Sunny 'til mid afternoon, this is a great place to take the kids climbing. Mostly easy bolted routes. Ten draws and a 50 meter rope will cover all but one climb. My wife loves to take a book and a portable chair and suntan here.
Getting There
Essentially the larger right hand mass of the dome that hosts the Spray Wall, the Water Dome located 2.1 miles past the pay station at the canyon entrance. Park as for the Spray Wall, walk down past the Spray Wall and around the corner to the dome.
Visited Water Dome for the first time today. The cleanest approach is to Spray Wall and onward as described above. Unfortunately, there are plenty of sticker bushes to slow you down. Around the corner from Spray Wall, you have to do some rock-hopping over the water and go up a low-angle ramp. Sandals would make this easier as the water was just about shoe depth. At the top of the ramp is a nice area with berries ready to eat.
Water Dome is pretty big and has 4 or 5 routes.
The first route you come to heads up some boulders to the first bolt. Then it heads left ten feet to the main line. Around bolt 2 or 3 this climb is fairly thin and wasn't super easy. To the left of the bolts is a mini-ridge that's not easy to see when climbing. There are a few holds on it and without it, would make for a very thin face. 6 or 7 bolts total to a 2-bolt anchor with rap rings.
The second route begins 20 feet right and goes up the middle of the face. It's interesting due to a roof that must be ascended to get to the anchors. Protection is good over the roof.
The next route looked more vertical with wider spaced bolts. Didn't study it very much. The last route on the main wall looked to be a little more easy, but we didn't get to climb it. On the far right wall looked to be one more route. It ends at chains that you can see hanging in free space.
It'd be great to see these routes and what their actual grade is.
We were just there today, and between today and our last visit a few weeks ago, we have climbed 5 of the 7 routes. It is a fun spot to climb and a great place to practice slab technique. It also has easy access to the river if it gets too hot!
Here would be our opinoins (and please don't take them too literally)as to the ratings of and info about the climbs we have done. If nothing else, maybe it would help you find the easier to harder climbs. From left to right: (Please note - numbers are not climb names, but just for convenience.) 1: The first climb has some fun exposure we would put it at probably a 5.6. There is one little thin spot. 2: This one was easier - maybe a 5.5? It is very well-protected, especially at the above mentioned roof. 3 and 4: We couldn't see the entire bolt line from the ground, and we didn't have time for them all anyway! 5: This is definitely the hardest route we climbed on the wall. There is a pretty tough section in the lower half of the climb (between 1st and 3rd bolts). Maybe a 5.7 or even an 8? 6: The next climb again was easier. It is well-protected and is closer to a 5.5. Note: 5 and 6 lead to the same set of bolts. If you are less comfortable on slab, you could lead this one and then toprope the one to the left. 7: The last route is certainly the easiest climb on the rock we climbed - we are thinking 5.4? It is also well protected and a fun climb. Watch out for large flake at top - may be detached so be careful. Hope this helps to anyone else interested, and we would love feedback from the FA's or other climbers as to ratings and names.
By Pete Gallagher From: Manitou Springs, CO May 27, 2007
Oh boy, well is there any way to keep this dome fixed protected as it currently is (excluding the trad lines)? It seems like a lot of fun to sport around with.
By Pete Gallagher From: Manitou Springs, CO May 28, 2007
No worries Mark. I'm not interested in starting a pointless bolt war at Knome Dome (aka Water Dome). I merely wanted to make certain that the record is set straight. As I stated in the post for Heels over Heads, it's not the first time a trad route has been subsequently "FA'ed" as a sport bolt route in the canyon. I just wish some folks would bother to take the time and ask around before assuming that thiers is the first ascent - particularly on such an obvious line as "H over H".
By Girasol From: Colorado Springs, CO Oct 16, 2007
Here are my comments on the routes that three of us did today (indicated by the date 10-16-07 above the comment). We climbed these in the reverse order of the numbers (starting with 7 and ending with 1). We crossed the river below (to the right/North of) the wall. The water was low, so it was fairly easy and faster to cross rather than take the bushwhacking path from further upstream. We found the hardest part was crossing the river (some of us were more graceful on the rock crossing than others) to get back to the car! It would be good to see some additional opinions on the ratings from other people.
1: The first climb has some fun exposure we would put it at probably a 5.6. There is one little thin spot.
10-16-07 By this time I was freezing with blue lips and cold feet, so I skipped this one. You will have to ask my partners about it. A flipped “J” curved route, which requires a bit of a traverse to the left at the beginning. From below/belaying, it looked a little slabby and blank (even a little slippery – the two others who climbed it almost slid backward) once you got past the first or second bolt. I also didn’t care for the long drop to the river below. But as long as you have a good belay, I am sure it is fine.
2: This one was easier - maybe a 5.5? It is very well-protected, especially at the above mentioned roof.
10-16-07 Fun route! Maybe a 5.6, especially for the roof move and above the last bolt to the anchor.
3 and 4: We couldn't see the entire bolt line from the ground, and we didn't have time for them all anyway!
10-16-07 We skipped these also. We could see the anchor about 20+ feet above the roof and crack that went up from the roof, but did not spot any bolts on or above the roof. Appears to be a bit of a runout.
5: This is definitely the hardest route we climbed on the wall. There is a pretty tough section in the lower half of the climb (between 1st and 3rd bolts). Maybe a 5.7 or even an 8?
10-16-07 Lower half is more like a 5.8+-5.9 (top half is more like 5.6ish). The bottom half is close to vertical and has very crimpy tiny fingers or otherwise very small hands and small feet. Slippery and blankish between 2nd and 3rd bolts – all three of us sat on the rope here at least once. But never fear, it is doable (though a good challenging face climb) and you are rewarded for the first half by the second half. The small ledges up higher seem like bomber jug mega-holds after the bottom half! What a blast!
6: The next climb again was easier. It is well-protected and is closer to a 5.5. Note: 5 and 6 lead to the same set of bolts. If you are less comfortable on slab, you could lead this one and then toprope the one to the left.
10-16-07 I would rate this a 5.5-5.6.
7: The last route is certainly the easiest climb on the rock we climbed - we are thinking 5.4? It is also well protected and a fun climb. Watch out for large flake at top - may be detached so be careful.
10-16-07 Nice, well-protected, easy climb (5.4-5.5?). The flakes up top both seemed pretty solid, though there’s a nice gap between parts of them and the face. A little bit of a reach to the anchor/chains (bolts and chains looked very new) at the end. Overall, a good first sport lead route or warmup.
I hope that my two partners from today will also comment! Feel free to ask any questions. girasolgrl@rockclimbing.com
Knome Dome aka Water Dome
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