West Ridge - Long John to Verschneidung

Description 

This section might be considered the lower-middle section of the West Ridge. It is arbitrarily defined by the well-known Long John Wall and Verscheidung. The name for this section is abbreviated to help fit screens but lengthened so that you know the margins more clearly.

This section of the ridge appears to contain the second foray onto the ridge, Long John Wall, by Pat Ament, Larry Dalke, & Wayne Goss in 1965.

This area does have excellent stone, with some desert-like varnish in spots; however, still there are loose sections in places. Consider a helmet.

There are classics here including: the surprisingly-popular Washington Irving, 5.6; the blood-pumping Chianti, 5.8+; the longer Long John Wall, 5.8+; popular The Unsaid, 5.9; Handcracker Direct, 5.10a; Break on Through, 5.10a; among others.

Like other areas on The West Ridge, without a rack, your options are limited. Some sport-ish-like routes like the interesting Varieties of a Religious Experience, 5.11b & the stout Atom Smasher, 5.12c, will still require a rack to approach it and to supplement the fixed hardware.

Most routes will use a rappel descent. It's best to figure this out in advance to getting off the ground.

While this is some of the cleaner parts of the West Ridge, you still have to be cognizant of loose rock in some part of this section.

Getting There 

Approach is dependent upon the depth of the creek, the parking available, and your desires for the day. You can approach this section of the ridge by parking at the Milton Boulder, wade the stream or boulder hop (Aug-ish to May-ish) to the base of the ridge and ascend. Or, you can approach by parking at the E end of the park, cross the bridge, hike on the trail paralleling the creek, and traverse the slippery 3rd class ramp around to the base of the West Ridge. Note, this last traverse is intimidating for small kids and particularly green partners. Then, you hike along the trail at the base of the W face of the West Ridge to your desired route.

Featured Route For West Ridge - Long John to Verschneidung

Long John Wall 5.8  CO : Eldorado Canyon SP : West Ridge - Long John to Verschneidung

Start to the left of a large overhang and just right of a large right-facing dihedral. Watch out for poison ivy near the start.P1: Start up the easy ramp and grovel up left through an awkward slot. Climb a thin slab with marginal small pro, traverse back right, and continue up a crack to a decent ledge (7).P1 variation 1 (5.8): Start on Break on Through, 20' to the right. Climb the layback corner, go up a ramp, turn the overhanging corner on the le...[more]