Avg: 3.9 from 49
votes
An adventure climb that has a bit more of an "alpine" feel than the typical Potrero multipitch.
A note on the pitch count and the route length listed here: it's about 1000 feet from the base of the route to the summit, according to GPS readings. This includes the elevation gained scrambling the upper fixed line section, which is not included in the pitch count. When you include the approach, your total pitch count for the day will be 10 and you'll gain 2000+ feet of elevation. Plan your start time accordingly.
P1: 5.8, 9 bolts
Cruise up the low-angle slab, then pull a couple 5.8 moves just before the anchor.
P2: 5.10c, 9 bolts
Continue up as the wall steepens, with techy/crimpy crux sequences in between good jug rests.
P3: 5.10a, 9 bolts
Make a couple 5.10 moves low, then enjoy some jug hauling before a slab finish. Pitches 1-3 can be linked as a single rope-stretcher 70 meter pitch. With a few key bolts extended, the rope drag isn't too bad.
P4: 5.10b, 18 bolts
Climb up the corner on surprisingly solid orange rock. Find the path of least resistance through the lower section, following good holds out onto the left face then returning to the corner a couple times. When it gets steep, go spelunking in the chimney pods on the left and/or climb the steep hand and fist crack on the right. At the top of the corner, there's a rap anchor to the left of the bolt line. Continue up the easy corner/gully to the right for three more bolts to a more spacious belay ledge.
NOTE: if you climb straight up past the rap anchor rather than branching right, you're following the rap line. There are bolts there, in case you get your rope stuck on the way down and have to go back up and get it, but this area is chossy and ledgy and generally not recommended for going up.
P5: 5.10a, 13 bolts
Head up the ridge / shallow corner system, scramble up some blocky ledges, then make a sharp traverse left around the corner (easier than it looks). By extending one bolt and back-cleaning another, you should be able to minimize drag while still adequately protecting your second.
P6: 5.10a/d, 11 bolts
Clip the first bolt from the ledge on the left, then use some combination of stemming and offwidth technique to reach a good hold near the third bolt. Then pull inside the chimney and scooch your way up, until you reach the top of the shorter of the two pillars. Step across onto good holds, then make a few more moves to top out on the taller pillar.
Your opinion on the grade will depend heavily on what you think of chimney climbing in general. If you've never climbed anything like this, it might be the crux of the whole route. If you're a Vedauwoo climber, you'll probably think it's something like 5.8+.
P7: 5.10b, 13 bolts
From where the pillar meets the wall, head up and right to the finger/tips crack, then follow the crack up to the palm tree ledge. Pull a couple steep moves up the hand crack on the right, then trend back left and finish on the arete, with big moves between good holds.
If you brought your approach shoes up with you (recommended), now is the time to change back into those. Follow fixed lines for about 250 meters of 3rd and 4th class to the summit. There is a summit register tucked in a little hole near the cairn.
Getting down:
Reverse the fixed line section, then rap the top two pitches. Heads up, pulling your rope is difficult on these top two raps, especially pitch 6. Don't assume your rope is stuck before giving it a good body weight pull.
From the anchor at the base of the chimney, do two raps straight down to reach the rap anchor you passed on pitch 4. Be careful here; there's a lot of rotten rock, and despite much hammering and crowbar-ing, there will probably always be more stuff coming loose over time. Watch your step, and if you encounter something loose please try to relocate it safely.
From here, rap the route to the ground. A 70 meter rope is required.
Starts pretty much at the very top of the Garden of Eden canyon. You will need to climb two pitches to get to the bottom of that canyon (various options described on the area page).
On the hike up through the garden, you will encounter three steep sections with fixed ropes. The middle one is bolted as a short 5.8 pitch, so you can climb and/or rap it on your own rope if you'd prefer. The total time from the top of Jesus Caballero to the base of the route will be around 45 minutes, give or take depending on hiking fitness and whether you stop to belay on the 5.8.
The route starts just past the last fixed rope, on the right wall. If you run into the back wall of the canyon, you missed the route by about 100 meters.
The route starts near the top of the Garden of Eden, and tops out on a prominent summit with epic views of everything from Potrero to Hidalgo to La Popa. The bulk of the route is in shade all day. During early or late season when the sun is higher, parts of pitches 4-6 get sun briefly in late morning, then go back into the shade for the rest of the day. The climbing is varied, including pitches where crack climbing skills are useful/required.
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Denver, CO.
