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Cloak & Dagger

5.10+, Trad, 6 pitches,  Avg: 3.2 from 85 votes
FA: Schaffer, Zeilman, April 2012
Colorado > Gunnison > Black Canyon of… > N Rim Routes > SOB Gully (skier's le…
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Description

Cloak & Dagger takes an independent line right of Comic Relief and Perfect Art, but starts on the same ledge as Comic or Escape Artist.

It's highly probably that some of these pitches have been climbed before. However, it's unclear if anyone has done this exact line. While talking with a few of the more seasoned veterians of the Black, it appears that at least a few pitches were new territory. Thumbing through the binder of original topos provided no descriptions of this area right of Comic Relief. Any additional info would be welcomed.

One thing is for certain though, despite who climbed what and when... this is a hidden gem of a route, worthy of more traffic and a great alternative to Comic Relief or Escape Artist.

P1 (5.6ish). Start on the Comic/Escape ledge and traverse right around the corner to an obvious pegmatite slab/gully. Follow this rib of peg to a ledge below a chimney and a fist crack on the left. Some parties may choose to free solo.

P2 (5.9+). Climb the fist crack and continue through the chimney to another small ledge below a nice looking, thin fingers dihedral.

P3 (5.10+). Climb the dihedral, leading through a small bulge and continue up a 5.9 crack system to a belay beneath an obvious, crescent-shaped roof with black streaks on the wall.

P4 (5.10). Move left under the roof on good hand jams and continue up a 5.9 crack until you can move left into a lower angle weakness. Follow this to a large ledge with a massive, right-facing corner. Beware of the rope wanting to get sucked into the corner of the roof as you climb above it. Try and place a piece out left to keep the rope out of the constriction.

P5 (5.9). Climb 5.7 face up to a steep 5.9 hand crack. Trend left through a giant flake feature, then pull steep moves through a second flake above (left). End at a stance near 60 meters.

P6 (5.9). Continue up somewhat nondescript crack and face climbing. At about 40 meters or so, start trending left until you intersect the top of Comic/Escape's final pitch. End on the unroping ledge for these two route. Scramble up to the rap stations and complete the exact same "descent" as Comic Relief or Escape Artist.

It is also well worth it to do "The Escape" pitches back to the rim, instead of hiking out the gully. After rappelling from the top of the Comic Buttress, climb from the notch, up a slab and onto a ridge line type feature for 2 or 3 pitches (up to 5.8) to top out near the overlook trail by the campground. You get awesome views of South Chasm Wall.

Location

Use the same approach as Comic Relief and Escape Artist. Descend the SOB Gully. Once you're about 2/3 of the way to the river, locate the buttress on skier's left and 4th class up to the ledge which starts both of these routes. Cloak & Dagger traverses around the corner to a pegmatite slab/gully and takes off from there.

Protection

A few small TCUs, standard double rack to #3 Camalot, and (1 or 2) #4s.

Note: almost all of the pitches on this route are in the 60 meter range, give or take a little. Pitch 2 is about 40m.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

A route overlay for Cloaked Interpretation.
[Hide Photo] A route overlay for Cloaked Interpretation.
Topo for the route.
[Hide Photo] Topo for the route.
Jason leading up the crux dihedral.
[Hide Photo] Jason leading up the crux dihedral.
Pitch 3.
[Hide Photo] Pitch 3.
A cross-canyon perspective on P3.
[Hide Photo] A cross-canyon perspective on P3.
The second half of pitch 4.
[Hide Photo] The second half of pitch 4.
The start of pitch 4.
[Hide Photo] The start of pitch 4.
Pitch 1. This is mostly 4th and could easily be soloed to the base of pitch 2.
[Hide Photo] Pitch 1. This is mostly 4th and could easily be soloed to the base of pitch 2.
Following pitch 5 cracks. Super fun.
[Hide Photo] Following pitch 5 cracks. Super fun.
Pitch 1.
[Hide Photo] Pitch 1.
Climbers on pitch 3, 9/12/2014.
[Hide Photo] Climbers on pitch 3, 9/12/2014.
Fritz enjoying the ongoing hands and fingers at the top of pitch 3.
[Hide Photo] Fritz enjoying the ongoing hands and fingers at the top of pitch 3.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Highlander
Ouray, CO
[Hide Comment] Really good route. The first 2 pitches' rock quality is not great, but the 3rd pitch makes up for it with 180' of sustained fun climbing. The route does have some dirtiness to it but should clean up nicely. Great alternative to Comic Relief or Escape Artist. May 27, 2012
[Hide Comment] Definitely an excellent alternative to Comic or Escape Artist. First pitch is the only bad pitch. We found the rest of the climb to be very enjoyable but not quite as hard as the ratings suggest. The crux pitch has several .10 sections but probably not anything .10+. All cruxes have good pro. The views of The Painted Wall from the top of the crux pitch are some on the best in the canyon. Route was amazingly clean. Good job, guys. We got to the top and wanted to go down and do it again. Topo was right on. Very fun! May 29, 2012
Ouray Badger
  5.10c
[Hide Comment] Did this yesterday, and thought I'd add my two cents. First pitch is pretty much 4th class bushwhack. After that, the rock is fine; the next pitch has surprisingly good rock in the chimney. The crux is one of the better pitches I've done in the Black. Stellar climbing the entire LONG way. Well protected. Maybe 10c, but no desperate moves. The route can be easily done without a #4 Camalot, although you can certainly place one. Definitely don't bring two. All in all, a really good route, probably no harder than Comic Relief, but the third pitch is probably more sustained than the crux of Comic. Highly recommended. Jun 3, 2012
[Hide Comment] I had the opportunity today to climb this route with Ranger Philippe. I can't believe he brought a firearm! I thought C&D was better and no harder than Comic Relief. It's pretty clean (even the wide hands, fist, and chimney bits) so get on it soon before all the trundling opportunities are gone! Even in June we had 'mostly shade' til 1pm. Thanks to Vic and Jonathan for another great route for us mortals. (Just kidding about the firearm.) Jun 12, 2012
Topher M.
moab, ut
[Hide Comment] Sweet route! As previously posted, can be done w/o a #4 Camalot, but one was nice & you definitely don't need 2. You only need a single set of stoppers. Also, the first "pitch" is more of a 4th class approach gully. Rope drag (stuck rope) in the roof on pitch four may warrant breaking the pitch in half to reduce the epic potential. Aug 30, 2012
jayci Ferrimani
Flagstaff
  5.10c
[Hide Comment] Great route! Maybe as good as the other classics on CR Buttress! The crux is about as good as climbing gets in The Black. Aug 31, 2012
erik wellborn
manitou springs
[Hide Comment] Fun route!! The 3rd pitch is one of the best in the Black. Oct 20, 2012
Jason Brown
Carbondale, CO
[Hide Comment] What is the route to the right of this one I have heard about? A Scheafer route? Nov 4, 2012
Frank Robertson
Ridgway, CO
 
