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Ignominity

5.9, Trad, 3 pitches,  Avg: 2.7 from 158 votes
FA: Erickson, Behrens, 1968
Colorado > Boulder > Eldorado Canyon SP > W Ridge > W Ridge - part C - Po…
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Description

Ignominity is a pretty cool route with some steep cruxes and interesting climbing. Start at the right-facing dihedral about 25 feet left of Long John Wall.

P1. Ascend the easy dihedral, and head right around a small roof and tree. Now move back left and up the face (8) to a tree with slings.

P2. Clmb the easy dihedral up to the first crux, a bulge that you can lieback (8+). Now at the next rest stance, place another piece and crank the juggy, but steep crux (9). Pull up to a low angle dihedral, and move up to a big ledge.

P3. Now climb up and left through a wide slot, and make a balancy move to get situated on this sloping ledge. Carefully stand up and get the big jugs, and mantel up to the next section (8). The thin crack above will take a #2 Friend low, and a #3 RP higher. Get your left foot jammed high in the crack to reach the jug that marks the end of difficulties. Now traverse left on a horizontal crack to a nice belay ledge.

Descent: originally: make one more little pitch up 20 feet from this belay, and rap off of a tree with slings. There are two more trees with slings to get you down with a single 50m.

Alternatively, you can rappel off two bolted rap anchors ("the Sooberb rappel") followed by a walk-off to climber's left or a 3rd rap from a slung tree on climber's right.

From at least 2024: per Doug Haller: you can rappel off two bolted rap anchors ("the Sooberb rappel") followed by a walkoff to climber's left or a 3rd rap from a slung tree on climber's right.

Protection

Rack up to #3 Camalot. A #4 is optional but recommended and can be useful for some on all the pitches. A single 50m rope works fine.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

[Hide Photo] untitled
Looking at the mental crux of the 5.9 pitch after you pull over the bulge it's a 5.7 PG-13/R finish. One small nut before a 0.75 near the top. I was able to clean the crack slightly in the middle to place a #4 nut on a crystal.
[Hide Photo] Looking at the mental crux of the 5.9 pitch after you pull over the bulge it's a 5.7 PG-13/R finish. One small nut before a 0.75 near the top. I was able to clean the crack slightly in the middle t…
Ben Mottinger up the first pitch.
[Hide Photo] Ben Mottinger up the first pitch.
The steep second pitch action!
[Hide Photo] The steep second pitch action!
Tony Bubb leads P2 of 'Ignominity (5.9)' on Eldo's West Ridge in 2003. Photo by Joseffa Meir.
[Hide Photo] Tony Bubb leads P2 of 'Ignominity (5.9)' on Eldo's West Ridge in 2003. Photo by Joseffa Meir.
Mark Speiker getting into the 3rd Pitch of Ignominity.  Photo by Tony Bubb.
[Hide Photo] Mark Speiker getting into the 3rd Pitch of Ignominity. Photo by Tony Bubb.
Nearing the crux.
[Hide Photo] Nearing the crux.
Below the third pitch crux move.
[Hide Photo] Below the third pitch crux move.
Once again right-side-up, Jason Haas surmounts the roof on P2 of Ignominity, on the West Ridge of Eldorado Canyon. Photo by Tony Bubb, 2/2007.
[Hide Photo] Once again right-side-up, Jason Haas surmounts the roof on P2 of Ignominity, on the West Ridge of Eldorado Canyon. Photo by Tony Bubb, 2/2007.
Mark Speiker high on the face of 3rd Pitch of Ignominity.  Photo by Tony Bubb.
[Hide Photo] Mark Speiker high on the face of 3rd Pitch of Ignominity. Photo by Tony Bubb.
Ben, approaching the first roof on the second pitch.
[Hide Photo] Ben, approaching the first roof on the second pitch.
Starting the second pitch.
[Hide Photo] Starting the second pitch.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Ben Mottinger

