Getting close to Devil's Slide. This is the first ...
Description
This is a great [granite] dome that extends right from the roadside. The [quality] of the rock is good other than some weak flakes. There are many great slabs, but without trad gear to get above them and set an anchor they would be impossible to do safely. There are plenty of first [ascent] possibilities, for someone who is experienced at placing bolts. The rock offers finger, hand and fist cracks, spaced between sections of slab and face. This is a great spot for winter as it is in the sun throughout the day, but you may experience some snow and water near the top.
Getting There
Get onto Old [Stage Road] behind the [Broadmoor]. Drive several miles until you come to a parking area facing directly east-overlooking Colorado Springs. Some boulders and a 7-foot high, narrow spire can distinguish the parking area. Do not park here, but once you see it drive another quarter mile or so until you come up to a large granite dome on the right side of your car. There is a pull off that can hold 2 cars. Park here and you can belay right from the road side.
That dome you're talking about is actually referred to as the "Devil's Slide." Pretty much every feature on it has been climbed. The obvious crack/seam on the right goes at about 5.6....bring replacement webbing. The central slab is a worthy TR. While there, check out the gorgeous splitter above the slab. Felt every bit of 5.10, but is rated old school Springs .9. All and all, a nice area that usually goes in the winter.
This is called Devil's Slide. Lots of routes have been climbed on it...both leads and top-ropes...since the 1960s. I climbed several routes with Steve Cheyney back in the early 1970s here and later did some that had old 1/4" bolts on them. The small cliff above it also has a handful of trad routes on it.
Despite other posts about the other lines on this rock, I have seen only one piton (placed by Harvey) the rest of the rock is still virgin to drills and bolts, at least as far as I have been able to tell on my several visits. The steep formation above the dome is filled with cracks some finger, some much larger as for that area, I have not explored, but the rock looks solid. If you are looking for a bolted line don't come to The Slide.
I was up there the other week. The old 1/4" bolts on the lower slab are now gone. As far as the formation above the slabs, all of those cracks have been climbed. This area was the site of the Colorado Mountain Club's annual rock climbing school from 1967 through the early 1970s. A good climb is an obvious zigzag crack on the right side of the upper cliff...it was always called Lightning Bolt Crack.
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