Good starter alpine routes for a rock climber?

I bet you work in sales. "Loose death gullies" sounds like a good time to me. Sign me up! But seriously, I took a look at the route all over the internet, and it looks like a good time. I'll send you a PM to talk about making this happen.

The Blueprint Part Dank wrote:Here's your training plan/objective. Step 1: Drive to Colorado Step 2: Go to Eldorado Canyon State Park Step 3: Climb the Bastille Crack Step 4: Climb Rewritten Step 5: Analyze what went right/what went wrong Step 6: Drive to Estes park. Climb Kor's Flake, putting into practice what you've learned from multi pitch in Eldo. Step 7; (VERY IMPORTANT!!!!) Ask yourself "am I ready to do this in the mountains? Am I ready enough to do this quickly ad safely before the lightning comes in. If the answer is yes, then move on to... Step 8: Drive to the Glacier Gorge trailhead, get a back country permit. Hike into the Gash at the base of Sharkstooth. Set up camp. Go to bed early Step 9: Wake up at 3:30 AM. Climb the Northeast Ridge of Sharkstooth. Step 10: Head to Ed's Catina for celebratory Fish Tacos and margaritas.

+1!

After too many nightmares (only 3-4, but 1 is too many) with lightning on Alpine Routes, my goal is to be at the base of the route waiting for enough light to start cimbing.

Use double ropes for wandering routes and full rappels.

Take a suppelement called Octacosanol a couple of days before and during your time at elevation. This supplement increases red blood cell oxygenation. You can do an experiement at home to test this. Run up a hill, take Octacosanol for 3 days and run up the same hill.

Go climb the Durrance on Symmentry Spire in the Tetons, then scramble ice point and cube point. Long approaches pre-dawn approaches it what alpine climbing is all about, if you want to climb multi-pitch and get better go to red rocks before its too hot.

Can't get out to Red Rocks too soon due to a finger pulley injury.

I knew there was one or two multipitch routes at Palisade Head (I've climbed there). Sometimes they can be done with two ropes set on top belay (you approach from the top at Palisade Head), but I'll definitely be trying to find people who are interested in doing the multipitch routes.

My plan to get some practice in was to just climb a single pitch route in two pitches. Also, there are some areas in MN where there are two single pitch climbs one directly below another so that they could be turned into a multipitch route.

Kyle Robson wrote:. My plan to get some practice in was to just climb a single pitch route in two pitches.

Not a bad idea, just pick a less popular route so you're not making other climbers wait around. Focus on building a bomber anchor with the fewest active pieces possible (tri-cams and stoppers are best for anchors if you can get good placements). After that, get the following three steps dialed.

1: anchoring yourself in a safe, comfortable position with a clove hitch and your lead rope
2. Setting up the ATC guide and/or Gri Gri correctly onto the anchor to belay your follower
3. Keeping your rope coils neat and organized

The inland North Shore areas are also good places for practice. Few people, longer routes, and you could break some into more than one pitch, without crowds, etc. Carlton Peak has some good climbs. Be creative and keep learning. There are a lot of climbers in the MN community, some with the same interests.
I'm from MN so I can sympathize. In WY now, send me a message if you want to climb something out here this summer.

KevinCO wrote: +1! After too many nightmares (only 3-4, but 1 is too many) with lightning on Alpine Routes, my goal is to be at the base of the route waiting for enough light to start cimbing. Use double ropes for wandering routes and full rappels. Take a suppelement called Octacosanol a couple of days before and during your time at elevation. This supplement increases red blood cell oxygenation. You can do an experiement at home to test this. Run up a hill, take Octacosanol for 3 days and run up the same hill.

Hey Kevin I was looking up Octacosanol on the web and couldn't really find any definitive research on its use for altitude acclimitization and increasing your red blood cell oxygenation. Could you point me in the right direction?

