Elephant Buttresses  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Lat, Long:  40.0125, -105.308 Map Page Views:  97,786. Good page?    Administrators:  Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac Submitted By:  Michael Komarnitsky on Jan 1, 2001 Make this area a Favorite What's New  Printer View Add Area  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

BETA PHOTO: The Elephant Buttresses. Most routes start off th...

Description 

The four blocky towers known as the Elephant Buttresses lie just to the right of the Dome. They are numbered one through four from left to right. Almost all the routes are trad; no sport routes here. Some routes have old fixed pins; not many have bolts. An irrigation water pipe runs along the base of these crags.

Be careful of poison ivy; this area has it in abundance!

Some of the classic routes include: Tough Situation (9+) and Classic Finger Crack (9) on the Second Buttress; Standard Route (7+), Left Wing (10), and FM (11) on the Third Buttress, and Northwest Face (8) on the Fourth Buttress.

Getting There 

Approach as for the Dome. Park in a small pullout on the right 0.5 miles up the canyon, or in a large parking area on the left. Cross the bridge over the creek and turn right. Follow the new climber's access trail up to the aqueduct. Turn right and walk along a trail to the water pipe; watch out for poison ivy! Continue along the water pipe to the crag you want to climb. The pipe ends at a water tunnel between the Third and Fourth Buttress.

Descents 

There are several ways to descend from the top of these crags:

• The easiest walk-off is to head left (north) toward the Dome, and descend a trail down to the aqueduct just left of the First Buttress.

• You can scramble down between the Second and Third Buttress to a tree atop Pine Tree Route, and rappel 90' back to the water pipe.

• If the water level is low enough, you can descend to a tunnel between the Third and Fourth Buttress, and walk through the tunnel back to the water pipe. Be prepared for darkness and wet legs/feet!

• You can downclimb the steep, 4th-class gully between the Second and Third Buttress; tricky in spots and not recommended for novices.

The Classics

Featured Route For Elephant Buttresses

Left Wing 5.10c  CO : Boulder Canyon : ... : Third Buttress

Cool route with interesting moves. My limited trad experience kept my evaluation to a modest two stars.The route starts about halfway up the 4th class gully between the second and third buttresses. The climb itself is on the third Buttress. Begin by traversing right across a ledge into the obvious dihedral. Some small, good placements will get you up to a new bolt that protects a few feet below the roof and the first crux. Clip this and then a fixed Friend in the overhead crack. My buddy w...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO

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BETA PHOTO: Second Elephant Buttress 1. Tough Situation (5.9+...	BETA PHOTO: Third Buttress 1. Standard Route (7+) 2. West Face...	Elephant Buttresses panorama.