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Hats Off 

5.12a/b

   

FA: Donahue/Gillett
Type: Trad
Consensus: 5.12a/b [details]
Length: 2 pitches, 200 feet
Views: 706 page views

Submitted By: Anonymous Coward on Jun 6, 2001


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BETA PHOTO

Description 

Hats Off is located on Rock of Ages. Climb the first pitch of Days of Heaven and belay. Do the first few moves of the second pitch then continue straight up a thin tips crack (12a). Climb up this seam until you are eye level with a row of grips heading right. Place a good piece of gear high in the crack and campus right. The hand holds are pretty good but the feet really suck. One can place a medium wire about half way out the traverse. Continue traversing until you slab out on the far right shoulder of the cliff. The gear on this route is not easy to place. The RPs and TCUs are all solid but require some jiggery-pokery. Hats Off is a hard route to on-sight! One has to be good at placing small pro and moderately bold. The crux pitch is a good candidate for a pre-load. No fixed anchor on top. Decend down the east slabs.


Protection 

This route requires small TCUs and RPs. Double up on TCUs purple through yellow. Several #4 and #5 RPs would also be a good idea.



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Jeremy Collins puzzles out the technical section on 'Hats Off (12b)' on Rock Of Ages, in Estes Park, CO. Photo by Tony Bubb, 2004.

Jeremy Collins puzzles out the technical section o...


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By Tony Bubb
From: Boulder, CO
Aug 16, 2004

The route is really cool and really unique--The crack is truly hard. I don't know how hard to lead onsight, but HARD. The 12b grade sounds reasonable. The traverse might feel hard, but isn't very. Think in terms of the traverse coming out of the roof of Jack The Ripper in Eldo, but twice as long and not as steep. The holds are positive and the feet are non-existent, but the rock allows some friction. I don't think it would get 5.11 if you were not already pumped from the crux at the crack. Very cool though. Presently there is a fixed wire on it at a convenient place to clip--seems so-so and would most likely hold (another?) fall.