  5.9
[Hide Comment] On pitch 3 there is a variation that heads right through a thin crack (10b). There is an old 0.25in. bolt on the face above. Jan 1, 2001
Tony B
Around Boulder, CO
  5.9+ PG13
[Hide Comment] There is YET ANOTHER variation (**) called "Ignore Me" (FA Bubb, Spieker, Fall 1996) through the roof 3 meters left of the 3rd pitch of ignominity. This 5.10 variation is rated R for the face above, which has no available protection, but is only 5.7 Jan 11, 2002
Chris Cavallaro
Lone Tree, CO
[Hide Comment] When we did this, we started to the left of the first pitch, and did the 1st and 2nd combined into one nice pitch, climbing past the trees. Definitely a better way. You can also rap from the 2nd pitch by traversing left to a rap station (under Sooberb), or finish with the last pitches of Long John. Very fun and steep! Feb 6, 2002
Michael Komarnitsky
Seattle, WA
[Hide Comment] Tony, I can't seem to place your "Ignore me" variation.... the pictures to me look like the standard roof exit on pitch 3. Can you clarify?

My two shakes: seems like this route deserves an 's' rating to me. P1's 5.7-5.8 moves are above a #3 Camalot (with a shoulder runner if you're smart), with potential to deck on the ledge below if you screw up the unclear sequence up to the tree.

Pitch 3: While a #4 would probably have made me feel better, I would have been in for a nice bloody swing back into the blocky slot if I had blown any of the moves into the horiz. slot and over the roof. Also, that initial blocky slot is scary; climb gingerly, especially around the big vertical spike in the middle that is so tempting for hands and feet.

This route is FUN! So typical eldo climbing; strange sequences to descipher.

The beta for P3 (since my partner and I looked at it ~8 times before sending it); set up high into the horiz. slot, and then reach for a postive edge inside the slot on the roof. That's the hold that lets you rock over onto your placed foot on the corner. Apr 2, 2003
Bryson Slothower
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] I'd agree with Myke and suggest that pitch two has some pretty serious fall potential as well, small and hard to get gear in the steep section kept my full attention. Fun route though! Apr 5, 2003
Tony B
Around Boulder, CO
  5.9+ PG13
[Hide Comment] There is a small crack in the topo in the 'new book' just right of the main line. That is the 10b _thin crack_ which is actually about 5.12b and has a bolt (old button head) to protect the moves. Further right of that, and DIRECTLY above the pitch to the roof with NO TRAVERSE is a horn above the roof. No crack to speak of in my memory until you pull that.. That is Ignominity.

To pull onto this ledge and work right ~ 3 meters more and pull the bulge on a few secure holds is what we originally called 'Ignore Me.' Mark and I originally called this 'The Beach' for his beached whale move onto the shelf from which he rolled over to grab the spur of rock to pull the roof moves on Ignominity. The pictures I posted are are taken from below, by me of Mark following, as I lead continuously through that roof, to a tree [above], placed and anchor and rapped down prior to his following the pitch on Ignominity.

