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Pockets a' Plenty
5.9,
Sport, 100 ft (30 m),
Avg: 2.3 from 96
votes
FA: Mark Tjaden, Brian Shelton
Colorado
> Colorado Springs
> Red Rock Canyon…
> Whale's Tail
Access Issue: Reopened after flood damage!
Details
Per Stewart M. Green: as of the July Fourth weekend, Red Rock Canyon Open Space has been reopened for climbing.
Red Rock Canyon Open Space is currently CLOSED to all access due to flood damage.
Description
This line has an interesting combination of face climbing, pockets, and ledges. Climb up and past first bolt using the flare/flake. The move up and past 2nd and 3rd bolts can be direct using pockets and good footwork or by climbing on left side which is easier. Once you reach the first ledge, climb is straightforward to final ledge below two huge pockets under the anchor.
Location
This is the rightmost climb of three at the Whale's Tail.
[Hide Photo] Dave at the crux. Got to trust the feet.
[Hide Photo] Panoramic view from the top of Pockets a' Plenty.
[Hide Photo] Easy to identify Pocket a' Plenty from the two "nostrils" at the top.
[Hide Photo] Photo 3 (right): now step right to foothold and move up. You can obviously climb any way you want, but this sequence might be easier and avoid rock damage...good luck on preventing damage!
[Hide Photo] Photo 2 (middle): now step back right below the second bolt.
[Hide Photo] Photo 1 (left): stepping left to a small dihedral below the second bolt. It helped us to gain altitude. The flakes are friable and very sandy!
[Hide Comment] Nice route, the crux pockets are fun. The cactus is positioned right where you make a blind reach, it got me. The 2 nostril pockets for your feet while you thread the anchor are an added bonus.
Mar 1, 2008
[Hide Comment] Cactus nearly got my buddy who TRed it, but somehow I missed it. Don't even remember it....musta been in the zone. I'd say the first two bolts are crux. Use the crack to your advantage by starting between a juniper tree and a patch of what we suspected was poison ivy mixed with scrub oak.
Jun 25, 2008
[Hide Comment] This route is the most fun of the three on the Whale's Tail. We weren't even sure what we were climbing until later. Crux is tricky and the finger pockets are fun. Long route! The two big holes below the anchors are interesting and make for a good stance while clipping the anchors. Oh yeah, poison ivy right on the route below and right of the first bolt.
Sep 17, 2008
[Hide Comment] Of 2 days at RRCOS this was probably our least favorite climb. It seemed contrived with some odd bolt placements. It has some bad rock too - I broke the hold that looked best to me above the sand ledge. The day we did it, it had tons of sand, leaf pieces, and pine needles on it. On the plus side, you can often climb left or right of the bolts and vary the route. Look out for poison ivy growing *on the rock* next to the starting corner and at the base.
Oct 3, 2009
[Hide Comment] Plain 'ol good 5.9 climbing all of the way up. If you belay from the left of the tree, beware that you will use up an entire 60m rope. Interesting start if you don't use the flake on the right of the tree to the first bolt. Climbing the last bolt and the anchors is pretty much free soloing (if you are leading), because if you slip, you will deck on the 4' wide shelf and your partner won't be able to stop you. Fun anyhow.
May 4, 2010
[Hide Comment] Really nice climb. It's the leftmost line on The Whale's Tail. I'd say the first to bolts felt cruxy. Be careful up top, because there is a ledge and you have to climb up a couple feet to the next bolt.
Apr 17, 2011
[Hide Comment] Leftmost? I'd say rightmost, anyhow, the pics give you a good idea of the start of this climb. Not a bad climb, but a couple of the bolts could have been better place, or at least another bolt, to avoid hitting some ledges in case you messed up in the wrong place.
Feb 25, 2012
[Hide Comment] I like this route, but be solid at this grade, and understand RRCOS climbing.
I suppose this is technically a bit easier than Jason's Argonaut to the left, but it is a bit more sustained at the bottom; however, this is a more challenging lead than that route, head-wise and consequence wise.
It spit me off just before bolt three, and I came down to about bolt one. At the first ledge, I was a bit jittery from that fall, and as I set off into the pockets after the first ledge and I was trying to gett to that PG-13 runout to the bolt, my nerves almost spit me off. That would have probably been an ankle buster.
The second ledge also has ledge-fall potential, but it is less serious, and it uses all of a 60 meter rope, especially if you belay left of the tree.
