Steven Lucarelli getting his feet dialed in for th...
Description
Another not so hidden gem on the West Ridge. It looks like a crack, but does not climb like a crack. First off, the pro is good over the roof, but pumpy to place. Once through the sketchy corner and over the roof, you end up doing these pinch moves, layaways, I dyno'ed to get through the crux and into the flare. Short but sweet...Eldo crack climbing at its best.
[The gear is adequate but very pumpy to place (and hard to see at the crux) with a long fall potential at the crux move]
Once on the upper slab, its gets really dicey getting over to the anchor above Parallels...A 2-bolt anchor would be perfect for this route and Crazy Fingers just to the right.
Protection
sm/med nuts, .4"-1.25" cams for the main route, .5"+2" cams to get to the anchor *This route and the route to its right (Crazy Fingers) are in DIRE need of a 2-bolt anchor to share*
An excellent route, considerably harder than Parallels (if Parallels is c/d or just right if b), good gear where you need it. Also good call on [separate] anchor...
While I usually find Eldo grades to be pretty standard (or even soft at times), Foxtrot felt like a sandbag to me. This route felt much more strenous and technical than any 11+ I have done on gear. This felt as hard as some of the 12a or 12b bolted routes I have done in Eldo, except you have to place gear from funky stances.
I think this is probably my favorite pitch on the West Ridge. The gear is tricky and strenuous to place, so it would be a very difficult onsight lead... but the gear is good throughout. I agree with the comments about the route's difficulty. I would think of the guidebook grade of 11d as more of an 11+ rating, if you know what I mean.
By Joseph P. Crotty From: Westminster, CO Sep 21, 2007 rating: 5.11d PG13
Short and sweet. I highly commend anyone that can onsight as some of the gear and moves are tricky. If not comfortable at the grade, be cautious just after the start above the ledge which has sparse pro.
By Rob Kepley From: Westminster,CO Oct 1, 2007 rating: 5.11d
Mega classic, Mega good! I feel this route doesn't deserve an R. It has plenty of great gear throughout. Just be careful with your feet coming off the ledge at the start. I've never been a big fan of the "PG13" tacked on behind a grade. I feel R and X are plenty.
The gear just before the crux is solid and really easy to place. One of the best Eldo has to offer. 5 STARS!!!
By Bob D'Antonio From: Superior, CO Oct 1, 2007 rating: 5.11d PG13
Rob...the R rating comes from "before Aliens". I remember the climb being somewhat dicey in 1982. When back and did it again not long ago and it seems much safer with modern gear.
I think this holds true for a number of the old R rated routes in Eldo.
By Bob D'Antonio From: Superior, CO Oct 26, 2007 rating: 5.11d PG13
Went back and did this again today...still hard and still get pumped placing gear. Got a good number three RP at the crux making the crux move a little less stressful.
I agree with the other comments that this climb is a mega classic. Awesome movement! Good gear where you need it, just be heads up off the ledge.
The anchor situation on Foxtrot (and Crazy Fingers) sucks! I think the location of the anchors is out of character with Foxtrot’s natural and CLASSIC line and creates a contrived traverse over nebulous terrain. Separate two-bolt anchor, please!
I proposed a 2-bolt anchor above Foxtrot/Crazy Fingers in 2001, and (if I remember correctly) it was approved by the FHRC in June of that year. Due to events out of my control I never followed up on the proposal, and after some thought, decided against pursuing it further. I agree that the current set-up is inconvenient, but Foxtrot is getting a lot of ascents, and the current anchor is, at least, workable. There are many examples in the canyon where a 2-bolt anchor is necessary. Is this one of them? I don't know. I should come clean and say that part of my rationale for the anchor was to make an easier staging point to climb the (in 2001) unclimbed corner above Foxtrot, which thankfully was done without the anchor by Wayne Crill (2007) and named Tango. As an interesting aside, the Tango corner has been on the radar since (at least) July 1982, when Alec Sharp's article "Bolder Boulder" was printed in issue 86 of the British climbing rag MOUNTAIN. To quote: "The bouldering attitude appears clearly in routes that he (i.e. Skip Guerin) and (Bob) Horan did up on the West Ridge, the parallel cracks of Foxtrot and Parallels, where obvious second pitches continued up from where those routes end. To Guerin and Horan, though, the interesting climbing ended at this point." I beg to differ.