Early Access
| Type: | Sport, 70 ft (21 m) |
| GPS: | 39.74003, -105.41468 |
| FA: | Tony Thomas, Richard Wright, Mark Tarrant, September 2006 |
| Page Views: | 1,035 total · 4/month |
| Shared By: | Richard M. Wright on Sep 11, 2006 |
| Admins: | Shirtless Mike, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Raptor Closures Effective February 1-July 31
Visit: jeffco.us/open-space/news/2…
Tunnel 1 closure
For more details visit: jeffco.us/open-space/alerts…
The two areas Jefferson County Open Space intends to close in Clear Creek Canyon, shown on the attached maps, encompass the active eagle nests. If the Clear Creek eagles continue to nest in the active nests, these areas will remain closed from February 1 through July 31. If the eagles choose different nesting sites, the closures will be adjusted accordingly to protect those eagles during their breeding season.
Currently, rock climbing areas that fall inside of the seasonal raptor closures include:
Blonde Formation
Bumbling Stock
Evil Area
Ghost Crag
Highlander
Skinny Legs
Stumbling Block
Tetanus Garden
Fault Caves
Description
Crystallize starts below the big bush 15 feet up the cliff and fires briefly up the right of two parallel cracks. The rock is excellent, the cruxes distinct, and the climbing continuous. There is useful beta for the start that may avoid a minor thrash, and that is to make the first two clips, step back down, move right up the crack, and then step back over the second clip, avoiding an obvious narrow band of friable stone. Its hard to imagine anyone climbing through this band since it obvious and easy to avoid, just step over it. Straight up from 2 to 3 is super hard. Crystallize has three cruxes, and the first can be a real stopper - at least for some of us. Expect about ten feet of 5.12 in the first crux, a strenuous "rest", a short section of very technical 5.12 crimps, followed by a good rest. The final crux may only be 5.11, but by the time you arrive it will seem a lot more difficult - and spooky. Before slashing his right palm, Mark solved the link up on TR pretty much as I had worked it out originally on jugs. But Tony ran a gorgeous sprint through it all for the red point. Passing the fifth clip as he did could produce a nasty slam into the ledge below if you don't commit to it. He backclipped well below his feet in a very tenuous and bold move. A more comforting approach would be to drop a sling from the fifth clip, clip low, and then clip again once you step past it. Overall, Crystallize is a fine route with difficult, tricky, and powerful moves on largely excellent rock.





1 Comment