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Ant Farm, The 
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Cary Granite 
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Emerald Highway, The 
Escape Route 
Espresso 
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Old Rappel Route 
Parallel Universe 
Phil-a-Guster 
Rainbow Highway 
Road Warrior 
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Undertow 
Unnamed Bolted Face 

Cary Granite 

5.11c

   
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Type: Trad, Alpine, 5 pitches, 480 feet, Grade III
Consensus: 5.11c [details]
FA: Greg Cameron and Clean Dan Grandusky
New Route: Yes
Submitted By: Greg Cameron on Jan 1, 2005

You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (23)
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Eric Johnson pulling the roof on P3. Splitter, fr...

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Description 

This is the obvious crack system just left of Good Evans. We did this in 1990, wrote it up in the old loose-leaf guidebook at the Bucksnort, but the guidebook was since stolen.

P1) Climb the first pitch of Good Evans (5.10d).

P2) From the belay stance, continue straight up the Rappel Route about 80 feet past two sections of 5.10/5.10+ lieback followed by a 5.11- undercling. Belay just left of the obvious splitter crack that begins here and extends all the way to the top of the wall.

P3) Move right on 5.11b/c face moves to the incipient crack and then move up (5.11b) past a couple of small roofs. The crack widens from fingers to hands and then to hands and fists. Belay at the stance in the crack.

P4) Continue up the crack (5.9 - 5.10) past the large roof on your right to a stance in the crack. Nearly every placement on this pitch is a number 3 to 4 Camalot size.

P5) Follow the crack for a short easy pitch to the top.


Protection 

Doubles to 4", (triple on the 2") plus a 4.5" cam.



Photos of Cary Granite Slideshow Add Photo
Another look at the hand crack after the 5.11 roof on p3.

Another look at the hand crack after the 5.11 roof...

Clean Dan Grandusky following the crux pitch of Cary Granite on the first ascent in 1990.

Clean Dan Grandusky following the crux pitch of Ca...

Clean Dan Grandusky on the crux pitch, on the first ascent of Cary Granite, 1990.  The two cracks to the right are Good Evans and Road Warrior, respectively.

Clean Dan Grandusky on the crux pitch, on the firs...

Greg Cameron on the crux of Cary Granite, first ascent, 1990.

Greg Cameron on the crux of Cary Granite, first as...

Looking up at the fine belay ledge at the top of pitch 2.  The 11c face traverse starts right off this ledge, goes to the crack, and then more 5.11 thru the roof.

Looking up at the fine belay ledge at the top of p...

After the traverse on pitch 3.

After the traverse on pitch 3.

Joe on last pitch.

Joe on last pitch.

Rob Kepley sets up for the burly roof crux.

Rob Kepley sets up for the burly roof crux.

Pulling the roof on the 3rd pitch soooo good.

Pulling the roof on the 3rd pitch soooo good.

Mike on the 2nd pitch.

Mike on the 2nd pitch.

Getting psyched for the traverse, wishing there were any feet. By Paul Gagner.

Getting psyched for the traverse, wishing there we...

Kat A. follows P1 of Cary Granite (5.11-).

Kat A. follows P1 of Cary Granite (5.11-).

The crux of P1 of Cary Granite (shared with Good Evans) is thin for hands and feet but is well-protected and solid rock.

The crux of P1 of Cary Granite (shared with Good E...

Kat A. starts up following the long P2 (5.11-) of Cary Grantie.  This pitch is deceptively good!

Kat A. starts up following the long P2 (5.11-) of ...

P2 of Cary Granite is broken into 3 sections, the bottom 1/3rd being obtuse stemming, the middle layback and gaston (here), and the undercling roof at the top.

P2 of Cary Granite is broken into 3 sections, the ...

Kat A. emerges from under the roof on P2, ready to battle the crux of that pitch (5.11- again).

Kat A. emerges from under the roof on P2, ready to...

Kat A. starts the battle with the P2 roof on Cary Granite, a harbinger of things to come....

Kat A. starts the battle with the P2 roof on Cary ...

Kat A. transitioning from under-cling to knee-bar under the roof on P2.  An interesting solution....

Kat A. transitioning from under-cling to knee-bar ...

Kat A. finishes out on the less perfect P4 of Cary Granite.  It is a good 5.10 pitch but lacks the steep and clean, perfect stone characteristic of the pitches below.

Kat A. finishes out on the less perfect P4 of Cary...


Comments on Cary Granite Add Comment
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By mike schlauch
Jul 15, 2006

This is a nice alpine outing that doesn't seem to get done very much judging by the super sharp, clean cracks. Expect a little loose rock here and there, but overall the quality is good. Pitch 1 & 2 combine for a great long 5.11 pitch with ~20 ft of simul climbing. P3 is relatively short, ~ 80 ft, but it takes a lot of cams 1.5" - 4.5", double 2.5" - 4". P4 & 5 also combine easily into one 5.10- pitch. Double ropes are nice to have as you could practically TR the dicey traverse. Bring a few extra units for the belays on P2 (mid-range) & P3 (4").

By Greg Cameron
Jul 30, 2007

Just did this again yesterday with Tom Dickey. The flake that you need to pull on at the crux is so sharp that I cut my fingers pretty badly this go round. I would definitely suggest taping your fingers at the first and third joints.

By Jay Brown
Sep 3, 2007

Sick route with tricky "Co. welcome party-like traverse" ! followed by upside down perfect hands out a roof!

By Monty
From: Morrison, Co
Aug 5, 2009
rating: 5.11c

Great Route!
Couple notes: rack wise bring one blue Metolius/red C3, doubles from #0.4- #4. You could tripple up on 3s, but I didn't see any reason to.

As for the belay on top of the crux pitch, my #4 didn't fit the crack, but there is a nice ledge out left with a bolt that you can equalize with some small pieces.
Get on it!

By joel douglas
From: Denver CO
Jul 27, 2010

Just did this route yesterday and it was rad. After the crux traverse pitch into the hand crack over the roof, we made an anchor 20' above the roof using a BD #3 and #4. The next pitch took us to the top of the wall. This pitch required leap frogging a BD #5 for roughly 60' of well-featured, wide crack climbing into 5.6 face to the top.

By Lizzy Scully
Aug 7, 2011

This route is stunning, one of the most splitter I have done in Colorado. Hard traverse, followed by a radical, steep roof on the crux. Awesome! My partner cut her fingers going over the roof as well, so tape is a good idea. I accidentally ran the crux & following pitch together. It worked out well. There was very little rope drag. I brought too much gear. Didn't place anything smaller than a 0.3 Camalot and only a few nuts, but 2 of everything else up to #4 is nice. No #5 necessary. There are two small fixed nuts in the bottom crux. The pitch would be better if they were taken out.

By Ben Walburn
Jun 10, 2012

Does it get much better than this? A must do for the area.

By Tony B
From: Around Boulder, CO
Aug 20, 2012
rating: 5.11 PG13

Best of the routes on the wall. Don't let the grades or stories intimidate you. If you can climb 5.11, you can do this.

By Guy H.
From: Fort Collins CO
Sep 1, 2012

It looks like you can do the 5.11 traverse three different ways.
-Hands on the horizontal with bad feet
-Feet on the horizontal using the low side pulls
-If you are over ~6'2", you can grab a great crimp halfway so the hard moves are right next to your gear.

I would recommend taping your 3 middle fingers on both hands. The flake above the roof is SHARP! The 1st 20ft of P4 would be unprotected without a #5 C4. I guess if you have small knees, the climbing would be very secure.