Dark Shadows 

5 bolts were replaced in October 2001 by the ASCA: "first pitch protection bolts, one bolt at pitch 3 belay, one bolt at original pitch 4 belay, and the protection bolt on pitch 5. Most anchors higher on route are one old and one newer bolt, and all can be backed up with natural gear. One protection bolt off of a ledge on pitch 6 is an old rusty 1/4"."

The above description ignores that there are at least 6 more pitches of rock up above that are part of this great route. My memory of being on some of of those last January is not good enough to really do justive to the route, but I wanted to make a comment or two.One of my reasons for not going tha whole distance was the lack of equipment- that being which was required to replace the anchors on the upper pitches- in some cases just webbing and rings, but in all cases the stations were pretty sketchy one way or another. It should be done the rest of the way up.I ran out of webbign and rings before I finished the job. If you head all the way up, BYO.

When I climbed this route, we went all the way to the top of Mescalito. The upper pitches are quite different from the lower ones, the rock is not as good, route finding ability is needed and there were no more fixed anchors (when I did it). Thus a larger rack and sense of adventure are required. The summit is a scenic spot that is worth a visit.

If you go to the top, I would not recommend rappelling the route. From the summit, simply scramble NW along the ridge, then eventually drop down the east side into a bowl, avoiding anything harder than 3rd class. From here you can descend into the north branch of Pine Creek (same creek where the route starts). I have done this twice, taking slightly different routes, doing one rappel or two. Look for downclimbing routes as much as possible, you should not have to do more than two raps (the last one right into the creek bed). This is actually a pretty short descent for Red Rocks (taking maybe 1-2 hours back to the base of the route). Unfortunately there is no descent beta from the top of Mescalito in the new Swain guide, I think there was in the old edition.

Don't miss this route! A classic.

Not sure about the "s" on the first pitch rating - seemed quite reasonable to me. There's no reason at all not to combine pitches one and two - I've done it on 50m rope with no problem. Great ledge at the top of P2.

The 3rd pitch is most definitely not 75 feet. You CAN'T rap on a single 45 or 50 meter rope from there and I've got the booty to prove it. Haven't tried a 60m from there though. The best descent is with two ropes - you can rap 3 + 4 together (plus avoid the worst of the rope eating crack) and then 1+2. I always descend the last rap in tandem, each of us carrying a rope end to keep it out of the water. When you pull the rope get your partner to stand in the pool and keep your rope semi-dry!

Both lines are good on pitch 4 - the crack on the right and the dihedral on the left. The one advantage of the dihedral is that nobody will drop a rope on your head as you pull the crux.

Pitch 5 (the overhang) was pretty good but we backed down from there in the face of easy climbing and questionable rock. The character of the route changes a lot when you leave the varnish.

A great route for photography.

John

Great route! Cool creek and crystal clear pools at and near base. While we were climbing this route we got to watch mountain goats defy gravity on the cliffs across the way. Is anybody else ever amazed that an international epicenter of hedonistic pleasure, vice, dirt and grime is so close when back in these beautiful canyons? I always am.

Climbed this route October 4, 2004. You can rappel with one 60 meter rope ONLY IF you get to the top of P4. Otherwise, bring two ropes. At the top of P4 are two sets of anchors. You need to rappel from the lower anchor to the right. The supertopo guidebook has the next rappel anchor drawn in the wrong location. It's lower down. You might want to beef up the slings too. Then rap to the top of P2 and then P1. This is also the better descent route if you have two ropes. Fantastic climb.

My partner and I only had the original 1970's small little red guidebook that describes this route in detail for 6 pitches and then says something like "climb a bit more to the top and then walk-off down the ravine." I will say the first 4 pitches are spectacular - some of the best climbing I've done at Red Rocks. The next two pitches were so-so and the last "bit" of climbing to the top was actually two more full rope lengths of sketchy moderate face climbing with essentially no pro. We got to the top near the end of the day and after searching around quite a bit we saw no easy walk-off. We decided it would be safe to come back down the way we knew, but the raps consisted of having to use sketchy webbing through a hole in sandstone at the top, a single old rusty bolt for the next rap (no place to put in pro), and then us having to leave a two nut anchor for the third rap until we were back to the nice bolts at the tope of P4. Do yourselves a favor and rap back down after the fourth pitch... the rest of the climb (and adventure) isn't worth it.

Well, I havent been to the top via Dark Shadows, but I have summited via Deep Space, a route a ways to the left.

Walking off Mescalito is possible, but routefinding is important, so getting to the summit with an hour or two of daylight left is ideal. Basically head back and drop off to the right (north side) and then stay high, following the occasional cairn for quite a ways. A couple of short 4th class traverses later, and eventually you hit the canyon floor near a fallen tree and a large boulder. From here, its just a good, long, easy hike back to the packs and the car.

Alternatively, it is also (in theory) possible to rappel the last chimney on Cat in the Hat, then downclimb to the summit of the regular route and then rap that route with two ropes.

Perfect route for warm/hot days. Totally shaded with a nice, cool pool of water at the base.

this thing is not all in the sun thats crazy, went last monday got an early start and only pitch 4 was in the shade, if you plan to try to escape the sun and climb this in the summer dont start early the sun cooks it. the shade doesent start untill around 11 but i finally did the route the first 4 pitches. and i am impressed, i liked dark shadows, so go back and do it, is what i say..and the base is a great spot to chill out

What s stellar route! I led the first 3 ptches, actually linking pitch 1 and 2 together. The third pitch was my favorite. All in all, some of the best climbing I've done so far. Watch out for the water down below when tossing your rope. 2 60 meter ropes are whats needed for 2 raps to the base.

Topped this out yesterday and I think the upper pitches are awsome. Climbed the first 4 of Dark Shadows to the roof, then went through the roof to do pitches 5&6 of Heart of Darkness. Joined up with dark shadows agian to top out. Getting down sucks, but the climbing and the views are great.

Upper pitches area ton of fun. Rock quality is better than I expected. Handren guide gives good directions. I would recommend staying roped up for the final 250' of "4th class".