A 5.10+ variation to the 1st pitch of Comic Relief...
Description
Comic Relief is an excellent introduction to 5.10 climbing in the Black, with clean rock, good pro, easy routefinding, and a relatively short day. The climb stays in the shade until early afternoon, so it's a good choice for hot weather. This is one of the more popular routes in the canyon. It is easier, shorter, and better protected than Journey Home.
Descend SOB gully to a white, polished slabby area under the third prominent buttress on your left. Look for a prominent left-angling feature low down (the "Vector Traverse" on Escape Artist) and a beautiful, thin, curving crack to the right of this. Head up the slab to a worn path leading to a 100 foot shoulder of broken rock. Scramble (rope?) 4th and easy 5th Class up and right to a large block/flake and the bottom of the route. All pitch lengths are approximates, and like many routes here, optional belay points may be used.
Pitch 1 (75'): Begin in a nice 5.9- corner which leads to the base of the splitter crack. Variation: The thin tips crack to the right (with a little bush in it) is hard 5.10, but somewhat dirty. Belay at the base of the splitter (or keep going - you can combine these 2 pitches).
Pitch 2 (100'): Climb the splitter (excellent 5.10b, RPs at start) to a stance and belay (extra thin hands pro).
Pitch 3 (140'): Climb a left-facing corner, and move right where it ends. Climb the short wall above, or move around right to the base of a slab (optional belay at some blocks). Climb the slab (5.7), and a second short slabby/corner (5.8), to the base of an overhanging, black corner, and belay (good anchors, a little sloping stance though).
Pitch 4 (120'): Traverse straight left, to a 5.9 hand crack groove which leads to a nice ledge. Variation: Climb the strenuous "Black Corner" above (5.10), then hand traverse straight left (5.6) to the belay ledge (optional 4" cam to protect the 2nd). Note that if you used the optional belay on pitch 3, you can climb the slab and traverse left to below the 5.9 groove and belay in one pitch.
Pitch 5 (120'): Several options. Climb up and right to a thin crack at a bulge, slightly sporty 5.9 or easy 5.10; or up, then left around the outside corner to join Escape Artist, and onto a steep pegmatite wall with a crack (5.9 or so) which leads to the large, sloping shelf at the "Lightening Bolt" crack, and belay below the prominent corner.
Pitch 6 (85'): Climb the grungy-looking corner with a precarious block (5.9+ if dry) to a short pegmatite section, and a belay ledge on the right. This pitch climbs better than it looks. Variation: Climb the striking lightening bolt crack (5.11b or so) on the overhanging right wall, sharp, strenuous, but well protected with large wired nuts to 2" cams. Variation 2: The runout arete left of the corner is 5.8, dirty and best ignored.
Pitches 7-8 (300' or more): Climb the lower angle, but at times runout, wall above (some 5.6) to the top of the summit ridge.
Go to the left-most set of rap anchors, just over the edge, and above a big chockstone. A single 60m rope will take you down to a rubble ledge system. Ascend the obvious and loose gully to the north- do not take the gully to the right (east)- and hit a vague trail back to the campground. This is the "standard exit".
With the Black Corner and the Lightening Bolts, the climb is a more sustained challenge. If you combine P1 & P2, and simul-climb the upper wall, the route goes fast in about 6 pitches. Watch out if you are climbing below another party, since stuff on the exit wall is loose, and a rope could easily dislodge something big.
Protection
Double set wires to 3" cams, one set RPs, a 3.5" piece. A single 60m rope will get you off the top of the summit ridge. Helmet.
Although meeting up with Escape Artist on p.5 is easier, the climbing on the original line is very fun and asethetic, I recommend taking the original route.
The fifth pitch goes straight up through a short chimney section then RIGHT up a ramp to a great 5.9+ corner that leads directly to the base of the lightning bolt crack...
A very good climb on good rock the whole way up. The crux pitch in particular is fantastic. It seemed quite sustained at the 5.9 grade until we gained the upper slabs - definitely in a different league from Maiden Voyage.
Pay close attention to rope drag if traversing over to the 5.8 finger cracks on Escape Artist on P5. I foolishly did not, and paid the price by doing 100 lb leg presses up the finger cracks and onto the sloping ledge.The original line looks much nicer.
The climbing is over after the first pitch (assuming that you link one and two of course) the rest is mindless climbing. Great intro route to the canyon.
Strongly disagree with Piz. If you do the Black Corner and Lightning Bolt pitches, the climbing is by no means over after pitch 2. A 3-star route in my book.
I also disagree, and I didn't even do the Black Corner or Lightning Bolt variations. Thus, instead of thinking of the route as hard, I like to think of it as beautiful sustained 5.9 crack climbing the whole way (until the exit slabs), briefly interrupted by one out of character, short stiff (and thinly protected) 5.10 section.
I just like to see who's reading and who's not outside climbing. I am not intending to offend anyone. : ) Sorry, if that's what happened.
By Ben Mottinger Founding Father May 27, 2003 rating: 5.10c
Overall excellent. I would suggest an extra 3.5" piece if you belay below pitch 4/5 (5.9 hand crack). The belay requires this size so the leader must climb fairly high before a no. 2 camalot fits.
Near the end of pitch 6 there is a very small little overhang cave thing that is just big enough to keep two people from getting rained on as long as you are about 12 years old. Otherwise you have to like your partner a whole lot. And enjoy knees/elbows/etc jammed in your chest/legs/etc. ;-)
Slightly better than Escape Artist IMO.
The second pitch is sustained and while no single move may be 10c, the entire pitch feels about 10c to me.
The 5.10+ direct start is great and easily combines with the next pitch. Do this start, the Black Corner, and the Lightening Bolt and you have quite a bit more sustained climbing.
Climbed Comic Relief in amazingly good weather 6/24/04. Linked P1+P2 which is definitely the way to go. Makes for a sustained 185 ft 10+ pitch. Things to remember. Double sling at the end of P1 to reduce rope drag and listen to the beta about bringing lots of small hand and finger pieces. P1 and P2 are mostly small hands and fingers. Ran out of appropriate pro which led to a run out of about 20 feet near the top of P2 before getting a nice green cam in. The Black Corner is a worth doing. It looks blocky and easy, but is just over vertical with less than perfect jams and some awkward holds.Watch for loose blocks, rocks and a few sticker bushes on the last 2 pitches (easy 5th class unless you get lost).
Charlie from Winter Park here,... A great route, and fantastic intro to the Black. Highest quality rock (although a few of the ledges have loose stuff on them), takes great gear, and a cooler side of the canyon. Crux pitch felt a solid 5.10 - one can bicker over letter grades, but in the old days we just called it 5.10. And what a great pitch at that, one of the finer 5.10s I've done in a while. The upper pitches are incredibly good, too. So don't delay, go out and find a belay! Naturally, do be careful!
Great climb, although wandering. All pitches are good, even the easy summit slabs. I followed the the P2 crux (carrying a substantial pack), and the orange left facing corner, and led the other 9 something pitches and had a harder time on all the 9 parts (leading or following) than on the 10 moves. The 10 moves are just two technical very brief moves to decent stances. The 9 climbing is sustained and pumpy and somewhat dicey at the several thin hands sections.
Get an early start! This route is getting popular. We left the campground at 5:30am and were first on the route. By the time we were at the second belay stance, there were two parties on our tail. We were not climbing slowly either. (We did the entire route from the first move to the summit rappel in 6 hours).
Also, even though it is rated 5.10, it seemed hard. I think that the thin hands crack on the second pitch (splitter), and the 4th pitch were definitely the cruxes. The 4th pitch openbook hands crack felt much harder than 5.9 to me. I had a harder time on this pitch than I did on the 5.10b splitter crack of pitch 2. I followed the 5.9 and lead the 5.10b.
Overall, this is a great climb with solid rock. Very enjoyable.
We took most if not all of the hard variations and found this to be excellent: shady, clean, continuous and sustained (except for the easy peg at the top). Sort of cool that one could go back the next day and reclimb the route doing a quality variation on almost every pitch.
Very good route description by SL.
By Chris Perkins From: Avon, Colorado Aug 29, 2007 rating: 5.10+
The second pitch is harder than 10b if you have big hands, but that goes to say with most cracks. The fourth felt harder than 5.9 also. The book is correct when it says leader needs to be solid on 5.10. I liked Journey Home better.
By eric dixon From: Durango, CO Jun 12, 2008 rating: 5.10
Good route on clean rock. The splitter P2 is simply outstanding! The P4 handcrack is super fun, as is the corner on P5.
By Jeff Stephens From: Carbondale, CO Sep 27, 2008 rating: 5.10
Great rock, great protection, great views, great comraderie.... Pulling into the 5.9+ dark dihedral on Pitch 6 (middle of pitch 5 for us) was the crux for me. It is steep, awkward, and generally swarthy. The leader faces a bad ledge fall here, but on toprope I harmlessly and repeatedly bounced off the ledge as I morphed into a dog while trying to climb this corner. I kept falling even though I was yarding on a jammed hex. The climbing is sustained, with 5 distinct sections of great jamming.
Also, I dropped a bottle of Vadge body spray somewhere on this route. If you find it, just go ahead and use it.
By dbyte From: Carbondale, CO Sep 29, 2008 rating: 5.10
Great route - long, interesting, & reasonable enough to be enjoyable by any ~5.10 climbers. I found the 4th pitch to be slightly harder than the 2nd. WAY more physical @ least.
North Chasm View Wall
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