toproping.
  • Hare Balls (5.7) and Surprising Slab (5.8) - A pair of nice climbs with thin but consistent face holds. Nice.
  • Classic Finger Crack (5.9) - Like the name says, a finger crack that's classic. A few burly moves up a steep crack. For extra difficulty, try avoiding the bomber face hold on the right near the top.

    The Pear, Lumpy Ridge (6-26-06) w/ Eric

    No climbing junket to Colorado would be complete without a weekday expedition to Lumpy Ridge. Good climbing, good views.
  • Magical Chrome-Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe (5.6) - Ultraclassic and highly recommended by all and sundry. P1 was a short crack and face climb to a marvelously comfortable belay stance (where I scored a booty sliding nut!). P2 was a burly dihedral and roof system with great protection but stout layback moves. Eric struggled with the roofs and with one of my hex placements. P3 climbed a long ramp beside a short dihedral which took large gear like there was no tomorrow. Belay on a small platform where the dihedral died. P4 followed a system of dihedrals, cracks, and bulges to an upper ledge with a large tree. We were feeling mellow and content, so we bailed here rather than face the "devious 5.7" final pitch(es?). Walk off to the left, then through a tight canyon behind the Pear emerging on the east side walk-off trail. Great, varied route. Definitely want to do this one again. Plus I scored expensive booty!

    Redgarden Wall, Lumpy Ridge (6-24-06) w/ Eric and Amy

    To start Eric's Colorado Climbing Junket off right, we hit Eldo and Swanson's Arette, a route long on my to-do list.
  • West Chimney (5.5) - The easiest and least aesthetic of the three ways to get to the Red Ledge for the start of Swanson's. I lead this long pitch being surprised at how sketchy it was in places. Forgetable, but it does get you to the Red Ledge.
  • Swanson's Arette (5.5) - Awesome climb! Three pitches of cracks and dihedrals to the summit of Lumpe Tower high on the Redgarden Wall. The first and third pitches were the best with the middle being somewhat plebian. The last pitch is an intimidating-looking dihedral with a thin crack to a pair of imposing roofs. The pro and holds, however, are superb and I found myself on the scenic summit all too soon. We did, however, manage to fix two nuts on the way and Eric dropped a quickdraw. The rappel was a bit annoying being four pitches to the ground, the third and fourth on double ropes. Got back to the car just as the rain started and about fifteen minutes before the torential, nickle-sized hail started. Wow!

    Vedauwoo (5-27-28-06) w/Amy, Peter, Eileen

    Our second Voo expedition and a great get-away at the start of summer.

    The Rat Brain

    Cool dome of a rock that makes you feel like Le Petit Prince standing on his asteroid.
  • Southwest Friction (5.4) - Amy lead this easy sport route (two bolts to an anchor), then I ran up it. Short but good at the grade. Peter and Eileen each lead it for their respective first times on lead. Nice job, guys!
  • Kim (5.6, lead) - An esthetic hand-finger crack leaning to the right up the side of the Brain. Beautiful line but over too fast. Spicy as well until you get the finger-locks wired.

    Nautilus

    One of the most popular crags at the Voo with a little of everything.
  • Cornelius (5.5, lead) - Gorgeous right-leaning finger crack. Fairly mellow but very enjoyable. Downclimb leads through three tunnels!
  • Jam It (5.4, TR) - Classic, if easy, Voo offwidth. Tried this one as a pure off-width staying in the crack and found it to be pretty annoying. Much more interesting as a face climb using crack features occasionally.

