Breakfast in Bed 

Which way do you start the climb right above the piton??? I went to the left and did a hard mantle with a marginal nut placement...it definitely felt weird and psychological.

If we're talking of the piton that is below and left of the initial dihedral, then I've always started it to the right of that pin. That starts you directly below the overhanging dihedral. These moves are stout, intimidating and not too easy to protect. Blow the moves and you'll probably bounce onto the ledge. I've always thought this was one of the more sustained and tricky 8s in Eldo. At least one solid Eldo 11 leader I know put in about six pieces before commiting to the initial mantle into the dihedral, but again, this was right of the piton.

When you're getting pumped higher up, remember one word - "kneebar".

Where else but Eldorado Canyon would you find 50 feet or more of back-leaning trad 5.8 with a low ground-fall-potential crux? The rating is fair, but you wouldn't guess it looking up on the sharp end. I found Ballnuts a valuable piece of gear for a thin crack that shows up regularly; they set quickly, and when you're getting pumped, due to over-gripping caused by anxiety, that means a lot.

There's a bomber placement for a #1 Camalot or #2 Friend above and right of the old pin that protects the initial crux. Also, there's a great crack handhold in the right wall of the initial corner that simplifies the crank past the above placement. Once established in the corner, there's a bomber placement for a #3.5 Camalot or #4 Friend. I'm never worried about groundfall potential on this pitch. Whenver the climbing gets difficult in the corner/chimney, swing right onto the arete and climb up overhanging jugs instead.

I backed off this lead after four tries, not trusting the piton, and a small cam placement I put in loose rock to the right. I just couldn't commit to that first back leaning move on lead. Fearing the ground fall potential I decided to hand the sharp end over to my younger, fearless partner for a go at it. He had no problem and made it look easy, and its not a super hard move, fairly graded at (8), but if your having a bad day, and do peel...well, you get the idea. The rest of the route is fun. It gets pumpy at the halfway point where you have to move out onto the arete and pull up on several huecos. Good exposure on this sustained route but as mentioned above, kinda tricky.

Did this Sunday, Oct 6 with James Balasalle. Although a little funky to start, this was acutally a pretty cool pitch, more fun than I expected. Protection requires close examination, but is there. At the start, it is *not* necessary to traverse left and clip an old, upward-driven pin (!). Just plug about a #2 cam/Friend in an obvious vertical slot and go straight up the dihedral. Nearly the entire pitch is overhanging slightly, so look for rest stances. Pro is a mix of medium to small cams and nuts in the cracks along the dihedral, with one place for a big cam (#4 Friend) in a chimney-like recess towards the top. The more you can climb daringly on the big jugs on the outside of the face, the more exposure and adrenaline rush you will have!

The upward driven pin on the traverse out left at the beginning should be removed. It is misleading since the traverse is not needed, and badly placed.

Kreighton-you found the knee bar. Nice, huh!?

The traverse out to the base of the climb is a cool element of the climb, but if you want a few more feet of climbing, (must usa a 60mtr for this) start directly under the climb just off-trail and choose from a couple of ways: * There's a licheny slab to a fun bulge or, further right, **a short, thin, overhanging finger crack to a ledge, (through a bush or two!). Both ways lead up to the starting ledge. I think they're written up in the guidebook, but I just kinda eyeballed 'em, as they're pretty obvious.

By the way, the 'fixed' nut is no longer there, and at the bottom...sure! Why not clip the pin. With a long runner. Back it up, if you can then go for it! One of my favorite routes in Eldo. -CL

I love this climb! The crux is directly off the ledge and yes, you want your piece to be bomber. I place a red Camalot in a slot on the edge of the mantle...quickly pull up and reach for the bomber hold as Ron mentioned on the left-facing dihedral. The climb continues to back off the higher you go. This is a long fun pitch. You can walk off the standard Bastille descent.

From the name, this route appears a casual cruise -- but it is not! If you don't notice the hold mentioned by Ron (it is not that obvious) you can pump yourself silly searching left and right for the easiest way. Once you find it, the next few moves are very committing and it overhangs slightly, making pro placement strenuous. Also a few of the handholds in this section are thin and might snap off.

Beyond this the difficulty eases, although it is still amazingly steep. This climb is much better than it looks from the ground!

I'm with you George! I found this climb to be rather tricky at the bottom, too. The [balance] is just hard to dial in before you get into the main crack. A stiff 8 for sure, IMO. A very nice line, however. -Tim Stich

This route didn't offer much to interest me. There was a lot of rope drag due to zig-zag climbing at the start. I was unimpressed by the huecos as they are not the crack that Rossiter [described]. Looking for a 5.8 crack? Try Star Wars on Lower Peanuts wall just 5 minutes farther uphill.

No need to clip the old pin, there is a perfect #1 Camalot placement at the lip. I think the old pin is part of a different route which is rated 5.10d. This route joins "Breakfast in Bed" after about 30ft. There is also a fixed nut on this adj. route.

This route felt harder than "Hair City" due to the pumpy nature of placing gear. Fun stuff....

I believe the route to the left is a Hersey route called Overhanging Talus (5.10d S). With a name like that, you can understand why there is not a line.

Although I have not climbed either of these routes, the route New [Chautaqua] (5.10c) is to the right of Breakfast in Bed.

Protect the crux with a #1 Camalot @ 1 o'clock from the old pin, which is unnecessary. I would not recommend this climb for the beginning 5.8 leader. Huecos are fun.

Not sure what you mean by "not a good route for the beginning 5.8 leader" as the route is easily protected and only requires a little [commitment] after the cam at the lip. I would submit that this is an excellent route for the beginning 5.8 leader.

I agree with Jayer and others. While this is a good route [fairly] rated, it would be (is?) spooky off the ground for a beginning 5.8 leader.

Super fun route, steep, balancy, and tall. I also agree that it would be very scary for a new 5.8 leader though.

Definitely not a beginner 5.8 lead. While everything is there, as mentioned earlier, it can be hard to find a restful stance from which to place pro for the first third of the climb or so. A nice steep, strenous route though with interesting sequences to decipher. Traverse left from the Bastille trail just past two rather large trees to the start. It is quite exposed, but the moves are easy.

No need to clip the pin or even place a cam before pulling the lip, there is a little hole that you can sling a runner through, bomber and makes the scary move a little bit less frightening....

The 5.8 part is fun, true, but my favorite part is the finish: 5.5 Very exposed buckets. Airy!

Definitely NOT for the 5.8 leader. Feck potential on the first real moves in a typical Eldo, rotten band roof. Switch between the corner and a steep 5.8 bucket haul. Go to the end of the rope and belay at the tree.

Really cool route but S at the beginning for sure.

CL