The East Face of North Gateway is closed to climbers every year from around Feb 1 until early August, depending on when the birds fledge. It's not posted out there, but since the closure has been in effect for 20+ years it is incumbent on climbers to know about closures by stopping in at the visitor center and asking. The falcons always nest in a big pothole above the traverse ledge and below the Kissing Camels arch.
Climb Tourist Gully from below the Finger alcove to the second eyebolt. Belay from the second eyebolt and examine the route - it starts with a 10' descent and traverse to the first two pitons, not directly up to the closer chain setup (that's Son of Tidricks, another good 5.8). The route generally arcs out right, up, and then back left in a crescent.
Two cruxes exist, in between the second and third pitons (flakes no longer exist) and right at the third. The route is thin but the feet are much better than they feel. Really. Be very careful from the last bolt to the anchors not to damage the extremely friable flakey sandstone, and don't climb this at all when it's wet or damp! Many good flakes are gone because of irresponsible climbing and not following the 'down not out' sandstone mantra.
Rap from the belay eyebolt to the ground with a 60m rope. Classic route, but getting harder (somewhat sandbagged as a straight 8) each season. A second pitch continues up at 5.9 from the chains.
Protection
3 drilled angles and 2 good bolts lead to a 3-chain belay with a solid quicklink anchor. 7 QDs.
A 60m rope does not reach the ground. What you can reach is tourist gully and then it is a downclimb to the ground. I would suggest rapping to the anchor you started out on and then rapping to the ground from there.
For what it's worth, I just did this route yesterday and found it to be less than pleasing due to the poor rock quality. Some of the flakes are incredibly brittle and flakey, to the point that I didn't want to weight them, but had to in order to make the moves.
The above comment is correct in that the route is harder than 5.8 due to ledges of the soft sandstone being pulled off.
By David Danforth From: California/Colorado Nov 10, 2002
I agree with the last comment. Someting must have been pulled off recently. Between the second and third pins, there was too little to be a 5.8 I read somewhere there was a nice ledge right after the traverse (after the second pin) right before you actually climbed UP the face, but there wasnt anything there.
Yeah, a big flake and lots of small ones came off between the second and third pitons in 2001 after a big rain. So be advised that it is fairly runout between those 2 pitons and is more like 5.9+ or 5.10-. Earl Wiggins and I replaced the 2 upper pins with bomber 1/2" bolts 3 years ago and the lower manky pins are on my Garden replace list. I was thinking of adding one between pins 2 and 3 to make the route safer and Ed Webster, who did the first ascent, agreed that I should. So a winter project....
A new 1/2" bolt now protects the long runout between the second and third pitons where the big flake came off. The bolt was placed by local climbers in conjunction with the city park & rec department which would like some of the routes made safer.
I climbed this route today and nearly every feature I was told about on this route is now missing. Very small edges with long reaches. It felt somewhere around 5.11 to me now.
By Bosier Parsons From: Colorado Springs, CO Nov 21, 2007
You can also do a direct variation to this route by starting on the lower finger traverse. After clipping the first bolt on the traverse, go straight up the thin, left-leaning seam past 2 new bolts. This was sustained 5.10 or even 10+ and runout, but some small or medium cams would help. Anyone know who put this up and what the consensus rating is?
I climbed this variation last November and thought it was 5.10a. The bolts, however, are not very good. If this is going to remain a route, they need to be pulled and replaced with beefier hardware. The question is: Do we really need having variations to routes like this one? There could be a lot of 2 bolt variations on the Finger Face. I'm of the opinion that it should be pulled.
By Bosier Parsons From: Colorado Springs, CO Sep 7, 2008
Stewart - I really enjoy this variation. I thought it was much thinner, harder, and more sustained than the Lower Finger Direct, and it can always just be top-roped from the Place in the Sun anchor. I thought to lead it in the condition it's in would be pretty bold, but it seemed to me the bolts were solid enough. It definitely seems like one of the best, steepest, most direct lines on the face. I too have mixed feelings though about adding hardware, but as long as it's there, I would vote to leave it. Not sure if that helps....
By Erik Tullberg From: Colorado Springs Nov 10, 2008
I also would vote to leave it. I lead the variation past the second bolt yesterday, but couldn't quite make the third (shaky legs and all). I agree with the 10a rating. I'd actually be a fan of an extra bolt between the second and third bolt... it's at least another 20' to that third bold and since it swings to the left a fall brings you across your rope line with a chance to get tripped up and do a header. I think we've had enough blood on the rocks this summer (see Re-thinking the Ethics :) ).
The orginal route is a bit junky and the direct route seems like much more stable rock.
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