To refresh my memory, Jason Haas and I went back on 3/2/07 and did both again. Rather than do the awkward moves up on Ignominity first and then go left on the crowded ledge to pull the bulge, I just started from the chossy ledge 3 M left of Ignominity. Easy enough, but a little runout. It continues up directly to an ending point with a second crux on a sharp horizontal mantle into a slightly scooped slab to finish about a meter and a half left of Ignominity. Apr 8, 2003
Shane Zentner
Colorado
  5.9-
[Hide Comment] Fun second pitch. A yellow Alien protected the crux (if my memory serves me correctly). Steep and worthy. Oct 27, 2003
Clint Locks
Boulder
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Racking up to a #4 Camalot will make the beginning of the 3rd pitch more comfortable for you. You'll have opportunity to use it on the other 2 pitches, too. Oct 3, 2004
[Hide Comment] I climbed this today, and found the second pitch to be fantastic, but we were mystified trying to find the third pitch. We ended up climbing something directly above the rappel tree that was very easy--about 5.6--and didn't match the description given here at all. Rossiter has no topo--can someone describe where the pitch is in relation to the rappel tree? Feb 26, 2005
S. Kimball
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] Toughest 5.9 in Eldo. Tricky gear also. Mar 24, 2005
Ivan Rezucha
Fort Collins, CO
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Repeated this today after a 4-year interlude. Self-belayed it in one 70m pitch. Had about 1 foot of rope to spare. Great climb with lots of hard moves. Was a little shakey in a couple of places, but thought the gear was all good. A #4 Friend and a trick brass nut protects well the first hard move below Sick Flake. At the P3 "roof" you can stretch and get an HB offset at the lip before committing out left. To make that insecure move out left I threw my left leg to head level and heel toed deep in the slot, Then pulled my butt onto the ledge for a no-hands rest. You can get a good cam here near the lip (red Alien or 0.4 Camalot) and then more pieces above the lip if you're willing to hang out on the jug and place them. Aug 14, 2005
shad O'Neel
  5.9
[Hide Comment] If you go left of the first tree there is a cool, steep corner system that protects well and is a bit less wandery than going right. We also didn't figure out the third pitch and did the easy slot above the rap tree. Gives reason for a repeat. Really good route, much more solid than it appears from below, excellent climbing, with committing but protectable cruxes. Nov 7, 2005
Danny Inman
Arvada
  5.9 PG13
[Hide Comment] Good route that is much better than it looks from below. At the first tree I went up and left over a fun roof via a crack and jugs-this is a bit more direct than going right. Ivan's comments are right on: a # 4 Friend and a # 5 BD stopper (tricky placement) protects the tricky moves getting to the small tree. Overall, the moves on this route plus the gear kept my full attention. Sep 11, 2006
Doug Redosh
Golden, CO
[Hide Comment] Would agree with Michael Komarnitsky's comment back in 2003. I led the first pitch, and the last moves to the tree are a bit committing, above a #3 Camalot and small wire. I chickened and belayed at the small tree to the left. This was OK for my partner to lead the 2nd pitch.
The 2nd pitch is beautiful! Nov 19, 2006
Jason Haas
Broomfield, CO
[Hide Comment] As for the variations of on the 3rd pitch - Ignore Me 5.10b (5.7 R) starts roughly 10ft. to the left of the awkward wide slot of the original line. You can go up the easy ramp of the rotten band, then climb a short face on jugs to reach the shelf that continues out left just below the roof of the original line. This will place you just right of a gully. There is a thin seam that widens into a fingercrack. If you're tall (6ft.) you can reach a bomber fingerlock and pull through the crack that way. If you're shorter you'll have to do some face moves to get up to it. Once the crack ends, there's a runout 5.6/5.7 face for about 25ft. In the route description above, I believe he describes traversing off the route at a narrow band below a final headwall, but I took the original route over that headwall on huge jugs, no harder than 5.9-. Ignore Me goes over the headwall 10ft. left of that, just right of the gully. There is a horizontal crack where you can sink a sideways handjam then mantle onto the slabby face above. This will place you on a big ledge with a tree as for the original line. The rap anchor tree will be slightly left of where both the regular and variation finish.

As for the variation to the right with the bolt: We discussed the Rossiter variation and felt that he went through the roof of the original line, then moved right into a shallow, right-facing dihedral. Following the single bolt to the right, however, will take you to this dihedral, but via a much harder ascent. I think pulling past the bolt on the bad slopers (bring a brush to clean the lichen) to a microedge felt about 5.12b. This would take you through the roof on the right through the small crack then up past the bolt, which was definitely not 5.10b, but very fun. Mar 5, 2007
nstarclimbon Kongsingh
Chiang Mai, Thailand
[Hide Comment] Hi there

My name is Add from Thailand. I climbed the Ignominity on 16th of June 2015 with a friend. Somehow I may forget my number 1 red cam and on the carabiner side write CMRCA. It could be on the top of the decent or on the ground.

