5.9-,
Trad, Alpine, 600 ft (182 m), 4 pitches, Grade II,
Avg: 1 from 3
votes
FA: FFA: 8/2/15 J. Haas and T. Bubb
Colorado
> Alpine Rock
> RMNP - Rock
> Long's Peak
> Ship's Prow
This is a moderate route that can go down quickly with a mere half, or nay... quarter-day's work, and not hard labor. It took us just over 2 hours bottom to top on this one. The rock is mostly solid, the protection is mostly good (though well-spaced at times), and the line is mostly obvious.
Half Day's Work starts up in the right-facing corner system to the left of the start of
Man Overboard and
Portal. The route starts by ascending up this system in 2 pitches total continuing up and left the entire way past some old pins, particularly 3 old pins in a tight group near the top, near a crux, and just before a grassy ledge. With judicious use of slings, this can all be linked in a single pitch just under 60m long.
From belay on that ledge, the route goes slightly left and then up and right on slightly lower angled rock with an easier technical grade but occasional short runouts. The route leans hard right here and crosses up and over a peerless slab of rock to reach a large ledge with another old pin belay from the 1960s aid ascent. This lies just to the right side of the last 20' of the major buttress that lies up against the main cliff, and can be backed up with gear. It is perhaps 120' for this pitch.
The next pitch climbs up from the pin belay and left onto solid rock. The right-facing corner to the right of the belay is overhung, separated from the main wall, and dirty/chossy. Go up and left then back right at the very peak of the buttress, then pull up to and into a chimney on the right (poorly protected in spots, but moderate) or a left-facing corner on the left (more technical, but less of a grunt), and shoot up more than 60m to the top of the wall, belaying if you feel the need, or simul-climbing for a way otherwise, unless you have an 80m rope.
Arrive on the top, and find something to belay off of that you feel good about. It took me some searching to get a long cord around some big boulders that were bomber.
You can read more or check out a few pictures here:
fixedpin.com/blogs/news/548….
A light alpine rack with a full set of stoppers, a full set of cams to 3", and some long slings. Take some extra cams in the finger to hand sizes if linking pitches as we did.
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Louisville, CO
- the routefinding after the pins was not at all obvious, and it was unclear whether we were on route for the whole second half. The guidebook (Rossiter) topo photo, if followed, will take you out right to an unclimbable abyss, and you will have to backtrack.
- I personally felt there was about 15 feet of fun climbing on the whole route (the "crux" section by the 3 pitons). I would give that section about a 5.7 to climb free, some of the pitons are not at all solid, but you can place a perfect small nut and don't need to clip any of them.
- We brought a #4 and placed it on almost every pitch. If that's not a comfortable size for you (I have #1 hands), it was absolutely worth its weight.
- There's a lot of lichen, as you'd expect for an obscurity. There's also a lot of moss and vegetation (I spent a lot of time scrubbing cracks out with my nut tool so I could place a piece of gear), and every pitch was on a spectrum somewhere from slowly seeping to dripping to actively spraying water down on our heads. There was also quite a lot of loose rock, and I say this as someone very familiar with RMNP and the fact that alpine routes just come with an expectation of loose rock.
- At the top headwall, the chimney described was absolutely not an option for us, as it was an active waterfall. There are several other options of left facing corners, with a variety of vegetation and wetness. Depending on which you choose, you may want a big cam (#5ish?).
- Overall, I have learned my lesson about the routes that get zero guidebook stars, and I honestly can't really recommend this one and would stick to just climbing Portal (the one route in this grade range on the formation I have enjoyed) on the Ship's Prow in the future. If anything, you will not have to fight another party for the route ;) Jul 11, 2023