Lakewood, CO
To get to the climb, we went up pitch one and two of Sandra. By far the worst part of the day. Both pitches are terrible and pitch two showers little rocks down most the way. Bolts were good at least except for a couple on pitch 1.
The hike up the gully after Sandra took 1 hour. Total time was probably around three hours from the base of Sandra pitch 1. All fixed lines were good as of 12/21/2023. The climb will be on climber’s right as you look up the gully about 20 feet after the end of the 3rd fixed line. Watch out for tarantulas on the way up. My partner noticed them everywhere as I trudged through unaware.
Pitch by pitch breakdown with my personal opinions on quality and EPC grading. I led P1/3/5/6 for what it’s worth.
P1: 5.7 - one star. We ended up pitching out the first three even though you can link the first three. Could easily skip a couple bolts if you don’t have 27 draws.
P2: 10b - three stars. Sharp with lots of options for holds. Nothing too technical. Crux around bolt 6. Great feet.
P3: 10a - three stars. Straightforward and sharp. Big holds up to the base of the corner. No distinct crux.
P4: 10b/c - two stars. My least favorite excluding P1. My partner’s favorite. Really cool features, but I felt the dirtiness, which may never clean up, detracted from the climbing. Crux is getting out of the pod at the top.
P5: 10a - three stars. Fun movement with a neat little traverse that was made extra safe without serious rope drag issues. Sharp rock.
P6: 10a - four stars. I felt the single hardest move was switching from stemming to pulling into the chimney. Really fun chimney that is really clean.
P7. 10a/b - four stars. Could have been 10a, but I was more interested in getting to the top than finding all the holds. Slightly overhung halfway up with a crack on the right side felt like the crux.
Great views from where we stopped, and no doubt even better from the very top. Approximately 5 hours of climb for us with no linked pitches.
Descent was 8 raps. The pull from pitch 7 wasn’t bad. The pull from pitch 6 took some muscle but came clean. Take some care on where the rope is as you cross over the edge at the top for each one. From there, 6 straight down raps to the ground. No stuck ropes for us but the added bolts for the 3rd and 4th raps were a nice touch just in case you need them. 1 hour and 45 minutes to rap the route. Another hour and change until you are back on the ground at the TNT wall. No sun all day.
My personal take is that you should do this climb if you’ve already hit all the classics or really want a far out there adventure. We didn’t see another soul after leaving the ground all day. Very good climbing but a bit of work to get it. Dec 21, 2023
Denver, CO
Approach Beta:
The worst part of the day for me was the approach pitch (pitch#2 of Sandra) once in the vatican, since it was quite choosy. Like the guidebook says if you can get up jesus C with some hanging, highly recommend that.
Once above the vatican, hike up the canyon on not too loose but somewhat vegetated ground through 2 sections of 4th/5th class rock with fixed lines (as of December 2023) til you are about ~50-100 meters from the back of the canyon and you come to a section of 3rd/4th class rock WITHOUT a fixed line, don't climb this section and instead turn around: the climb is 5-10 meters back downhill on the South wall of the canyon (on your Left as heading downhill/down-canyon, see my photo of the start).
Route Beta:
I found the route to be overall easier than some of the classic 10+ multipitches (black cat bone, pitch black) withoutany sections above 10.b with the cruxes being on the 4th pitch possibly due to semi chimneying with a pack, and again on the 6th pitch. If you are good at chimneys, these could be maybe 10.a by epc standards. I would also link the first three pitches as I felt they had a couple 10a or 10b move with a lot of easier climbing. Also really enjoyed the last pitch, very solid and cruiser rock. Dec 24, 2023
Kioto
Seattle, WA
I thought the grades felt quite different than the description, more like Mark D above:
1) 5.7, kind of a walk up
2) 5.10a, kept waiting for it to get hard but never really did
3) 5.9, straightforward
4) 5.10b/c, I found this one dirty, awkward, and tough! But partner’s favorite.
5) 5.10a, did not love the death blocks. I read the comments so had an easy time traversing hard left, but the parties after me didn’t and got confused (boys…)
6) 5.10b/c, crazy chimney pitch!! Recommend trying to minimize stuff on your harness somehow, will get scraped/smooshed, party after us ripped their chalk bag.
7) 5.10b, great climbing, consistent at the grade, really liked this pitch.
FWIW our timing was:
Ground to base of route (including 3 approach pitches and hiking): 2hrs
Climbing the route: 3hrs (did not take fixed lines farther, don't regret it)
Rapping: 1.5hrs
Base of route back to ground: 45min
For the approach, to find the 1st approach pitch (Sandra p1), go to the farthest (climber’s right) of the TNT wall; far back left of the amphitheater- it’s next to the permadrawed 5.13a “cyclops.”