    Bookmark/Left Book, Lumpy Ridge (5-21-06), w/ Amy, Justin, Kristie

    Our second expedition to Lumpy Ridge and the Left Book area.
  • Original Fantasy Ridge (5.6, 3 pitch trad lead) - In retrospect, this route was probably good for me. P1 started with a gungry grovel up a convoluted chimney with a couple of committing moves, then right on a dicey hand crack and up on easier, super-grippy granite to a belay ledge. P2 starts easily enough, then becomes a continuous 5.6 hand crack with a few wider parts. The lower part is steeper, but the upper part is long, long, long. As cracks go, it doesn't get much better than this, but crack climbing is not my forte under the best of circumstances and on lead with weather moving in is definitely not the best of circumstances! I sweated, swore, grunted, and willed my way up what rapidly became the hardest pitch I've ever lead. In the process, I probably quadrupled my crack climbing milage and learned a great deal about hand and foot jams and making desperate clips. However, there is still a lot to learn on all subjects! Finally, I just laybacked a couple spots which was more run-out but a lot faster and used different muscles. With great relief, I laybacked a small bulge and found that the crack became much lower angle. I set up a belay after proably 150' of crack and discovered I had placed everything on my rack with the exception of four small nuts and a sling! Amy came up and had less trouble than I (the joys of not being on lead) as the weather turned cold, windy, and spitting rain. I blasted up the short, lower-angle P3 to a roof where underclinging to the left (blessed underclings!) lead me to a spatious belay below the upper part of the Bookmark. Scrambled a bit and climbed a very short pitch to a rappel directly to the base of Bealzebub/Hiatus/White Whale. Safe!
  • Hiatus/Beelzebub variation (5.7-8, 3 pitch, seconded) - Fatigued from the harrowing climb, Amy and Kristie departed while Justin and I set out to do a quick climb of Hiatus, a parallel climb to the excellant White Whale. Justin lead the first pitch in hot sunny weather. Spicy and slabby, but not too bad. I gained cleaning experience; always a good thing. P2 was a great layback dihedral which rapidly went from head-sized to nothing taking a full range of gear. Headed right at the roof rather than following Hiatus and joining the top of White Whale (been there, done that). Belayed at right edge of roof. P3 started with a spicy move around the side of the roof and then 40+' of runout slab at a 5.8 level. Very spicy! Finished at Paperback Ledge and gratefully walked off.

    West Ridge, Eldorado Cyn (5-13-06), w/Amy, Peter, Julien, Yanick

    Approach was a bit interesting and we saw two snakes of various sorts. Scrambled up to the Unsaid wall and climbed four climbs.
  • Washington Irving (5.6 lead) - Awesome and focussing single-pitch lead on a really high-quality route. Sewed it up.
  • Sunshine Wall (5.8, TR) - Nice climb to an awkward traverse. Try Chianti instead?
  • The Unsaid (5.9, TR) - Hard and thoughtful route up a thick-to-thin crack. Moved onto face to keep it at 5.9. Julien managed the direct route which was much harder.
  • Next to Nearly (5.9, TR) - Nice and easy (certainly not 5.9). Might be a good beginner lead at the 5.5 level.

    The Spire, South St. Vrain Cyn (5-10-06) w/J&K, Amy

    A beautiful granite tower on the south side of the creek. Required an exciting wade through fast water to get there.
  • Hire Spire (5.8, 2nd) - A 105+ pitch on beautiful granite with an obligatory hand jam. I cleaned Kristie's gear to a two-bolt anchor. Very nice.
  • Center Slab (5.8+, TR) - 100' on steep and very exciting face. I stayed a bit right on this one following Dire Spire for the first half, then moved left below the roof and pulled over. Committing and fun.

    First Flatiron (4-30-06) w/Fabio and Hayley Fowler

  • Fandango (5.5, 6 pitches) - A nice jaunt up my new favorite flatiron. Each of us lead two pitches and, luckily, I got one of the best up to the ridge (then the annoying ridge traverse). Rapped out in strong wind and apparently deteriorating weather.

    Eldorado Canyon, Wind Tower and Whale's Tale, (4-22-06) w/Amy

    Beautiful day and our first real climbing in Eldo.
  • Tigger (5.5, lead) - Stiff for a 5.5, but never outside my comfort range. A little bit of everything including two challenging roofs at about a 5.7 level. Walked off after P2. Beautiful views of the canyon, the river, and the swallows zipping around like fighter jets.
  • West Crack (5.2, 2nd) - Amy's second lead on this route. As with most Eldo routes, harder than a 5.2, but still quite easy. Long!

    Upper Dream Canyon, Wake Up Wall, (4-19-06) w/Amy, Justin, Eric, Marge

  • Standard Route (5.7, sport lead) - Definitely easier than a 5.7! Six bolts to a two-bolt anchor in about 40'. Forgetable.
  • Technical Remote Viewing (5.10ish TR) - Same anchor as above, but a much harder route through a bulge. Rated 5.11a in mountainproject, but I don't buy it for a second. Thin moves, but not that difficult.
  • AAArete (5.10 TR) - Nice line up a prominent arete about 30' left of previous route. Lots of very thin moves. Fun. Again, MP rates it 5.10b but I'm not sure I'd go that high. Maybe 10a, but not above.