If anyone found it. I would be appreciated.

Here are my contacts: - add@thailandclimbing.com
- 801-462-6305 ( My local number )

Best,
Add Jun 19, 2015
Kyle Judson
Colorado
[Hide Comment] Tread lightly leaving the 2nd belay. The horn just right of the wide crack, starting up pitch 3, is loose and positioned right above the belay ledge!

Aside from that, this is a great route with some of the steepest 5.9 climbing in the canyon! Good luck figuring out the roof on pitch 3. Mar 4, 2017
Matt Hagny
  5.9
[Hide Comment] This is a great route, really fun. We found the pro to be very good -- all the cruxes were well-protected.

I thought we were following the lines in Steve Levin's guidebook assiduously, but apparently we went astray early on P3. My partner went slightly L of the belay through a weakness in the roof, which we thought was 9+ afterwards and joked that this was the hardest 5.7 pitch we'd ever done. Maybe we were on the 10b variation, but the lines on the topo made it appear we were exactly on the original route.

Anyway, great fun on some short overhanging sections that were well-protected. We were nervous after all the talk here about it needing an S rating when in fact the gear was very good by Eldo standards. Aug 20, 2017
Mark Roth
Boulder
 
[Hide Comment] This description says to traverse off left on the 3rd pitch. You could easily escape left, but you shouldn’t. Go straight up! The final headwall is super fun. I think this is the correct finish. Tony’s post here almost threw me off... mountainproject.com/route/1… Feb 2, 2019
Ryan Henderson
Denver, CO
 
[Hide Comment] The 1st pitch was okay, the 2nd pitch was awesome, and the 3rd pitch is the worst thing I've climbed in a long time! I'd much rather get on something with more consistent great pitches. Just my opinion though! Good luck on the rock humping on pitch 3! Jun 20, 2019
W K
[Hide Comment] Do this route! The climbing can be awkward, but overall it's so varied and interesting.

A little extra gear beta: I don't think a #4 is necessary for this route. You can definitely fit it in the slot on pitch 3, but you can also place a passable 0.5 directly above you before committing to standing up on that sloping ledge. You're basically toproping the move after that. Sep 14, 2019
Steve Annecone
Boulder, CO
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] One of the better 5.9s I can think of in Eldo! Great exposure through many sections, and challenging for the grade IMO. Jun 13, 2020
plantmandan
Brighton, CO
  5.9 PG13
[Hide Comment] This route is great, and it gave me a beating. It's very steep and pumpy with mostly face moves. As a climber who relies on technique more than strength, it was a challenge. I found it to be harder than a lot of 9s and 10as in Eldo. If you are looking for crack climbing, this is not the route. P1 has a committing move that feels much better if you have a #4 to protect it. The guidebook mentions jams on P2, but they were few and far between, it's mostly steep jugs and tricky to protect. P3 currently has a fixed cam that shows you the way, straight up. It's a very puzzling sequence to get up the slot and over the roof. The topout on P3 is terrific, but it is also runout in places. Overall, a fun but humbling route. Rap off Sooperb, just a few feet left of the top of P3. Jul 5, 2021
Keith W
Denvah
  5.9 PG13
[Hide Comment] This was an excellent route; however, I would advise any person who is breaking in to the grade to make sure their head game is on point before heading up this one. While there is usually gear where you need it, there are still a few spots where a fall would be very consequential, and there is some questionable rock on pitch 3's start. I believe this climb warrants at least a PG-13 rating.

Off my soapbox, and again, this route was AWESOME! Do it. Heady and thoughtful climbing and great exposure on pitch 2. Some helpful gear beta: the first pitch crux I was able to adequately protect with a #0.2 X4 and a Black Totem. I advocate for the #4 as well. It is probably not necessary, but I sure enjoyed having it for the pitch 3 slot. May 1, 2023