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Spiral Staircase area

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"tween Slabutt & Spiral" 
8mm 
Eraser, The 
Esmerelda 
Guano 
Middle Curtain 
Misery 
Pencil, The 
Quasimodo 
Secret Probation 
Slabutt 
Spiral Staircase 
Svengali 
Tourette's 

Spiral Staircase area

Submitted By: Leo Paik on Mar 19, 2006
Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac
Elevation: 9,000 feet
Views: 11,993 page views

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Description 

This is an area created to help with the organization and reduce the cluster for the Vail ice/mixed area.

This area is located uphill or East of the Rigid Designator/Fang amphitheatre. The classic of the area is the Spiral Staircase. There have been routes put in to the left of Spiral Stairs. Since the opening of that route, lines left, right, and above have been done. The area above is called the Pencil & Eraser area or the Belfry. Multiple modern mixed lines fill this small amphitheatre. All these routes are short, none longer than 25m.


Getting There 

It's best to exit I-70 at the E Vail exit, about 100miles W of Denver, parking problems abound here, find legal parking or be rich, or you can park near the Pumphouse area. Then hike back east to Spiral Stairs. Climb it or 4th class gully to the right.


History 

From Rich Purnell: Misery was the first mixed line in the upper Staircase area, which I refer to as the Belfry (Spiral Stairs leads to the Belfry). It was put up in February of 1998 with a hand drill and boasted two pins. Svengali followed the next Jan and sent on Feb. 3rd in '99 then Quasimodo in about 2003. All these routes were FA'd without the nice leashless tools and heelspurs we now all know and love. Finally, Pete Takeda and I added Guano and Esmeralda sometime around 2004. I think there is still at least two routes to do here, and a variation to Svengali that would be pretty nice.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Spiral Staircase area:
Quasimodo   WI4     Trad, Ice, 1 pitch   
The Pencil   WI4-5     Trad, Ice, 1 pitch   
The Eraser   WI4-5     Trad, Ice, 1 pitch   
Esmerelda   WI4 M6-7     Trad, Mixed, Ice, 1 pitch   
8mm   M7     Trad, Mixed, 1 pitch   
Misery   M8     Trad, Mixed, 1 pitch   
Secret Probation   WI5 M6-7     Trad, Mixed, Ice, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Spiral Staircase   WI4     Trad, Ice, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Browse More Classics in Spiral Staircase area

Featured Route For Spiral Staircase area
CA's slate just prior to the send of 8mm.

8mm M7  CO : CO Ice & Mixed : ... : Spiral Staircase area
Climb up a shallow corner on small (small) holds. The rock climbing here is technical and fragile. Pull the lip to a sheet of ice no more than 1/2" thick and about 20 feet long. The ice does take a stubby just under the roof but then again there are anchors at that point. LOCATION: OK the route is 15' left of Tourette's (the 3 bolt slab route) and Dragon's Teeth which are all left of Spiral Staircase, on the same band of rock as Spiral Stairca...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO