BETA PHOTO: Basically an overview of the standard routes that ...
Description
A 450' monolith just a few miles up US 285 from the exit off C-470 SW of Denver. It seems like every town in America has a place named the same, but I wonder if it climbs as good. I only know of about 10 established routes ranging from 5.6 to 5.11. However, due to its mass, many variations abound to delight most any ability. The routes are mostly crack with some bolted sections.
Getting There
Driving directions from Golden:
From the intersection of CO Hwy 93 and US 6, take US 6 East a few miles to CO-470 East (Colorado Springs). Go 6 mi. on CO-470 to the US 285 South exit. Go 4.3 miles on US 285 South to milepost 247, then continue to a spot where you can turn around. There are several spots for U-turns from the left lane, but the safest is to continue to a right-hand exit and take an overpass back onto US 285 North. Go back to a large pullout at milepost 247.
From the parking area, head east (upstream) about a hundred yards and take a steep path down to the creek. Find some boulders that allow you to cross the creek, and find a black rope you can use to get up the steep bank at the other side. Follow a trail through the woods (past a wooden teepee) to a talus field below the rock. Trees are marked with pink tape. Continue up and left to the base of the routes. For the Unknown 5.9, look for bolts heading up a blocky area on the face. The route, Lover's Leap, starts just to the right.
Did it today, and I did not care for it. Lots of vegetation in cracks and on the slabs (moss, lichens, weeds, etc.) Made getting a solid footing or good handhold very difficult. When you consider the hike in is harder than that to the 1st Flatiron, and the rock isn't as good, you may be better off at the Flatirons, Eldo, or Clear Creek.
All this aside, it was much better than spending a day at work!
I added some links to the midway bolts on the standard route. Starting from the Fixe rings at the top, two double rope rappels gets you to the bottom. Currently, this is the easiest descent, in my opinion.
DO NOT TRY TO RAP THE FACE WITH A SINGLE 60M, you won't make it to an anchor position.
A single-rope rap route is in place through the side gully.
The approach; I expect climbers & JeffCo will be working on a better approach to the crag to mitigate the creekside erosion, I think most will agree with me in this respect. Monty offered a good tip: don't head straight up the hill from the creek. Once you get on the far side of the creek, walk about 50' to the west and you find an established trail skirting a small ravine/gully. This trail takes you to the base of the westernmost buttress, then a small traverse across talus that is not too bad to the base of the main crag. This traverse is easier than the straight-up approach and saves the creekside from erosion.
I was climbing up there yesterday as well (10/6/06) and followed another party down the single rope rappel descent, into the gully climbers' right from the top, and starting at the small tree with slings (maybe 30 feet up and right of the top of Lover's Leap (5.7)). There are 2 more bolted rap stations with chains below the tree, and the rope pulls clean.
That tree will fail eventually with repeated use. I'll put a 2 bolt rap station on the slab by the tree within the week. Hopefully, that will save the tree (and people!), keep descending parties away from ascending parties, and allow most parties to take only 1 rope. If anyone has objections, please let me know asap. It'll be safer than using that small tree or relying on tat webbing around the block to get to the chain anchors lower down.
DJN -- No objections have been relayed to me. JeffCo would like the natural resource conserved. My comments posted & your thoughts should be of similar intent.
This place is, and has always been, a backyard adventurer theater. It's dificult to protect and harder, steeper, and way more committing than you think it should be, or want it to be. If you take it for granted, underestimate it, or over estimate your abilities, it will eat your lunch!
Yes, Olaf, that is what some of us are trying to avoid. (RE: bringing the routes down).
The trouble is that this is place is seeing more frequent use by way of the standard 5.7 route. In itself, that's a not bad thing because it's a fun protectable route that isn't really affected by how many people want to climb it. The trouble is climber traffic going down which has taken a manner away from the established side gully and onto the face and potentially over a leader. If no-one else is climbing, no big deal; but on a nice summer weekend day, you'll get 4-5 parties of 3-4 people each working the crag, if one party of 2 wants to work one of the more adventurous, difficult, & runout lines, there is the possibility of being rapped over. There is also the possibility of rapping over someone leading on the standard 5.7 if you take the retro-bolted cave anchor and go straight down from there.
I think our intent was to get a fixed anchor on top that would conserve a small tree and allow for single rope raps into the side gully and get descent parties off the face, in no way altering any of the face lines.
(Based from one of my comments I posted last summer, since edited out -- The party that my friend had to help evac off the face, still contend that the initial rappeller did drop at least 2 feet when attempting to rap from the tree onto the main face - I also checked the tree out last fall, it looked and felt solid to me, but I could see some minor seperation in the roots from a pull to the main face. Bolts there are a good idea and will work to keep access into that side gully for rapping)
Any work on the fixed protection on the main face should be replacement bolting. I'd hate to see additional anchors get put in on that P2 .9 to .8R line, or over Tunas.
Tried to get to Lover's Leap on Saturday, May 5th, but couldn't cross the river. We hiked up and downstream, but no easy or safe way across. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting up there this time of year, or do I just wait for the water level to drop?
Did you lose a piece of gear here yesterday? Tell me what and where and I'll work with you to get it back to you. email: nguzu@excite.com P.S. the creek is easily passable now....
Top Anchors by the small tree have suffered freeze thaw fracturing. DO NOT USE THESE TOP BOLTS. CONSIDER AN ALTERNATE DESCENT...
On 5-9-08 we attempted to rap the new (07' face descent) but upon a routine inspection of the bolts noticed a very hollow sound from under the bolts. The surrounding rock still sounds great but we noticed the surface bouncing and knocking between and around the new hangers.
On our approach we observed a party descend this line without incident. When we learned of the weakened host rock we were very puzzled... did they check them and not care?! or did they not check them? Spring is definitely the time to check things like bolts, fixed pitons, and old chock stones.
I am very sorry to say that we have left quite a mess that we plan to help clean up in a day or so. In an attempt to remove the hangers by fatiguing them (pounding them in a back and forth motion), we ended up with bloody knuckles and flattened hangers. Sorry! Our hope is that people will see the mangled hangers, the giant X marked in chalk and scratched in the rock, and the old webbing back on the tree again. DO NOT RAP OFF THE HANGERS BY THE TREE. Even if they were safe THEY ARE NOT NOW!!! - SORRY!
I climb that route a couple times a week and those hangers were great all last year. But their aspect on the gently sloping gneiss probably allowed water into the bore holes. I think they should be moved down to the verticle step immediately after the 5.7 hand crack (P3) the vertical aspect may help to preserve the embedment.
Lover's Leap
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