    The Riviera, Boulder Canyon, (4-16-06) with Amy and Todd Croke

  • Chouette (5.6 TR) - Very nice lead by Amy. Four bolts and various nuts.
  • Splash (5.7 TR) - Harder variation on Chouette. Nice.
  • Au Natural (5.7+ lead) - Short, stiff lead up a chimney with sparse gear and creative moves. Above the chimney, I got sucked into continuing in the dihedral. Traversed a 5.8 face on scanty ledges to a bolt and to the anchors. Rating on this route varies from 5.7 (Rossiter) to 5.8 (Mountain Project consensus). Stiff in any case, but not too bad. Perhaps I need to break into the 5.8 routes.

    The Dome and Elephant Buttresses, Boulder Canyon, (4-9-06) with Amy

  • East (Disappearing) Crack (5.5 lead) - I lead this one two years ago and found it a bit stiff and scary for the grade. Less scary this time, but still a bit stiff. I'd call it a 5.6. Either way, a nice climb on warm granite.
  • Pine Tree Route (5.4 lead) - A casual (and shady) introduction to the Elephant Buttresses, in this case the Second Buttress. Easy ramp to a series of blocky bulges with cracks. I eschewed the easy finish by heading right on a thin ledge which was airy and nice. Belay from a tree. Amy had less fun on this one.

    Happy Hour Crag, Boulder Canyon (4-6-06) with Justin, Kristie, & Eric

  • Malign (5.7, TR)

    The Seal, Flatirons (3-5-06) with Amy, Fabio, & Andy

  • East Face (5.4, 5 pitches) - A nice second go at our local flatiron. Windy but sunny. A nice climb with an exciting rappel. Andy made a movie!

    Castle Rock Falls, Boulder Canyon (2-18-06) with Fabio, Davide, & Catalina

  • The Ramp (WI2 second)

    Whale's Tail, Eldorado Canyon (12-31-05) with Kristie, Peter, Eileen, and Fabio.

    Not quite as temperate as earlier in the week, but still a good way to close out a good climbing year.
  • Clementine (5.4 lead) A weird and awkward little climb. Very windy.
  • West Dihedral (5.4 lead) Nice, but short. This would be a great first lead.
  • West Crack (5.2 TR) and even better first lead!

    The Riviera, Boulder Canyon (12-26-05) with AD, Chris, Peter, and Turpens.

    A spate of unseasonably warm Christmas weather brought us out for a casual Boxing Day crag-fest. Unfortunately, TR anchors are not easily accessible at the Riviera, and I was the closest thing to a rope gun we had. Huh!
  • Chouette (5.6, 4 bolts plus gear lead, 90') Nice mellow lead with just enough spice to keep my alert. Two bolts, then some small cams and nuts, then two more bolts toward the top. Climbed this one again to clean the anchor on TR.
  • Topless Etiquette (5.8, 7 bolts lead, 70') Stiff but well-protected climb. Lots of slopy granite 'cracks'. Set up lower anchor since we were using a 50m. Climbed again to clean anchor.
  • Splash (5.7 TR) Variation on Chouette from the same anchors. I started this up a steep 10' chimney right of the first bolt. Then up onto a moderate face/slab and crimps.

    Shelf Road climbing trip, (11-5 - 11-6-05) with Joe Collins and Stephanie Renfrow and friends.

    See complete TR

    First Flatiron, Standard East Face (10-22-05) with Peter Sanders and Fabio Somenzi

    See complete TR

    Vedauwoo, Wyoming, late August, 2005, with Justin, Kristie, and a host of others

    See complete TR
  • Edward's Crack (5.7 trad lead) - my scariest lead to date!
  • Walt's Wall (5.4 second)
  • E.O. Layback (5.4 lead)
  • E.O. Friction (5.5 TR)
  • Cold Finger (5.7 TR)

    Standard East Face (5.4) with direct finish, Third Flatiron (8-15-05) with Mike LaFontaine

    The classic Boulder climb. I made this much faster by running out a 60 meter rope (4.5 pitches instead of 7.5) and by taking the direct route up the north side of the face after the top of the giant C. Descent is, as always, the most challenging part of the route.

    White Whale (5.7, three pitches, trad), Left Book, Lumpy Ridge (August, 2005)

    A super-classic climb and my first real 5.7 lead. Great stuff. See complete TR

    West Face Route (P1), Castle Rock, Boulder Canyon (August, 2005)

    - Amy lead boldly up the first pitch (5.5) before the rain moved in and we bailed for the safety of the overhanging areas.

