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Nose in a Day

5.5, Sport, 105 ft (32 m),  Avg: 2.3 from 111 votes
FA: Brian Shelton & Stewart Green
Colorado > Colorado Springs > Red Rock Canyon… > Westbay Wall
Warning Access Issue: Reopened after flood damage! DetailsDrop down

Description

The 1st two bolts are the same as Billy's Ghost Dance. Once you get past the second bolt, there's a lot of loose rock. It also breaks off pretty easily, so be super gentle on it. After the third bolt, there's a smooth section that goes to the face you have to climb up and over to get to the anchors. The place to stand at the top is really small. We had a tough time having two people up there and still being able to maneuver.

Location

The route starts the same as Billy's Ghost Dance but instead of continuing straight after the first 2 bolts you head up to the right to the left of the small, pine tree.

Protection

This is 7 bolts to a 2 bolt anchor. The right anchor was loose, the bolt hanger spun a bit but was still secure, the bolt did not move out of the rock at all just moved around. Suggest you just keep a close eye on it.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Locker at the anchors on the little roof at the end. Note the grooves where the rope runs out of frame at the bottom: those are places where top ropes have ground away a runnel of rock. This stuff is really soft.
[Hide Photo] Locker at the anchors on the little roof at the end. Note the grooves where the rope runs out of frame at the bottom: those are places where top ropes have ground away a runnel of rock. This stuff…
11 y.o. Gabby takes on the roof at the end of her first day climbing outdoors.<br> <br> Photo by daddy Steve.
[Hide Photo] 11 y.o. Gabby takes on the roof at the end of her first day climbing outdoors. Photo by daddy Steve.
Nose in a Day.
[Hide Photo] Nose in a Day.
Gabby climbing the Nose in a Day.<br> <br> Photo by Steve.
[Hide Photo] Gabby climbing the Nose in a Day. Photo by Steve.
Clipping the high first bolt for Nose in a Day and Billy's Ghost Dance. It's easy climbing but definitely runout - there's a few feet of rocks below this picture before the ground.
[Hide Photo] Clipping the high first bolt for Nose in a Day and Billy's Ghost Dance. It's easy climbing but definitely runout - there's a few feet of rocks below this picture before the ground.
Pulling over the roof on toprope.
[Hide Photo] Pulling over the roof on toprope.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Jim Gloeckler
Denver, Colo.
[Hide Comment] High first bolt, but easy climbing to get to it. Overall a good route, but I think it felt more like 5.5 than 5.6. Just fun! Anchors seemed fine to me. Mar 17, 2010
Stewart M. Green
[Hide Comment] If you notice in the past few printings of the Red Rock Canyon climbing guide, I did drop the rating on Nose in a Day to 5.5. Apr 29, 2010
Matt Payne
Colorado Springs, CO
 
[Hide Comment] Very fun beginner route! May 5, 2010
Bill Olszewski
Colorado Springs, CO
  5.5
[Hide Comment] Fantastic route for the grade. A little of everything and love the roof to finish! Mar 24, 2011
Cody Cook
Colorado Springs, CO
[Hide Comment] And a great route name to go with it. Thanks for everything, Billy. A true climbing legend. Jul 26, 2013
Patrick Yarbrough
Colorado Springs, CO
  5.5
[Hide Comment] This route is basically worth doing because of the last roof move. Pretty exposed for a route of this grade. Sep 14, 2014
Cody E
Colorado Springs, CO
[Hide Comment] Beginner climber here, I like this route a lot. Climbed it once on TR, my second time I got to clean it. It's fun, and the roof is a good, awkward challenge for a noob like me. Great views from atop. Practiced cleaning the TR anchor here today, the rings are pretty badly worn and have some gnarly wearing/grooves worn into them. Sep 14, 2014
tiffany
Colorado springs, CO
[Hide Comment] Fun route. This was our second climb in this area. Billy's Ghost Dance climb felt a bit more challenging because of the smooth slab section. This climb is worth doing, & the roof move is fun. The rap rings are definitely worn and have some edges. Good beginner climb with a fantastic view at the top! Oct 10, 2015
Brandon Bell
Colorado Springs, CO
  5.5
[Hide Comment] Fun, easy lead. Very comfortable, airy belay perch at the top. Good spot to watch the climbers on the Whale and to get gawked at by small children.

The rap rings showed heavy wear. The grooves, while smooth, were almost halfway through, probably due to extensive top-roping through the rap rings. All the other bolts and hangers were in good shape and well placed to protect the route. Mar 14, 2016
Ken Postma
[Hide Comment] Fun climb this morning. Good hands and feet just about everywhere. Only a couple of spots have some smearing to do. The anchors have both rap rings and quicklinks on them. The rap rings are very worn. The quicklinks are OK. On the bolt just below the anchors, the hanger is spinning a little bit. Oct 10, 2020
Madhav Gramke
Colorado Springs, CO
[Hide Comment] BOTH of the anchor bolts wiggle. I was convincing myself that it was semi-ok, because the bolt below the anchor is so close. It kinda serves as a backup, I tell myself. Until I find out that said "backup" hanger is spinning significantly.

I need new underwear, and I will not climb this again until it gets fixed. This is a serious safety issue in my estimation, 22 April 2021.

Oh, and the rap links are very worn (about 50%) - as if it's not sketchy enough already. I heard someone say that it is a policy to not replace hardware at GoG or RROS. Is this true? I sure hope it's not, because the top three pieces of hardware definitely need attention. Apr 22, 2021
Stewart M. Green
[Hide Comment] Today, November 12, 2021, Brian Shelton, Mark Tjaden, and I replaced the anchor bolts on Nose in a Day. We pulled out the old bolts, which were solid, but the hangers spun, and we replaced them with glued-in Wave bolts. We will add quicklinks and chains to the anchors later. The Fixe rings at the anchors were very worn from folks toproping the route. Nov 12, 2021
Brian Reyman
Fort Collins, CO
 
[Hide Comment] New chains were in place as of end of December 2021. Definitely the best looking anchor quality in all of RRCOS!

A great beginner climb. Relatively easy, with a few fun spots (roof, traverse from second bolt, etc.) that will make it exciting for someone new. The first bolt is a bit runout - climbing is easy, but if someone is leading for the first time, which seems likely on a climb like this, it seems worth it to space more closely for added confidence and safety. Dec 22, 2021
Andrew Soltisz
Woodland Park, CO
  5.5
[Hide Comment] Led, TR'ed, and cleaned. Both anchor bolts (ClimbTech Wave) and chains looked and felt great! The route zig zags a bit, especially getting over the roof, so I'd recommend extending quick draws to cut down on rope drag.

Had a great time leading this one. The roof was a fun little section with a great view at the end! Oct 10, 2023