[Hide Comment] P1 and 2 can be linked if you start from the ledge just down and right of the start of Comic Relief (a short down-climb into the peg gully). Great route. P3 is one helluva ride: long, continuously challenging and fun, with just enough foothold. Upper 9s laughing all the way.... Sep 23, 2014
Lynn S
  5.10c
[Hide Comment] Excellent route, pitch 3 is spectacular! May 22, 2016
Tony B
Around Boulder, CO
 
[Hide Comment] P3 & P4 are both probably 5.10b. Do not let the "10+" scare you off of this route.

Also, if you stay right on the flakes on P5, it is protectable and is also about 10b.

Similar in quality to Comic Relief or Escape Artist and honestly not much harder but for a few moves if at all. Jul 30, 2018
F r i t z
(Currently on hiatus, new b…
 
[Hide Comment] Cloaked Interp is slightly higher quality, but the classic Cloak is fun as well. May 31, 2020
Jeff Erwin
Gunnison, CO
 
[Hide Comment] Looking at this description after climbing it, I'm surprised the first pitch is described, well as a pitch. It felt like a 4th Class scramble, and I'm generally pretty conservative - hence my rack.

I brought a triple rack from tips - 0.75 and most of it on the 'mega'/crux pitch and didn't have to worry about gear for an anchor etc. We brought a 4 used it but never felt like we needed it, 2 are unnecessary.

We brought a 70m and ran pitch 6 the full length with maybe 8 feet to spare for unroping a stone's throw from the rap station.

To each their own - just climb this. Oct 19, 2020
Matthew Tangeman
SW Colorado
[Hide Comment] I think it's kind of funny, the scrambling on the approach (couple moves off the Comic start ledge, and the downclimb into the peg gully P1) is probably harder/more exposed than the P1 peg gully itself.

I think the crux earns .10+ on length if nothing else, but I've only climbed a handful of routes in the Black, so maybe it is soft for the area. Space out the gear, and remember the belay takes finger-size pieces too! Long pitches all around, having a 70m rope and a lot of slings is advantageous.

I kind of expected the last 5.9 pitches to be kind of non-descript and forgettable, like the Comic finish slabs, but dang, the flakes pitch is some of the most fun climbing on the route! Jun 7, 2021
Sam Lawrence
Lakewood, CO
[Hide Comment] I did Cloak and Dagger Saturday and followed Journey Home Sunday. Cloak and Dagger is rated 10+, and Journey Home is 10b. However, I found Cloak and Dagger much easier and less sustained. I followed the crux clean and led the 5.10 after with a few hangs. On Journey Home, I had to pull on gear twice on P1 and once on P2. Definitely didn't feel like 5.10 if Cloak and Dagger crux is 5.10.

I dropped a 0.5 with a purple biner on P4. I think it went all the way down to the SOB. Let me know if anyone finds it, so I can return to my partner! Oct 17, 2022
Noah Grage
Colorado Springs. Co
  5.10b/c
[Hide Comment] Great route. I thought I’d add a few things. My partner and I forgot the 4 at camp, and it felt fine without. The crux dihedral is incredible. I hung once, because I ran out of finger-size pieces… I honestly didn’t expect the finger-size pro to go for so long!, and I still back cleaned from stances and tried to conserve! So for those who like to sew it up/mortals, bring a lot of 0.1-0.75 size cams if you’re going for it! They will go used! Super fun day. May 7, 2023