Don't Fear The Boogie Man
5.11c,
Trad, 230 ft (70 m), 4 pitches,
Avg: 3.7 from 3
votes
FA: Jason Haas, Craig Weinhold (02/10), or perhaps Jim Dunn
Colorado
> S Platte
> Cathedral Spire…
> Cynical Pinnacle
Access Issue: Seasonal Raptor Closure
Details
2023 info:
jeffco.us/1531/Alerts-Closures The Cathedral Spires area, including Block Tower, Cynical Pinnacle, Snake Buttress, the Dome, Hall of Mirrors, Sunshine Wall, and Poe Buttress, are closed annually starting March 1 for raptor nesting. After careful monitoring of nest sites, Jefferson County Open Space opens certain areas of Cathedral Spires and maintain spot closures for active nests through July 31st. Check back periodically during times of closure for updates:
jeffco.us/open-space/parks/… Note, JeffCo Open Space has notified us that access to The Bishop and Poop Point (along with all the Cathedral Spires Area) currently goes across JeffCo OS land. Despite information in some guidebooks (published or soon-to-be-published), the entire Cathedral Spires area is subject raptor nesting closures. Please be aware of the hefty fines associated with failure to observe these regulations.
Description
"The name comes from a conversation with longtime local Noel Childs who said climbers had been looking at but then quickly looking away from this obvious line for nearly three decades. The rock quality is impeccable... this is a mega classic."
P1. Step into the prickly start of the sustained squeeze chimney. Sidewind, swim, and frogger your way up to a single bolt anchor on your left (back it up with small cam or two) underneath the roof (5.9+, 60').
P2. Traverse out right, place your optional #5, and delicately worm your way into the alcove under the crux. Sort out gear, and patiently thrash your way out the roof. Succeeding is highly recommended here for various reasons. Belay in the alcove below the next roof. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses. Note: "the 'thin flake' overhead never comes into play"; however, your follower will probably appreciate a bit of belay creativity on your part (5.11, 40').
P3. Hand traverse out left, step up to a large ledge. If there was still any question as to whether you were on route, you'll know when you get here (5.8, 25').
P4. Jam and offwidth your way off the ledge to the creme brulee of the route, a very enjoyable 5.10 offwidth bulge to chimney. Cruise your way to the top of the gaping fissure, and belay on gear (5.10, 105').
Location
Take the approach trail to the base of the formation. Go right about 80 feet. Look up.
Descent: from the slung block on the summit, a 70m single rope rap down the north side will get you to a slab at the base of the uphill side of the formation (knot your ends) but will not get you straight down into the actual gully floor. This seems preferable to rapping into the gully and you do not need a second rope.
Protection
The following is what I would consider a pretty reasonable rack. You may want more, you may want less. In other words, supplement with additional Big Bros or leave some on the ground depending on your tolerance for runout 5.8-5.9 chimney.
P1: 2 blue Big Bro, #9, gold Big Bro. A finger - thin hand piece for the belay.
P2: "optional #5", #9 and green Big Bro OR 2 green Big Bros. Hand - fist sized gear for the belay.
P3: rack to #4.
P4: rack to #6. Small-ish cams could be placed in horizontals on occasion if you were so inclined.
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The route wouldn't really be much less sane without a 9 - honestly either a green bro or a 9 protect the crux with roughly an equal degree of effectiveness. For my size, green bros get annoyingly in the way, but a 9 can be placed where you won't kick your gear out mid-crux. If you are especially tall or otherwise not small, it may be about as useful as a boat anchor on your harness. I bumped mine then back cleaned it after realizing there was a very good chance my partner would never be able to clean it from the initial placement.... On that note, as others have described squeezes, the first pitch and the crux difficulties are directly related to the number of cheeseburgers consumed in the weeks prior to attempting the route. Feb 20, 2017
Typical South Platte vegetation seems to be a theme both at belays and during the walkoff on this route. The local residents have left some interesting artwork on the walls and certain potential handholds.
An added benefit of climbing this route is that if you don't get up early, you won't have to wait in line. Unlike Wunsch's Dihedral and Center Route, you also won't have to cover your hands in human feces on the first pitch.
As a slim but large-chested climber, I found following the first pitch squeeze to be the crux. You will want to minimize upper body layers and make sure that they are as low-friction as possible if you have any doubts about fitting through the constrictions in the squeeze. I would also recommend going in left-side in unless you want 9+ squeeze to feel like 11 squeeze.
If you place a 9" cam at the crux, please clean it before your partner follows. Also, it is generally a good idea to be solid at the grade on most pitches on this route. Wide cracks don't get seriousness ratings; let's suffice it to say that this route is not G-rated.
If you are wondering whether you should get on this route, don't! The climbing is superb. The rock quality is remarkable! The position is invigorating. The protection is not the worst for a route with lots of hard chimneys. Overall a great route if you are into the third type of fun.
Bringing a #5 C4 on this route is highly optional. Feb 22, 2017
Seattle, WA