P1. Start about 5 feet to the right of Wind Ridge. Start up and right on a easy crack, then move left into a open right-facing dihedral. Follow up about 60 feet and belay from a ... ledge.
P2. Move up another 30 feet or so, then cross left up a ramp before hauling over a roof with ridiculously huge holds. Follow crack straight up then move left to join Wind Ridge, belaying at the wide ramp. Eds. Note, the original route went right above the roof. Walk off from here, or (better) do the fun roof for P3 of Wind Ridge.
P3. Eds. There is an optional pitch above the walkoff ledge to the right of P3 of Wind Ridge.
Protection
Lighter rack needed, with an emphasis on the smaller stuff.
Good route! Lots of medium stoppers and a couple of cams #2-3 Friends. Second pitch is great with fun moves around the fin/flake, over the roof, and up through a nice crack. Sling a boulder at the top with a 15 foot runner and enjoy the view!
For the second pitch, after the roof there are two cracks that appear, I traversed a little left and did this offwidth crack, which was alright. I think that the crack that immediately appears above you, the one to the right, is Tigger and what I did was traverse over and get onto Wind Ridge before I was supposed to. But I don't know for sure, does anyone?
Be careful with your gear placements when you undercling /traverse right toward the top of the first pitch. The rope got stuck today resulting in a minor epic. It would have *really* been interesting if we did not have radios :-o
This is one of my favorite .5s in the Park, especially, as Mike says, when you continue on with the 3rd P of Wind Ridge and its "...most improbable roof..." (-Rossiter)
You can lengthen the climb (and shorten the already spoiled-kid approach) by starting Tigger a few feet up from Tagger, right off the trail. Pick from a few starts.
If you bail at the top of P2, mind the big loose block at the beginning of the walk-off...the one with the huge chalked "X" on it. Make sure you're familiar with the location of the rap anchors if you summit. (Scramble to the N/NW.)
The best .5 ever! I'd venture to say it's a 5.6, due to the varied nature of the moves. This route has it all: face, lieback, undercling, roof, crack, everything in small doses.
The direct start previously described adds a bit of difficulty but a lot of fun and even more variety to this already great route. Highly recommended.
Pro is always available and anchors are solid (but trad, no chains). I suggest the direct start to the ledge below Wind Ridge be one pitch, followed by a pitch all the way to below the roof after a short traverse left (after the lieback/underling flake). This can make communication a bit tricky but keeps people moving on this very popular route. Use longer slings where appropriate and rope drag is non-existent. Finally, finish by pulling the roof (sling the hole) and following the crack above to the walkoff ledge. A fourth pitch could be done to the top if desired.
After pulling the roof on the second pitch, make sure that you head straight up and then left at the finger crack. I have seen some major traffic jams, when climbers traverse over to the chimney on Wind Ridge. A party of 4 climbers blocked traffic on Wind Ridge for a good couple hours.
After red ledge, you can either go right or left. If you go left, you continue to follow the right facing [dihedral] or you can go right on a slabby undercling. Both options end up at the same place.
From there, go left and head up and over to [Wind Ridge] area. The turn to the left is only a few yards up from the description above.
Great climb, roof is got some good holds, with places for gear or an opportunity to girth with a sling. Bottom is straightforward with only a tricky move to start.
Yeah, pretty darn cool. Like everything else on the wind tower, it's easy to make this a lot harder than its grade, but also a fine line if you stay on route. The varied nature of this climb makes it all worthwhile! Bring your radios if you're unaccustomed to rope signals, though.
This roof felt harder to me than the roof on Wind Ridge, the roof on West Overhang and the roof on Lemmings. I actually thought I was off route till I came home and read these comments. Fun route though, was just tougher than any .5 I've ever encountered. Had a bit of a rope drag issue as well, I'm sure that made it seem a lot harder than it really was.
After reading the comments I felt I should clarify that the route does step RIGHT above the roof and continue up the short finger crack to the slabs above. This route was born of necessity, because it is for the most part protected from rock fall. During the 70s Wind Tower had more rubble than now-a-days. Duncan (Ferguson) and I used to spend lots of time on this route with International Alpine School students. A long runner can be threaded through a slot at the lip of the roof. Key word is "long" or you will suffer the consequences of [unnecessary] rope drag. Kevin
The first time I climbed this I belayed from the ledge below the undercling moves, and suffered some really stupid rope drag on the second pitch. The next time I did the undercling as part of the first pitch and moved right 2 meters or so to an ok stance. This alleviated all drag issues. I'm pretty sure that's where Rossiter recommends belaying. In any case, it went much better for me.
On 4-26-05, I was climbing through the roof and one of the big blocky chalked up holds right in the lower middle of the problem (just down and right of the rock tunnel) "flexed" a bit when pulled on. Be careful. Also, while this may be close to the mark for an Eldo 5.5 it feels more like a 5.6 (I'd give it a 5+). Combined with difficult communication, I don't recommend this for a beginner second who's a little scared on other 5's.-s
Climbed it today. Awesome lead. There is a loose cooler sized block at the top of the pinnacle below and climber's left of the belay ledge below the big flake. Do not pull on this, or stand on it. It's really loose!I agree with the drag issues noted above, and would repeat this climb with the belay set after the big lie back moves.
I climbed Tigger today and felt the route deserved a 5.6 rating. It felt more difficult and strenuous than Calypso. My novice partner also left two pieces from my anchor just below the undercling traverse that comes at the beginning of P2. The pieces were a blue Metolius TCU and an ABC Huevo nut. We're going to try and retrieve them tomorrow, but if you find them before us please don't be a jerk and please return them. Please e-mail buf12db@yahoo.com if these pieces are found, and I'll make it worth your while. -Clay
Warning: There is a very loose piece of rock at the crux roof. It is attached to the broken ledge system on the climber's right at the roof. It should be ticked with an X to let others know it is unstable.
Did this route again and noticed the loose flake Aaron mentions below the crux roof above the 2nd belay. This flake is very tempting to use for a handhold and could easily come down and smash into the belayer or create serious rockfall for anyone below the route. Please be careful. An X mark chalked on the flake would be very useful, though I'm not keen on chalk in general.
By John M Brooks From: Niwot, CO Aug 14, 2007 rating: 5.6 PG13
Great variety : face, lieback, undercling, roof, crack; just enough to make this 5.6. Great holds/feet in conjunction with the right moves.
Hands down the most awesome Wind Tower climb I've done (but I've never done more than 5.6, Calypso ). I think the rating of 5.5 is a bit generous, I would give this a solid 5.6. Mostly classic Wind Tower climbing, but a few tricky moves are what make it fun. Took a fall of the overhang/roof starting P2, that was cool. Definitely a repeater.
By Dean Carpenter From: Boulder, CO Sep 4, 2007 rating: 5.6
I couldn't clean a #5 BD stopper from the first pitch, a storm was approaching and I didn't want to waste any time, so it'll probably come out with minimal effort. Great climb the p2 lead is exciting for 5.5, I thought it felt a little tougher than Calypso.
I felt Calypso was harder, Calypso seems more polished and less gear to be had than Tigger. The roof pulls very easily, maybe an old school 5.5. You can traverse left on the first pitch to gain the first belay of Wind Ridge, although the move is awkward.
You can combine the first two pitches with a 60M rope if you start from the ledge below Wind Ridge and use lots of runners. We had about two meters of rope left and rope drag was pretty bad. We stayed to the right above the roof.