Apr 27, 2013
[Hide Comment] I tore off a pretty big pinch flake at the top just below the anchors... it got a little harder after that.
This whole thing just felt chossy and ready to fall apart. You have three distinct sections that make this a fun route:
1. An offwidth at the bottom that wants to shoot you left... stay to the right. 2. The pockets which are fun! 3. Very top slab which felt pinchy/crimpy and required decent feet.
Oct 19, 2015
[Hide Comment] Totally a 10a for RRCOS. This route has been polished off since the photos on here were taken. The crux move is as hard as Jason's Argonaut and more exposed. Plus it's more sustained climbing at the grade for longer than Jason's. There's a second crux with a mono-pocket move that is almost as hard as the first crux. I've climbed most of the 10a's at Red Rock Canyon, and it's on par with or harder than most of them.
Apr 29, 2019
[Hide Comment] OK route, but the lower (crux) section is soft, lots of sand grains on holds in the lower section, I see that many flakes have broken off. Over time this route is going to get harder as the route becomes polished. Use extreme caution to not pull off any flakes, do not climb if there has been a recent rain as this can weaken the rock. I note that other climbers have said this for the lower section " felt chossy and ready to fall apart". Upper section was better cemented and more fun.
You could climb the lower section a number of ways, but this was the easiest for us. A bit wandering, but if you follow the easiest line you might do less damage to the rock. We found this easiest: 1) Clip second bolt, move left to small dihedral. Work up dihedral slightly (See the photo labeled left). 2) Step back to the right, feet below the bolt. (See the photo labeled "middle"). 3) Step onto small ledge right of bolt, and move up on small crimpers (See the photo labeled right).
This is the first time I have ever given such a detailed description. Climbing is freedom, do this anyway you like. Fit climbers will cruise up this anyway they want, but the key here is to avoid pulling a lot on the very soft edges at the bottom of this climb, or else it will soon be in the 5.10 range. This climb needs soft touch to preserve it...these comments might help preserve it.
[Hide Comment] This route is definitely on par with some other 10a's I've climbed at RRCOS, probably because a bunch of the holds have broken off. The crux for me was transitioning out of the crack/flake at the bottom. Overall, a nice route with some more technical foot holds. Definitely going to climb this one again.
Avg: 2.3 from 96
votes
Access Issue: Reopened after flood damage!
Details
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Colorado Springs, CO
AnCapistan
Innsbruck, AT
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Lakewood, CO
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D'iberville, MS
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I suppose this is technically a bit easier than Jason's Argonaut to the left, but it is a bit more sustained at the bottom; however, this is a more challenging lead than that route, head-wise and consequence wise.
It spit me off just before bolt three, and I came down to about bolt one. At the first ledge, I was a bit jittery from that fall, and as I set off into the pockets after the first ledge and I was trying to gett to that PG-13 runout to the bolt, my nerves almost spit me off. That would have probably been an ankle buster.
The second ledge also has ledge-fall potential, but it is less serious, and it uses all of a 60 meter rope, especially if you belay left of the tree. Apr 27, 2013
Fort Collins, CO
This whole thing just felt chossy and ready to fall apart. You have three distinct sections that make this a fun route:
1. An offwidth at the bottom that wants to shoot you left... stay to the right.
2. The pockets which are fun!
3. Very top slab which felt pinchy/crimpy and required decent feet. Oct 19, 2015
Colorado Springs, CO
Gunnison Colorado
You could climb the lower section a number of ways, but this was the easiest for us. A bit wandering, but if you follow the easiest line you might do less damage to the rock. We found this easiest:
1) Clip second bolt, move left to small dihedral. Work up dihedral slightly (See the photo labeled left).
2) Step back to the right, feet below the bolt. (See the photo labeled "middle").
3) Step onto small ledge right of bolt, and move up on small crimpers (See the photo labeled right).
This is the first time I have ever given such a detailed description. Climbing is freedom, do this anyway you like. Fit climbers will cruise up this anyway they want, but the key here is to avoid pulling a lot on the very soft edges at the bottom of this climb, or else it will soon be in the 5.10 range. This climb needs soft touch to preserve it...these comments might help preserve it.
Have fun and climb safe! Feb 18, 2020
Colorado Springs, CO
Thanks, PPCA, for the Mussys. Apr 5, 2024