Then choose between 5.8 fun but dirty stemming/crack pitch, or awesome bolted hand crack (upgraded to 5.12a, but ~5.11b if you can crack climb and have crack gloves IMO.) Jan 3, 2025
Everything about this climb was fun! The fixed lines to the summit were the cherry on top of a thoroughly enjoyable climb. Jan 19, 2025
From the moment you leave the ground the climbing is excellent. The approach pitches (Sandra 1`and 2) are totally fine. A little dusty on pitch one but nothing terrible. The walk up through the Garden of Eden is absolutely magical. That section took 30 minutes but seemed like 5. Pitches 1 through 7 of the route are all fantastic, well bolted and clean. Anchor stations are equipped with beefy half inch bolts. There is 250 meters of fixed lines protecting you through the 3rd and 4th class section to the summit. From the top of the route the view is absolutely spectacular making for an incredible climbing experience. The descent is remarkably straight forward. We had no issues at all pulling ropes on the rappels and the walk back down through the Garden of Eden is fast with more fixed lines for the steeper parts. This is certainly one of the best multi pitch routes in Potrero and a must do for anyone seeking a full day adventure climb. Jan 20, 2025
The rock is clean with beefy anchors and a very well thought out rap route.
Folllowed Rameses and others beta for getting into the garden of eden.
Instead of reversing the second approach pitch (sandra p2), you can rap jesus cabelleros.
This climb needs to be on most climber's list and needs to be climbed so this doesn't fall into obscurity/grown over.
For timing, started climbing Sandra at 8:00 and finished the rap to the base at TNT at 17:30 - we took about 20-25 minutes at the summit and also hung around at the top of jesus cabelleros. Jan 21, 2025
A couple notes for those who may be on the fence on doing the route or not based on the grade. One is that pitch two is probably pretty height dependent, and my 10c estimate is most relevant for someone who's approximately my height, i.e. 5'8ish. More importantly though, the wide variety of climbing styles on this on this route virtually guarantees that some pitch or other is going to feel like 10+, unless you've really mastered all of the relevant styles, in which case you're probably not too worried about the distinction between 10b and 10c anyway. But hey, it's still a fully bolted climb where you can always just turn around at any point, so why not give it a shot, right? Happy climbing! Feb 12, 2025
Nashville/NYC/Beirut
walk down the road till you see the sign for La Ola, go up that trail but stay left to get to TNT wall and the conundrums instead of La Ola. Climb Sandra P1 (corner chimney), scramble up to the Vatican, climb Sandra P2 (corner hand crack), traverse along a fixed line to a rap station and descend down to the other side of the canyon you were just in. Scramble up for a WHILE, about an hour if you are not in great hiking shape like me hehe. There are three fixed lines you have to scramble including one bolted 5.8 (Sean Hible) that you can rope solo or belay each other up if you want, but it is pretty chill we just rope solo'ed in approach shoes using our grigris. Scramble up some more and keep an eye out for bolts near the wall at the back of the canyon. The route will be on your right when looking uphill. Note for this whole scrambling section the rocks are pretty loose, could be a good idea to walk slow and keep some distance between you two in case the person in front sends some rocks tumbling down behind them.
The climbing itself is truly spectacular - varied and just super fun. The chimney pitch 6 is.... well, you'll see xD But all the pitches were quite fun, unique, and memorable. We linked pitches 1 and 2 but not 3 because we didn't want to deal with rope drag.
Rapping down was fine. Pulling the rope down P6 took me and my partner's full body weight to move, physically that's probably the crux of the whole day. We rapped down the hand crack rather than the chimney that we climbed up and that was fine, not sure if rapping down the chimney would be easier but we didnt want the rope to rub against sharp rock since the P6 anchor is a bit further in than where you top out. The rest of the raps are straightforward.
Anyway. Don't let the approach scare you away it's totally worth it, get on this climb!
PS The fixed lines on Sandra P1 and P2 seem worn, several were core shot at the anchors. Check 'em and decide how you feel about it, we used some of the fixed lines to try and save time but it probably would have been safer to use our rope and I don't think it would have added much time. Feb 17, 2025
Tucson, AZ
As of November 2025, the fixed rope to get to the Vatican and to the Garden of Eden is not there, but climbing Sandra P1 and P2, with good-looking bolts, was pretty enjoyable.
