| Type: | Trad, 350 ft (106 m), 4 pitches |
| GPS: | 39.42096, -105.25683 |
| FA: | unknown |
| Page Views: | 1,576 total · 5/month |
| Shared By: | toby nitchka on Dec 6, 2002 |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Per Josh: for the first time in at least 5 years, it appears we have nestlings at the peregrine falcon eyrie at Cathedral Spires! The breeding pair has been present and made attempts at nesting all those years but have not gotten this close to fledging a nest in that time.
Ornithologists across the Front Range have noted that migration and the onset of the avian breeding season seemed to be delayed by around 7-10 days this year, possibly because of the timing and amount of spring precipitation. The peregrines at Cathedral laid eggs later than usual. Because of that, their nestlings may not be ready to leave the nest by the time our usual seasonal closure would end, after July 31. As such, the closure this year will remain until at least August 15 (an opening of August 16). This should give the nestlings the time they need to finish development and leave the nest area.
2023 info: jeffco.us/1531/Alerts-Closures
The Cathedral Spires area, including Block Tower, Cynical Pinnacle, Snake Buttress, the Dome, Hall of Mirrors, Sunshine Wall, and Poe Buttress, are closed annually starting March 1 for raptor nesting. After careful monitoring of nest sites, Jefferson County Open Space opens certain areas of Cathedral Spires and maintain spot closures for active nests through July 31st. Check back periodically during times of closure for updates: jeffco.us/open-space/parks/…
Note, JeffCo Open Space has notified us that access to The Bishop and Poop Point (along with all the Cathedral Spires Area) currently goes across JeffCo OS land. Despite information in some guidebooks (published or soon-to-be-published), the entire Cathedral Spires area is subject raptor nesting closures. Please be aware of the hefty fines associated with failure to observe these regulations.
Description
We traversed onto this route from Squatter's Rights, so I have no info about the first two pitches. The third pitch was our variation, the first half of which was 5.5-5.6. Then it steepens a bit, and leads up to the right of a small overhang. There's an old bolt there. We set up a hanging belay: the crack above takes a #3.5 cam and there's also a small crack on the left for protection.
4th pitch, variation: follow the obvious crack to the right. There are decent underclings for holds and pro as you smear out onto the slab. It's exposed and hard to see what to place, though, as you're above it. (I yelled at my partner to tell me if I had the right size, but then relaxed a bit and figured it out.) Stretch wide with your right foot to gain a decent little foothold. Continue traversing right. This leads you into the "Stripteaser" crack system. The crack you're on peters out before this, and you have to carefully stretch and traverse out and down. (This is a cool section, but you may be relieved when you're in Stripteaser.)
From here, follow the crack on up and out (5.10b). Or, if you're enjoying the traverse, continue on sparse face holds to the right around the rounded corner to the next crack--"Man on Fire". Again, it's a bit reachy a traverse but brings a smile to your face when you've made it. Do your best to protect it for you partner. I stuck a #4 high in Stripteaser before continuing on towards Man on Fire. However, this also caused incredible rope drag, and I had to pull my way hard around that corner!
5th pitch: (Now on Man of Fire) Fire up the short pitch. There's a huge detached flake at the top that offers pro. You can then boulder up its arete to the ridge (fun). Easy scrambling will take you higher along the ridge if you like, but there are rappel slings just on the other side of where you top out. There's a second rappel further down the gully, so don't take off your harness after the first. Cheers!



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