    Keiners Route (5.4, AI2, long alpine climb), Longs Peak, RMNP (July 28, 2005) with Chris and Peter

    See complete TR
    Lots of climbs which I've lost the details of in the summer of 2005, especially many after-work expeditions with Justin and Kristie (and others). Hit Happy Hour Crag, The Riviera, Practice Rock in Boulder Canyon, as well as Scout Rock in South St. Vrain Canyon.

    Lost World, Atomic Energy Crag and 16Z, near Naturita, western CO, (May 27-30, 2005) with Justin and Kristie

    See complete TR

    The Boulderado, Boulder Canyon (5-14-05), with AD, Caroline, and Justin.

    Our second time to at this rock, again for some easy toproping.

  • Ho Hum (5.4 TR 75') Nice layback dihedral after some face moves. This would be a good early lead as the pro is excellant and the climb easy.

  • Idle Hands (5.6* TR 80') Nice. A classic.

  • Mons (5.4 TR 90') Not noticably easier than Idle Hands and a good excercise in crack climbing. Plenty of face moves as well for those of us who can't climb cracks.

  • Qs (5.9+* TR 45') Still hard! Justin and I toproped this one and fought our way up it. Amy got half way up and Caroline (on her third climbing trip ever) got to the top as well. Sure, she pulled on a few bolts, but so what? Nice and pumpy. Thin holds and a long swing when you come off.

    South Saint Vrain Canyon, Upper Infermary Wall, (4-23-05) with Justin and Kristie

    Spring has sprung and it'd time to climb! Gorgeous hot day at a new canyon. Stiff, loose approach from the road and a variety of interesting slab routes.

  • I. V. League (5.6 trad lead) My first lead in almost two years and first real climb at all this season. Feels great! A varied climb with chimneying, a dihedral, a flake and some friction slabs. Rated at 5.7 but definitely more moderate. Did a second pitch but ended up in the wilderness of huge boulders above the wall. "Walked" off the west side with some difficulty. Should have rapped.

  • Remission (5.7+ TR) A tough and dicey slab climb with a crux near the ground. Justin had more trouble on this than I did. Very nice and stiffer than I'd expected.

  • Emergency Entrance (5.7 trad second) If slabs are Justin's weakness, flaring cracks are mine! Followed Justin's lead up this flaring crack and got my pointy shoes horrendously stuck making no progress. Finally aided my way up with a #4 Friend to the easier terrain above the crux. Traversed right to the shuts and rapped off. Ugg!

  • West Buttress (5.6 sport second) A nice, sustained slab climb with bolts about 6 feet apart. Followed Justin up this one with aching toes. Balancy, but not as difficult in the crux as Remission.

    Castle Rock, Castle Rock State Park, California (2-23-05) with AD and Farooq Sadiq

  • Unknown route up a giant popcorn kernel. 5.4ish? Gritty sandstone with lots of huge embayments and caves.

    North Table Mountain, Brown Cloud Wall (7-5-04) with AR and Davide Lazzatti

  • Killian's Dead (aka 5.6 Crack) Nice route with a reachy first few moves. 30' up arrette and fist crack. My first successful fist jams.

  • Deck Chairs on the Titanic (5.9+) The classic route in this area. Looks easy but is quite deceiving. Muscled through the overhanging start and used a knee bar as a rest stance (nice!). Upper part pumpy and sustained with many crimping finger ledges slicked with chalk. Finally gave up and sank 3/4 of the way up, tendons throbbing.

  • Old Roof Route (5.8+, aka Lemons, Limes and Tangerines) A steep arrette with a small roof to surmount. I pulled the first few moves to get wedged up under the roof but couldn't pull over it. There is a reasonable hold directly overhead, but excess chalk made it prohibitively greasy.

  • Big Dihedral (5.8, aka Wide Stemming) Gorgeous, steep corner with a hand crack the whole way. Reached through much of the initial jam crack to a wonderful jug but got stuck half way up under a small roof between two blank faces. Guess I've got to learn to trust my hand jams...

    Castlewood Canyon, Grocery Store Wall (6-5-04)

    First climbing trip in almost 8 months! Unforgivable! Headed out with Justin, Kristie, Amy and Jonathan in search of a TR destination with easy routes for the rusty JG and recovering AR.