Try this expriement: Run up a challenging hill, then take octacosaol for 3-4 days. Run up the same hill to see the difference. I take it before going up to altitude (I have no experience above 14k) if I haven't had time to train at altitude. However, I don't know if it will prevent the severe and deadly forms of altitude sickness. I couldn't find any scientific studies related to octacosal & high altitude, although a google search indicated that there might be a study reported in this journal (but I couldn't find it because I didn't have time to read all of it):
sciencemag.org/site/product…

Here is an excerpt from this website: (I capitalized the sentence re: high altitude)
go-symmetry.com/info/octaco…
Studies indicate that octacosanol allows for the efficient conversion of food and storage fuels into biological energy, resulting in increased muscle strength, endurance, vigor, quicker reaction and faster recovery times. Octacosanol contains sterols, phosphatides, stearins, long chain alcohols, waxes, and other substances from the unrefined portion of wheat germ oil. It is possible to extract octacosanol from wheat but it would take over 10 pounds of wheat to get a tiny 1000 micrograms of octacosanol.
Octacosanol has been clinically proven to increase oxygen utilization during exercise or workouts. It also improves glycogen storage in your body's muscles. The results of octacosanol supplementation are it increases stamina, increases endurance, REDUCES HIGH ALTITUDE STRESS, improves your reaction time, and helps get oxygen to your body tissue. Some people also use octacosanol to increase muscle size or mass.

Octacosanol also has the additional benefit that it helps lower blood cholesterol levels.

Octacosanol can also benefit those people who get muscle pain after workout or other exercise. It can help with other neuromuscular disorders as well.

Octacosanol is also known as:

Policosanol, N-Octacosanol, 1-Octacosanol

KevinCO wrote:Try this expriement: Run up a challenging hill, then take octacosaol for 3-4 days. Run up the same hill to see the difference. I takee it before going up to altitude (I hav no experience above 14k) if I haven't had time to train at altirude. However, I don't know if it will prevent the severe and deadl forms of altitude sickness. go-symmetry.com/info/octaco… Studies indicate that octacosanol allows for the efficient conversion of food and storage fuels into biological energy, resulting in increased muscle strength, endurance, vigor, quicker reaction and faster recovery times. Octacosanol contains sterols, phosphatides, stearins, long chain alcohols, waxes, and other substances from the unrefined portion of wheat germ oil. It is possible to extract octacosanol from wheat but it would take over 10 pounds of wheat to get a tiny 1000 micrograms of octacosanol. Octacosanol has been clinically proven to increase oxygen utilization during exercise or workouts. It also improves glycogen storage in your body's muscles. The results of octacosanol supplementation are it increases stamina, increases endurance,Bold Textreduces high altitude stress, Bold Text improves your reaction time, and helps get oxygen to your body tissue. Some people also use octacosanol to increase muscle size or mass. Octacosanol also has the additional benefit that it helps lower blood cholesterol levels. Octacosanol can also benefit those people who get muscle pain after workout or other exercise. It can help with other neuromuscular disorders as well. Octacosanol is also known as: Policosanol, N-Octacosanol, 1-Octacosanol

Thanks! I didn't mean to call you out or anything, I just couldn't find much scientific research on it. Might be worth trying just for the hell of it.

No problem. I did find some study reports on octacosanol & high altitude. In the studies, it might indicate to take octacosanol longer than a few days to get the full effect.

Here is part of the conclusion from one study:

Conclusion 1. 1-Octacosanol could significantly ameliorate impairments of structure and function of liver resulted from chronic hypoxia. Thus 1-Octacosanol can promote high altitude acclimatization very well.2. 1-Octacosanol could remarkably up-regulate cytochrome-oxydase activity, thus increasing oxidation respiration efficiency and ATP synthesis rate in liver mitochondria of chronically hypoxic rats. That is probably an important mechanism about promotional effect of 1-Octacosanol on high altitude acclimatization.

Here is the link:
research-degree-thesis.com/…

I know I'm late on this thread, but I would second Blueprint's suggestions, but would instead suggest the standard north ridge of Spearhead over Sharkstooth. I think Glacier Gorge is prettier, the rock is better, the descent albeit loose is nicer because you don't have to rap, thus not needing two ropes. I know some people have only took one rope up Sharkstooth, but when I did it we definitely needed two to reach the tatter and not have to leave gear and do extra raps. Also, just being able to spend two nights up there bivying is so worth it, even if the weather doesn't play nice and/or you have to bail.

Definitely get some low land or sub alpine routes in first. You'll enjoy getting more climbing time VS hiking time and you will hone your skills and gain confidence for alpine routes.