Rock Of Ages is a fine granite wall in Rocky Mountain National Park. Unlike the High peaks, this wall has a short approach and is a good cragging wall. The climbs vary between 1-3 pitches in length and are generally from 100 to 200 feet long. If you find yourself in the Estes Park area and it is too late for a long and committing alpine route, consider this wall as an option. Be warned in advance that most of the climbs here are 5.10+ or harder.
The finer grains and lack of inclusions mean that this rock is very high friction in general, and not too hard on the hands. The granite of this wall ranges from scaly in some spots to bullet-hard and perfect in others. For the most part, the rock is clean, but on the lower right the rock is very scaly and difficult to smear or edge upon.
The face predominantly faces south, although the dihedrals on the East and West ends get shade at one time or another for most of the day. You may be able to climb in the shade for a part of the day, but the must-do classic there, Days Of Heaven (10d), sits in the sun all day. Some other notable climbs include Nameless Demons (10a), Center Dihedral (10d), Celestial Gate (11-) and a few solid 5.12s, such as Rope Gun With Silencer (5.12), that are too hard for me to comment on in much more detail than to say "good top-ropes." The original trad lines were done in the early 1980s, with some additional development occuring only recently, nearly 20 years later.
Getting There
Drive in to the Fern Lake Trailhead, to the very end. Park here and hike past scads of fishermen... (Are there really any fish left here?) ... for a little over a mile until you come to some huge boulders through which the trail is pinched. Just after passing these boulders, you can look up and to the right (North) and see a few solid walls of rock to the North/Northwest. Scamble up a talus field to approach the lowest of these, which is the lower section of Rock Of Ages. This hike will require about 1 hour.
The Wasp may be THE best single pitch, trad, granite route of its style and difficulty in Colorado! There are a couple single-pitch routes in CO that come close but this is a unique gem combining great rock, super aesthetic moves, and great pro. In my opinion, California fine-grained granite has always catered to more memorable crack pitches than almost anywhere in CO, except for this very spot (and parts of the Platte). A word about ratings…I h...[more]
Rock Of Ages
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