Avg: 3.1 from 47
votes
This is a wonderful journey across and up the Lower Grotto Wall. The belay after the 2nd pitch is one of my favorites on the Pass, and the 3rd pitch will have you smiling from beginning to end!
P1: Climb the awkward, often wet, chimney to the slab above and traverse left towards the corner. You will find 2 bolts about 10' from the corner. This pitch is forgettable and can easily be skipped by walking around to the right and traversing back left on the slab to the same belay (starting high and going climbers left on the slab then down-climbing the corner is probably the least risky method). The chimney does has some mildly interesting moves however. 5.8. 50'.
P2: From the anchors, traverse left across a small ledge, ascend a blocky crack to another ledge before reaching the sloping dihedral crux (5.8) below a large birds nest. Be sure to protect your 2nd after completing these crux moves. Traverse hard left, ascend another blocky corner, then scoot around an arete to a black-painted 2-bolt belay on a small ledge. 100', lots of rope drag.
P3: From the belay, walk climbers RIGHT across out on the "diving board" and then up steep but juggy terrain into a right-facing corner. Go above this, traverse right and into a left-facing corner to a 2-bolt belay at the top of the cliff. Incredible pitch! Around 60', some rope drag.
Descent: Your best option is to walk off to the west (climber's left). Two 70 meter ropes will reach the ground as 1 rappel, but because of the overhanging nature of this section of cliff, multiple raps with shorter ropes is not possible.
From Cryogenics, walk right along the base of the cliff past the smooth shield of rock. The first pitch chimney starts just after the trail turns steeply uphill.
Full rack.
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Estes Park
P2 was a blast. Fun jamming, and an easy to protect traverse.
P3 was the definite crux pitch but absolutely phenomenal climbing. Big, scary moves on good terrain takes you to a fantastic little hand/finger crack with fun jamming. Another cool traverse takes you to one last awesome crack then the summit.
Really easy, basic descent to the west. Two 70m ropes would probably get you down from the chains, but the drag would be pretty miserable I imagine. Aug 18, 2014
Boulder, CO
Fort Collins
Denver, CO
Aspen, CO
Basalt, Colorado
I climb this route a bunch with clients, it is of high quality! I disagree with the other comments about the first pitch. It often looks wet, but the water is just right of the holds one uses. A couple chimney moves and face climbing then steep hand crack with jugs.
It is reasonable to rap the route with a single 60m rope in 3 rappels.
Rap 1: 20m, go to a bolted anchor on the right side of a ledge about 6 m below the anchor on top of P2.
Rap 2: 30m, knot your ends! Rap the fall line, then move right, and have the first climber clip a couple bolts as directionals on "Girly Man". This puts you at the anchors of "Knuckle Head".
Rap 3: 15m to the ground.
Some clarity on the bolts on the 3rd pitch - they are replacement not new, additional bolts. The top anchors and the 2 bolts pro bolts were replaced summer of 2019.
- First bolt leaving the diving board. For years, there was a old bolt stud sticking out 3 inches with no hanger which protected the crux of the route. This was cleaned and replaced.
- Second bolt above the crux. This is to replace old pins (from the '60s). The pins were not cleaned out for historical reasons, but perhaps they should be.
A number of routes on the Grotto (and The Pass) Wall have been rebolted over the years - mostly 5.11-5.12 but also some 5.9. The Grotto Wall Traverse is a classic moderate; however, the 5.8+/5.9 crux was not well-protected due to old fixed gear. Oct 28, 2020