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A Pretty Gneiss Route

5.8, TR,  Avg: 1.1 from 8 votes
FA: Alex Basset
Colorado > Golden > Lookout Mtn Rd > Tiers of Zion > B. Upper Tier > B. First, Second, & T…

Description

TOP ROPE ONLY! This is a climb that you can do off of the rappel station between Triangle 1 and 2 if you leave a rope and anchor. It is an easier way to climb out of the Upper Tier than other routes. Start on "Undisclosed Location," and work left to the triangle 1 and 2 divide. This turns into a nice flake at the top.

Location

Start on "Undisclosed Location," and work left to the triangle 1 and 2 divide.... Follow up to the flake.

Protection

No bolts...toprope off of rappel station with appropriate anchor.

Per Jay Eggleston: there are no hangers at the rappel station anymore.  

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

The upper half of the route. It looks blank, but there are good edges.
[Hide Photo] The upper half of the route. It looks blank, but there are good edges.
The climbing is a little left of the rope.
[Hide Photo] The climbing is a little left of the rope.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Parker Wrozek
Denver, CO
[Hide Comment] Well done. Nice name. May 17, 2016
Jay Eggleston
Denver
  5.7
[Hide Comment] This is a good toprope to exit the upper tier, but I think it is easier than 5.8. It is about 5.7, and there is no way the easiest climbing is 5.8. Aug 6, 2016
Jay Eggleston
Denver
  5.7
[Hide Comment] The rappel station no longer has hangers on its bolts. Nuts are present so you could use two wired stoppers on them for a toprope anchor. Aug 10, 2020
Fiona Andrews
Denver
 
[Hide Comment] Led this today on gear - would not recommend! From the dirt and lichen filled cracks, I don't think this gets lead often. It's all so hollow you wouldn't want to put any cams behind the flakes on the first half, I think it could possibly cause massive amount of rock to come down. There are a few placements that are a little less sketchy if you search as you move up. I think I only had one or two pieces in the whole route that were in ok rock, none were great. It's not that hard though, I thought mostly 5.6 with a couple of 5.7 moves towards the top.

Straight off the ground the flake above and left of the alcove is very hollow. It might be OK on TR but looks like it'd take gear well. I imagine a newer trad leader might try, but please don't. I backed off and started on the face just right of King of Zion (but still left of the alcove). You could clip these 2 bolts, but I ended up finding a placement kind of high up instead. That start is easy though.

If you're still thinking this climb sounds like fun, there's lots of fist-sized rocks on the final ledges to knock off (we cleaned a lot of them). The hangers are missing on the anchor, and I can only assume this is because someone thought this is one of those climbs that should not get climbed often. I tend to agree. It's a shame, because if the rock was better, it'd be a fun lead. If you absolutely must climb this, bring a really long sling or a couple of cordalettes (I used a cordalette and a 240cm sling). There's a tree above the headwall (70m for the rap) and a horn on the ledge that can be slung for an anchor. If you rap off the tree, move your rope up off the base or it'll get stuck. I advise heading down an ok trail in the gully instead.

If you do consider using the hanger studs, know there's an outward pull from the angle the rope goes over the edge. The nuts were still there today, but there were no hangers.

All in all, I had a twisted kind of fun on it, but it's really not that gneiss. Jun 25, 2021