The approach is long, so think twice about what to bring. For me, 2.5 liters of water was enough, 1.5 to leave at the base of the climb and 1 to bring along. We didn’t use walkie-talkies. We linked the first three pitches, but I think 27 quickdraws are too many (the first 3–4 bolts are really close, I’m sure the FA’s did it this way so you could see where the multipitch starts). If you don’t mind skipping some bolts, bring 23 quickdraws to link the first three pitches or 15 to link the first two. Nov 2, 2025
Red River Gorge, KY
However I have two points of concern: 1 I think another bolt should be added to the chimney and 2 I'd be weary of the fixed lines due to abrasion and weathering over time, especially to the summit. You need a strong head to basically solo it and even more so coming back down.
Every pitch is super unique. If you're linking p1-3 make sure you have a true 70m and plenty of alpines to reduce drag.
Good job Josh for finding and bolting this line! Dec 13, 2025
Multiple parties have reported getting their rope stuck on the first rappel, when they tried running the rope off to the side (climber's left) of where you climb up. I know it looks weird to run the rope straight out from the anchor that far and then over a kinda sharp edge, but it is in fact the least bad option. Dec 15, 2025
Arlington, VA
Conditions as of 12/31/2025 - all the fixed lines (Sandra P2, and the 3 fixed lines in Edén) were in good enough shape to climb and rappel on. But as always, evaluate for yourself.
If I could give this climb 5 stars I would. The position it puts you in, the totally wild feel of the canyon, and full on adventure day were an incredible experience. Dec 31, 2025
Chicoutimi, QC
ACCESS
Walk up to the base of Sandra P1 (Vatican access pitch) between Argos and Cyclops (30 min). Climb Sandra to the Vatican, then climb Sandra P2 in the corner or Jesus Caballero (45 min). If you climb Sandra P2, you’ll need to traverse left and rappel into the beginning of the gully (10 min).
Once at the base of the gully (top of Jesus Caballero — slung palm tree and single anchor with rappel rings), start hiking up and climb the fixed lines as you encounter them (20 min). The fixed line on the 5.8 is core-shot and in pretty rough shape as of January 6, 2026. I chose to clip the bolts and use my rope as a backup while climbing it.
Once you’re up the 5.8, hike another 45 minutes to 1 hour to the base of the route, following additional fixed lines. The base of the route is marked by a cairn. The first bolt is reachable from the ground and easily visible on the right side of the canyon.
ROUTE (we carried 20 draws)
We linked P1 and P2—great moves that set the tone for the rest of the route. The rock is slightly different than in the canyon; at times it felt like climbing on hollow blades and daggers.
P3 was smooth, and if I did it again I would probably link P1–P3.
P4 is a long 40–45 m pitch to the right anchor—DO NOT STOP AT THE FIRST ANCHOR YOU SEE. Surprisingly, I found this to be the hardest pitch.
P5 is straightforward until the final section, where you traverse left to the base of the money pitch.
P6: I love chimneys and offwidths. I stayed inside from start to finish and used almost nothing outside. It felt like 5.9 to me. Chicken-wing your way through the first moves, protected by closely spaced bolts, then use your entire body and stem your way up toward the exit. One of the nicest pitches I’ve ever climbed. From inside the chimney, you can see the Timewave Buttress. Nothing beat the aesthetics of the movement combined with the views on this pitch.
If you can climb the pitch without your bag, do it. Climb light, and once at the top, haul your bags while belaying your partner.
P7: beautiful face and slab moves leading to cracks and jugs. You’d think this is the cherry on top but it gets even better. Once at the top, unrope and follow the fixed lines to an absolutely epic summit. (As of January 6, the fixed lines at the top were in decent shape, but be comfortable with easy 4th- and 5th-class scrambling and downclimbing.)
Overall, the bolting was very reasonable, and the grades felt mostly true to what’s stated.
RAPPEL
One short rappel to the base of P7. One short rappel to the base of the chimney. Here, we chose to run our rope climber’s left of the anchor so it wouldn’t get caught on the jagged rock—it went very smoothly.
From the base of the chimney, with two ropes, we made one long rappel to the top of P4, then another long rappel to the top of P2, and finally to the ground. No ropes got stuck, and the rappel anchors are placed efficiently.
From there, hike back down to the top of Jesus Caballero and do two 35 m rappels.
Josh Warfield is an artist. This route is a testament to that. Go try it out. Jan 10, 2026
Seattle, WA