  • Banana Peels (5.8) Nice, pumpy route. Had lots of trouble with this one and never pulled the final 10 feet or so.

  • Teething Bisquit (5.10a) Great route but I still can't pull the roof moves. Easy dihedral with crack up to roof. Two pulls on finger cracks above this which I couldn't hack.

  • Unnamed Climb (5.8ish) About 20' left of the Banana pillar is a nice left-facing dihedral up to chalked face holds. Dihedral is easy enough though sharp. Face moves are sequency and small. Pull over bulge with the help of a hidden finger pocket far off to the upper right. Once you get the key, it's not too hard. Nice overall and not in the FR TR book.

  • Carmel Corner (5.5) Easy, balancy climb up a foot-wide ramp to a blank section. Don't know how to get over that blank section, though. None of us got it.

    The Boulderado, Boulder Canyon (10-19-03, with AR, Jack and Pam Gabel, Mary Putman, Nathan Smith, Nicky, John, Dan, and Kate)

    This is a great rock and ideal for beginners with several nice 5.3-5.6 routes. It is not, however, easy to find if you use the map in Fred Knapp's toproping book. The milages are wrong for this one and the map is largely useless. The rest of the beta in the book, however, is fine. We toproped at Boulderado with a large group, many of them beginners or rank novices. Everyone had a dandy time.

  • Ho Hum Variation (5.6ish TR 75') The easy Ho Hum (5.4) heads up ten feet of relatively smooth slab to a crack and then tackles a right-facing dihedral left of a small tree. We used the crack but then headed right of the small tree and tackled the steep crack and face. Nice and varied. Staying in the crack on the steep part gets pretty hard.

  • Idle Hands (5.6* TR 80') Beautiful slab-to-crack-to-steep face climb similar to the Ho Hum variation above. There are a couple really beautiful moves along the way and the steep face at the top is probably easier. Classic. TR with 40' of webbing from large tree and/or gear from the ledge below the cliff summit.

  • Jam It (5.8 TR) An easy climb (5.5ish) with one hard move; a short roof with a diagonal hand crack. I couldn't do the jams and just reached through it to the jugs above. A layback would have been possible, but pumpy. The roof can be bypassed on the right.

  • Qs (5.9+* TR 45') Six bolts to a new two-bolt anchor. I headed up the left side in a shallow dihedral with face moves for 10' before heading right across a mildly overhung face with reasonable hands and crappy feet. After passing the bolt line, I continued right onto the steepest parts working my way up some pumpy small-but-positive holds eventually getting onto easier ground. Definitely one of my hardest climbs to-date. Other climbers stayed in the dihedral longer and had an easier time of it. Watch the swing from the left though, as it scrapes your rope over the abrasive rock and whips you way out over the west-bound traffic lane. Exciting in all regards and quite pumpy. I need to work on my arms a bit.

    The Maiden, Flatirons (10-6-03, with AR, Jeff Deutsch and Lauren Feldman)

    Standard North Face Route (5.6R ***)

    Garden of the Gods (10-5-03, with AR, Jeff Deutsch and Lauren Feldman)

    Montezuma's Tower (North Ridge 5.7***) Silver Spoon (5.5 TR)

    Supremacy Rock, Eldorado Canyon (9-22-03, with AR and Eric Burgh)

    Zig-zagging Jews (5.4 TR) Supremacy Crack (5.9+ TR)

    Seal Rock, Flatirons (9-21-03, with AR and Eric Burgh)

    East Face Right (5.4 ***, 6 pitches)

    Skunk Canyon, Central Flatirons (9-14-03)

    Stairway to Heaven (5.4, 8 pitches)

    Happy Hour Crag, Boulder Canyon (Sept 9, 2003)

    Grins (5.8 *** TR)

    The Dome, Boulder Canyon (August 24, 2003)

    East Slab (5.6 *** 1 pitch)

    Third Flatiron (August 9, 2003)

    Standard East Face Route (5.4 R ***, 8 pitches)

    Castlewood Canyon, Grocery Store Wall (July 27, 2003)


    Rocks State Park, MD (July 6, 2003, with a large group)


    Seneca Rocks, WV (June 20-22, 2003, with AR, Steve Kaufmann and Jill)


    Red River Gorge, KY, Fortress Wall (May 25, 2003, with AR, Steve Kaufmann and Jill)


    Charles Danforth
    Last modified: Mon May 10 17:01:35 MDT 2010