Seamstress Corner
5.11+ R,
Trad, 500 ft (152 m), 6 pitches, Grade III,
Avg: 4 from 1
vote
FA: Jeff Lowe and Tim Kudo, 1970s (?)
Colorado
> Telluride/Norwo…
> Ames Wall
Access Issue: Open with restrictions - Private Property
Details
Keep a low profile and stay on the trail from the parking lot at the Ames Power Plant.
Description
What can you say about a route that has kicked your ass? This is what I have to say: this route is far and away the most unique climb that I've ever had the fun to (partially) experience. I would love to hear more about it from others who've been there, so I will submit a description here in hopes that others will also rave about the route. This climb is awesome, no doubt about it. The loose rock and a bit of grunge and munge give way to superb climbing up a perfectly cleaved dihedral for several pitches on bullet hard rock. Instead of following a splitter crack or something straightforward, the route veers this way and that, following weakness, which is not found in the corner itself. The thing that makes this route so...interesting...is that even with all the modern trinkets, you are forced to rely on rusty quarter inch bolts and pitons...most of which are protruding out a good ways. The climbing is steep and hard and tying them off might be a bit of a challenge if you're trying to free it. In some cases, it's impossible to back up the sketchy fixed pro. The belays themselves feature creative combinations of antiquated protection, so bring some stuff to back it up!
The first pitch deals with loose rock and poor protection...it might be considered "R" as potential to hurt yourself definitely exists. The crux is delicate face climbing, well above fixed gear. My partner winged off on this pitch when both handholds he was holding broke, sending him for a 20 footer (onto a 1/4" bolt!). As I caught the fall, fist-sized chunks of rock ripped through the foliage around me. Yikes! As he is a bold fellow, he combined the first sketchy pitch with the next pitch, which was more elegant and even harder, climbing past overhanging rock on big holds with thin protection.
The third (or second) pitch is beautiful and hard. Most of the gear consists of fixed pitons with the eye about 2'' away from the rock. Very steep, it works its way up thin cracks on an arete with awkward positions and pumpy sections, until finally a belay appears in the dihedral.
The next pitch heads out right, past a quarter inch bolt, and past some more fixed gear that is out of view. Our team aborted when my partner flew past the belay, ripping out a #1 knifeblade and was caught...again by a 1/4" bolt...the only thing between him and the belay (which was spinning 1/4" bolt, backed by a Black Alien and RPs, along with that bomber sideways-pounded nut). Yes, we were scared.
I'd like to continue with the description, but I can't. I can only guess that the next pitch was steep and hard, on good rock, protected by more knifeblades.
And supposedly the last pitch is only 5.8...on SHALE!
If you try this route, be strong...I'd like to think someone could hang in there and replace that knifeblade that my partner pulled and restore the integrity of the route. I do hope that whatever happens, people don't go up there and replace all the sketchy pro with conveniently placed bomber bolts...because then this masterpiece of climbing would be irrevocably changed...dumbed down, if you will, to a semi-ordinary climb that you could go anywhere to experience.
This is a climb I'm proud to say I've bailed from.
Location
In the biggest, steepest, and proudest section of Ames, there lies a perfectly cleaved corner...this is it!
Protection
Helmet, varied rack (RPs and small stuff).
"The best protection is not to fall" - someone wise.
![Time to retreat! Dave just took a long fall and pulled the pin...he's a little excited here.]()
[Hide Photo] Time to retreat! Dave just took a long fall and pulled the pin...he's a little excited here.
![Backup pro on the ol' belay...the cracks aren't exactly what you'd like all the time.]()
[Hide Photo] Backup pro on the ol' belay...the cracks aren't exactly what you'd like all the time.
![Dave Marsonowski leading the first pitch of Seamstress on Ames, with the stunning dihedral pitches looming above.]()
[Hide Photo] Dave Marsonowski leading the first pitch of Seamstress on Ames, with the stunning dihedral pitches looming above.
![This is the best protection you'll get on this route...just kidding! Actually, this ancient bolt is found on the belay a couple of pitches up.]()
[Hide Photo] This is the best protection you'll get on this route...just kidding! Actually, this ancient bolt is found on the belay a couple of pitches up.
Continue with onX Maps
Continue with Facebook
Dave and I ended up completing and updating this route over 4 days and 6 pitches after linking the first 2. We upgraded the anchors on the first 4 belays (all the bolted ones), replaced all lead bolts but the last one, added a beak, and replaced a few rusty pins. For the most part, the route is just as it was, but you don't have to worry about anchor and lead bolt failure as much.
This is one we'll always remember, & you probably will too if you climb it.
