The Barb

The Barb is a fantastic route, a great first 5.10 alpine climb. Nearly every pitch is a gem. It has a boulder problem crux with lots of sustained 5.9.

P1. Start up a left-facing flake, 5.6. (Per Doug Haller: near the top, step right into a v-groove, and continue up the face across blocky round to the middle earth ledge. Many parties combine pitches 1 and 2 or 1-3.)

P2. Scramble up to Middle Earth Ledge, and move left, 4th Class.

P3. Wander up the face, and find a left-leaning slot. Follow this to its end, 

P4. step left across the face, climb a right-facing corner, and belay as high as possible, 5.6. (Per Doug Haller: the slot is not obvious or required. Many parties belay at a fixed anchor with a quicklink and continue up a series of flakes, some more loose than others, to the base of the right-facing corner. (The Rossiter guidebook suggests climbing the corner and setting up a belay. The ledge is good, but the gear is sparse and small, so there is a benefit of belaying from the base of the right-facing corner.) 

P5. Finish the corner, then follow an amazing, left-leaning crack at 5.9, ~120'.

P6. Starting on the left, climb through an A-shaped roof, and follow a beautiful crack. Find a belay in a shallow, left-facing corner, don't go too high. This is a shorter pitch. (Or per Doug Haller: from the alcove, follow a left-facing and left-leaning corner for about 30 feet. The crack and wall "turn" vertical. Follow the crack up and then along right to gain a ledge below the A-shaped roof. Climb through the roof, and belay at one of two locations: 1) a ramp with some small pro or 2) 20 feet higher with larger gear but a semi-hanging belay, 5.9, 110 to 130 feet or less.) 

P7. Start up the corner, then continue in the crack system until you see a (seemingly solid) pin to the right in a right-leaning crack. Climb past this (5.10 crux) and up to a belay. End at a belay on the crest of the Barb Flake.

(Or per Doug Haller: make a relatively long reach, and step left to join a near parallel sided crack. Climb a few more feet up, and look right to spot a pin in a right-trending crack. Make a long reach with delicate foot hold to gain a stance below the pin. Make a couple of more bouldery moves to gain a wider crack with solid gear. Follow this to where the headwall slopes back to a slab. Belay here, 10a/b, ~120 feet.)

P8. Climb straight up a crack through a small roof and then go up a ramp for about 40 feet. Step right around the edge of the Barb Flake at a tiny horn and get onto the North Ridge route. Alternatively, climb runnout but easy face all the way to the top of the Barb Flake and then execute an exposed and somewhat tricky downclimb to the notch.

P9-10. Climb the last two pitches of the North Ridge, and follow that route to the top.

I called the route 10- because of the short crux, but it is graded as high as 10c in other guidebooks. The crux is only 2 or 3 moves, but the feet are kind of insecure. I've heard P4 compared favorably to P2 of Over the Hill in Eldo, and I have to agree. It is easy to climb too high on P5 in search of a better belay stance. This is my favorite route (out of a pitifully small sample size) that I have done in RMNP, and I would definitely repeat it. It is lots of fun. If possible, don't forget to scramble to the summit. It's wild!

SR. RPs and TCUs help. Maybe bring some extra fingers to thin hands.

From the top of the Barb Flake, parties choose between finishing to the true summit via a short but tricky (~5.10a) downclimb off the back side of the flake, followed by the last two pitches of the North Ridge, or rappelling back down without topping out.

The walk-off from the summit descends scree slopes to the south, reported alternately as an "SE Ramp" (4th class) or a "SW side" (3rd class) descent, and several Mountain Project commenters describe it as loose and disorienting, with the correct line trending climber's left; don't be discouraged if it looks like it's about to cliff out.

The rappel option is faster if you don't want to top out, and follows the same line used to descend The Kingfisher, a separate 5.11 route on Spearhead that shares its upper pitches with The Barb. Kingfisher's first ascensionist has described rappelling this line from the summit of the Barb Flake, so beta and anchor-condition reports from either route's page can be useful here. 

Expect several rappels, generally doable with a 70m rope, except for the last one to the ground. Once seasonal snow has melted out, that final rappel runs close to 40m, longer than half of a 70m rope, so a straightforward single-strand rappel may come up short. An 80m rope is reportedly enough to reach the ground in one shot; otherwise, carry a retrievable rappel device (e.g., a Beal Escaper) for that last pitch.

Anchor quality along this descent has been reported as inconsistent, some parties have found solid tat, others dangerously thin cord and undersized quicklinks, so inspect every anchor before committing and be ready to bail to the standard walk-off if it looks questionable. Note that at least one report describes a separate, sketchy rap station in an adjacent gully near the normal walk-off, distinct from the rappel line described above, so confirm you're on the intended line before committing to any anchor you find.