This cliff-lined nook is southwest of the Pinnacle. It is on the abrupt north flank of Mt. Cutler. A bunch of good routes are located here. The copious trees allow for lots of shade and good summer climbing. Beware the approach is in your face.
Getting There
Follow the approach as for the West Face or the Pinnacle. From the parking area, 0.85 miles after the canyon entrance, walk across the road, heading west for a few feet. Locate a trail in the trees, on the south side of the road. Follow this through the woods and up a steep scree slope. You will be climbing up the same scree slope as you use for the descent of the Pinnacle or West Face. Look for the first side canyon on your right. Head up this canyon to its end. The climbs are located here. Allow 15 to 30 minutes from the car for this step approach.
Went climbing the first weekend in August 2002 at the Amphitheater. All the first bolts were missing on the _easily_ reached first bolts. The routes looked ok, but some of the second bolts look a bit high. Make life easy and take a hanger and nut.
Rock & Ice #95 has an article by Stewart Green and Ian Spencer-Green that covers all of this stuff, you can backorder it for a few bucks on their website I think.
I hate it when I have the ability to answer my own questions (had to go come and dig through a stack of periodicals to find my R&I). Since I haven't climbed the routes, and know nothing about them I'll take liberally from the authors (working L to R, after Climbing by the Brooks:
The Full Male Deal (5.10c) 2 pitchesCool Runnings (5.12d/13a)Project Cave Route (5.13)The Dance of Shiva (5.12c)Crickets in the Cabbage (5.10d)The Disclaimer (5.11b/c)
Quick note about R&I #95. When i bought my back-issue over a year ago, the person on the other end of the phone informed me I bought the 2nd to last copy. Which may mean that they have no more (or maybe they do). If you're needing a copy I may be able to offer full-colour scans (after I check out the appropriate copyright law to verify this is acceptable).
It is a violation of copyright law to scan and give away the intellectual material. However, since I created it, I can. If anyone wants a copy of the North Cheyenne Canyon guide, I will be happy to email it to them.
There seems to be some confusion about who developed this area.
I bolted the entire area; however, I didn't get the first ascent of Climbing by the Brooks. All ofther first ascents are mine. The two pitch climb was orginally named The Full Meal Deal, but Stew accidently called it the Full Meal Deal in his R and I guide.
The cave route needs a lot of cleaning, and maybe a bit of glue too. Looks better than it actually is.
The Rock and Ice guide to North Cheyenne Canon is available on my website: www.stewartgreen.com. Follow the links to a PDF file with topos and descriptions.
The Amphitheater
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