This historic route shows the skill and boldness of Jeff and Tim. Jeff was one of the most BA people to ever walk the earth, and this route is a good example of his skills. Hard, fun climbing, up a great feature in a great setting. It's hard to imagine the confidence and skill these guys must have had to go for it ground up in their style and put the route up with only a little tension for one bolt placement. Otherwise, they put all gear (bolts/pins/stoppers/hexes) in free climbing without weighting the rope. Amazing. One of Jeff's top 50 FAs according to him.
Modern cams and stoppers don't help too much on this climb, which gives it a historic feel.
P1: 10. Climb a junky crack to really cool face climbing on great edges. I remember having to grab specific holds or not grab holds that wiggle when you are pretty far out there towards the end of this one. Max fall potential - 40 feet on a bolt, but you could hit a ledge.
P2: 11. Hard moves off of the belay lead to easier climbing up the corner where you have to head out right on the slightly overhanging wall to a bent soft iron blade and up a seam with face climbing up to a good pin with some exiting 11 moves to get there. Then you get some gear and finish up on pumpy 10 to another bolted belay. Max fall potential 20 feet assuming the soft iron pin holds, otherwise a 60+ footer back into the corner assuming some gear back in the corner holds.
P3: 11+. The "crux" pitch. This is a great pitch that looks intimidating but seems safer than the others. Some exciting moves to a pin sticking way out. We brought a hammer & thought we would drive these pins in more, but upon further inspection, they are actually placed perfectly and if hammered more, the pin would break off a big chunk of rock. Really pumpy climbing up a finger crack corner with some great hard face / layback moves that don't let up until you're grabbing the wobbly belay ledge. If you are aware and not desperately pumped, you can grab some solid holds that keep your body out of the way of the wobbly belay ledge in case it goes. We tested it out, & it seemed pretty ok for how wobbly it is. Also I think this pitch is harder than most low 12s in the area.
P4: 11. Out right from the belay with some awesome traversing, to a ledge and bolt then layback up the seam to another bolt, this is where things get weird. The arete is a sort of flake that is attached at the top and bottom, but you can see through. You climb up the right side of the arete, so if it goes, it will likely crush you & your rope. The first time up I aided through & Dave tested it out. The next times we both used it, and it seemed pretty solid, but anyways, finger lock and layback on this feature up to a ledge with a bolt below your feet. Then traverse out right a ways to corner & a barely driven in pin. Another one that would break the flake if you knocked it in more. Then up a ways to where it gets hard again 10+ getting onto the sloping belay ledge. This belay was really scary to me, a 1/4" buttonhead that was hanging out a bit & a Lost Arrow in junky rock. We upgraded the anchor with 2 bolts here. Max fall potential - 60-80 feet assuming the hanging out pin doesn't hold.
P5: 11. Thin stemming with tiny seams and slopers above the belay to a beak we left, then more of the same till the beak is a ways below your feet, a hard layback move to a jug, mantel the jug, and get small cam placement where we cleaned an old hex. Then traverse left face climbing for 15-20 feet (I forget, but far enough for it to get your attention). At the end of the traverse, it gets hard again to establish in the crack corner and get some gear, then up on more wild and exciting 10+ climbing with some gear to a gear belay.
P6: 10+. Follow the big corner/gully up a ways. I found an old pin belay way up and right but chose to climb a sort of boulder that leads up to splitter in the headwall. I'm not sure if this is the way Jeff and Tim went, but it looked like the best option. Getting on the boulder is 10, and there is no gear until you're on top of it. The splitter is a nice change of pace, and there are lots of bats in it. This pitch ends on a nice mossy ledge where all of the rock is shale. The only place to belay was either hanging in the top of the splitter, or sling the one big piece of shale that is buried way down in the moss, we chose to sling the big piece of shale. Max fall potential - 20 feet plus however far you bounce down the gully. Could be 60 feet.
P7: 8. Headed up right into a really chossy corner. At the top of a small pillar there was is a bolt. This bolt was into a piece of shale that was slightly thinner than the buttonhead bolt & was detached so you could see the bolt end in space on the other side. Bomber, we didn't replace this bolt but clipped it for good measure and kept going up and back left on a sort of ramp then straight up to a tree where it makes sense. There is some gear to be had but nothing that you would really trust to catch a big fall. If I remember right, this pitch was almost a full rope length (70m), and everything moves up there. Grabbing shale 3 layers deep that is more stuck in there was the best option, and making sure your weight is distributed evenly over the hands and feet seemed key. Even though this pitch is 8, it could easily turn people away from an ascent just as easily as any other pitch. Max fall potential - most of a rope length. Mar 20, 2020
We weren't sure we were going to make it until we were hugging a tree at the top of the wall.
Good fun and good times. Mar 20, 2020