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Select Route:
Ants In My Pants 
Cemetery Gates 
Chicken Soup 
East Winds Change 
Hawaii Five-0 
Hawaiian Two-Foot (aka "Hawaiian Tufa") 
Music for the Dead 
Procession 
Silver Surfer, The 
Surf Boy 

Lower Tier 


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Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: Pinklebear on Aug 2, 2002

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BETA PHOTO: The Hawaiian Wall at Rifle Mountain Park.

Description 

The Lower Tier is the wall/walls immediately down-canyon of the Skull Cave. The climbing here is "slabbier" than other areas at Rifle, but the stone is an interesting blend of white and blue rock with funky spikes, swirls, and undercut bulge features that make for puzzling climbing.

The left sector sits directly above the parking area, and has two routes facing the road (scramble up onto a ledge to start). The right sector is back along a litte trail leading into the trees and faces downcanyon (west-ish). The Lower Tier is one of the sunniest crags in Rifle -- if you're trying these routes in the summer, you'll have until about 1 pm until the sun comes around.


Getting There 

Park in the two car pull-out just below (downcanyon) from the Skull Cave _this parking area is directly across the road from Merry Maids -- an obvious, left-leaning inset corner with blue and white rock -- on the Ice Cave Walls. Alternately, park at the bigger lot at the Wasteland and walk back up the road (3-5 minutes).


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Lower Tier:
The Silver Surfer   5.11c     Sport, 1 pitch, 90 feet   
Hawaii Five-0   5.11+     Sport, 1 pitch, 110 feet   
Surf Boy   5.12c     Sport, 1 pitch, 110 feet   
Hawaiian Two-Foot (aka "Hawaiian Tufa")   5.13a     Sport, 1 pitch, 90 feet   
Chicken Soup   5.13b     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Procession   5.13b     Sport, 1 pitch, 90 feet   
Music for the Dead   5.13b     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Ants In My Pants   5.13c     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Cemetery Gates   5.13d     Sport, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
Browse More Classics in Lower Tier

Featured Route For Lower Tier

Chicken Soup 5.13b  CO : Rifle Mountain Park : Lower Tier
This is an easier, more direct start to Soup Nazi. Climb an easy crack past two bolts to skip the difficult boulder problem start of Soup Nazi, and continue up the brilliant head wall. With intriguing technical moves, great rock, and a slightly spicy finish, this might be the best route on the Lower Tier and one of the better 13b's in the canyon....[more]   Browse More Classics in CO