Bullet the Blue Sky 

This is one of two routes (A Virgin No More) in Penitente Canyon that had pockets added to the route after the first ascent. Herman Goldner, a short, little man from Aspen could not do the opening moves without resorting to the drill. The pockets were later filled in.

A truly stunning route. Just trust yourself and be confident on the dyno at the start, then get into your best zen-balance mode for the rest of the arete. A spectacular climb on perfect rock- a must do for any 5.12 climber!

This is the most stunning sport climb I've seen in Colorado. The climbing is excellent, with memorable moves, following the arete for the entire length of the climb.

The beginning slab is thin and delicate, with a dyno from the slab and arete pinch to a big flake and the last rest (on a ledge) before the real business.

The arete above the rest is the crux, with extreme pinching and body tension to milk the tiny wrinkles for feet. Once you get into the huecos on the upper section (on your right hand side) the climbing eases up quite a bit.

An amazing climb.

I did. It was so ironic that I had to find out if there was any truth to it.

Jonah; There is no truth to it.

Unfortunate to hear Herman Gollner chipped these pockets. A little hard to believe on a 12c because he runs laps on 13c at Rifle. He's anything but fat. More of a ripped human specimen. They don't call him the Herminator for nothing. But maybe this all happened before he was that strong. Does anyone have any more details on this chipping incident? When it happened, etc?

Not so hard to believe when he admitted to it. Him and some guy named Alf did the deed. He also chipped a arete at Lincoln Creek crag near Aspen.

it seems this was going on over here and then polite banter stopped and all was quiet.....http://www.texasclimbers.com/cgi-texasclimbers/beta/157.shtm>>>>>

Too bad Herman G. stooped to those levels. The guy is a good climber so I don't know why he bothered with chipping. Thanks for the info, Bob.

I think this Alf character might be a bit of a legend. At the Enchanted Tower in NM last March some friends and I ran into Alf -- it must be the same guy, how many people are called Alf? He introduced himself and asked if he could climb with us with a Glock strapped to his hip. How could we say no? For the next three days he did some climbing with us. He claimed to be an astrophysicist and that he lived in a school bus in nearby Datil until some local hooligans took it over, shooting at him to keep him away. He was a pathological liar but he makes a good story. Hearsay has it that he manufactured many holds on established climbs at the Enchanted Tower. Still a wicked cool area, though. He may introduce himself with a gun strapped to himself but he's harmless. To people anyway.

Wow, Alf is still alive and kicking. When he first came to Rifle and none of us dirtbag locals could afford a resole (the dude's only bread and butter at the time), he threatened to shoot us, but, fortunately, left before anyone had a cap busted in their ass.

I think he is mostly harmless, but it's a bit scary to hear that he's upgraded his arsenal. Yes, there is only one Alf, and he does exist. You met him.

Last time I saw him, he was driving a van with the back sawed off to his encampment out near Box Canyon, New Mexico, and attending the School of Mines in Socorro.

It's too bad he's manufacturing at the Tower, but then again, maybe he isn't. Let's hope not.

Matt, ran into Alf last week at the Bridger Jack camping area as I was going up to do a few towers. He is still alive, still repairing shoes and still claims he is a astro-traveler. My last meeting with him was not as pleasant. This was after he and Herman chipped the holds on Bullet the Blue Sky. Tony Herr was with me and Alf can thank him for being able to walk away unharmed. You been up on the "Pass" yet? Later, Bob

Being an ex-NM person, I've met Alf a number of times at the Box and Enchanted Tower. He actually comes across as a nice, albeit insane, guy. I can't begin to tell you how many Alf tales (some tall) I've heard. They range from the egregious (chipping next to 45 degree wall at Hueco(see Verm's Hueco guide), threating people with guns, etc...) to the more mundane (destroying the access trail at E.T.). The guy has an "...in a Blender" problem at Hueco named after him, after all. Glad to see new "Alf" incidents are being experienced to this day.

Bob, haven't been up on the Pass yet, or gotten a report. It was wet here over the weekend, and Sopris is coated, so I'm betting it is still pretty wintry up there. Rifle is mostly dry... for what it's worth.

I remember hearing about that incident on Bullet. That's a true bummer ... My last Alf encounter wasn't much fun, either, as I was being threatened with a .22.

Incredible dyno, sweet moves, very balancy.

I am by no means a 5.12 climber, but I would love a chance to hop on this classic line. Is it possible to reach the chain anchors from above to throw down a TR?

I have TR'd this many times by climbing Huecos and then reaching left to the chain.

While the aesthetics and exposure of this route are indeed fantastic, I thought it would be worth mentioning that for a shorter climber (as with many routes at Penitente) the positions for clipping on this route are very strenuous and perhaps even dangerous. I enjoyed this climb but thought that poor bolting greatly took away from its status as 'best sport route in Colorado' (?). Maybe with the draws hanging it would be better...who knows....

I felt some of Jonathan's pain on this. Since fixed draws are quite common for hard stuff, like at Rifle, it can feel satisfying to redpoint on fixed draws. Isn't the Euro-rule: If you hang/grab the draws yourself, then do it that day, that's a redpoint? I'm guessing the FA was done this way.

The second clip is a show-stopper for me. I hung a shoulder length sling on #2 and only clipped it once. No high clipping. This way trades an easier clip for increased commitment getting on the ledge. I call this method moving-a-bolt-without-screwing-up-a-masterpiece.

When Iraq was invaded, our son, Tim, was on the ground with the Marines. We were bummerized by all the war-monger propaganda in the news then. What a relief to see Bob up at Cactus. The first thing he said was "This war sucks!" I'll always be grateful for his morale boost!