5.5-5.7 alpine routes in Colorado?

I'm working on my wishlist and thought I'd ask the community for suggestions. So far I have the following on my radar screen. Are there good climbs I'm missing?

Desired:

Longs Peak - Alexanders Chimney (5.5)
Mount Ypsilon - Blitzen Ridge (5.5ish)
Blanca Peak - Ormes Buttress (5.6)
Quandary Peak - Inwood Arete (5.4-5.7 depending)
Crestone Needle - Ellingwood Ledges/Arete (5.7)
Lone Eagle Peak - North Face (5.7)
Vestal Peak - Wham Ridge (5.4)
Mount Sneffels - North Buttress (5.6)
Mount Evans - Various stuff on the 2nd Apron (5.5-5.7ish)

Completed:

Sharkstooth - Northeast Ridge (5.6)
Spearhead - North Ridge (5.6)
Longs Peak - Keyhole Ridge (5.5)
Hallett Peak - Great Dihedral (5.7)

Yo Andy: Things I'd suggest are:

Adding Jackson, WY. You'll find routes within this range and with great quality of rock.

Then, I'd take a swing down to SLC, the Wasatch should not be missed.

For CO: add Batman & Robin @ 5.6-8 on Lumpy. And, I'd forgo the Inwood, but to each their own.

Mark Nelson wrote:Yo Andy: Things I'd suggest are: Adding Jackson, WY. You'll find routes within this range and with great quality of rock.

Wyoming's got it's own list ;-) the Direct Exum is on the list and I'd like to visit the Winds too - perhaps Ellingwood Peak. Thanks for the input on Inwood - I'll bump that one to the bottom of the list.

Thanks Jared. I think 5.8 will still be out of my reach in the near future but you pose some cool looking 5.7 possibilities (right now my life's ambition is to be able to do that route on Alice). Another one I forgot about is Aiguille de Fleur on the west side of RMNP. Jim Disney gave me a little beta on that one that I'd be happy to share if you're interested. He says it goes 5.6-5.7.

Lizard Head I found better than expected. It has a reputation for being rotten, and certain sections are horrible. However I found that the technically most difficult sections were also the least rotten, and the peak looks pretty cool.

Jagged Mountain is supposed to be fun, although only 5.2. I haven't climbed it myself.

If you have an extra day after doing Wham Ridge check out the Trinity Traverse. This is only 3rd-4th class but is very fun, it is a relatively solid and exposed ridge. There are also technical routes on Arrow Peak which look nice, but I've not climbed it.

Andy, I wouldn't put Alexander's on the list unless you were willing to add the WI4 M4 bit to it. As a rock climb, it is wet to the point of being unpleasant. I might add South Prow of Sharkstooth, 5.7, Kiener's (approach climb -> 5.3), & some folks seem to rave about the Spiral Route on Notchtop (5.4).

Leo Paik wrote:Andy, I wouldn't put Alexander's on the list unless you were willing to add the WI4 M4 bit to it. As a rock climb, it is wet to the point of being unpleasant. I might add South Ridge of Sharkstooth, 5.7, Kiener's (approach climb -> 5.3), & some folks seem to rave about the Spiral Route on Notchtop (5.4).

Thanks Leo. I was thinking linking Alexanders with Kieners might be an interesting late-summer outing... but if it's kinda nasty I'll scratch that one.

I have done both Kieners (by way of Lambslide) and Spiral Route. Both fun routes but I'm aiming for more sustained "rock climbing" in the future.

Don't forget about McGregor Mtn off Fall River Rd near the Park. Lots of good stuff there.
mountainproject.com/v/color…

Scott Duke wrote:Don't forget about McGregor Mtn off Fall River Rd near the Park. Lots of good stuff there. mountainproject.com/v/color…

Good call. I did some odd variation on Left Standard that was far harder than the advertised 5.3. I'd like to go back for Right Standard.

Another thought for a link-up of a more-subalpine experience (like MacGregor Slab or Lumpy) could be Central Buttress/5.7 start 3p, 5.7 to A Few Moments of Pleasure 2p, 5.7+. Less-traveled, more exploratory feeling to it. Might figure out the descent in advance.

Folks venturing in to climb Blitzen Ridge will be stunned with the 5.5 rating. Especially for an inexperienced climber. The approach is long and the route-finding is not as easy as one would assume.
One of my all-time favorites though.

I found Dags in Beanland 5.6 on Cedar Park Slab. (Storm Mountain area)to be a great route. Some runout, great slab climbing, bolts and cracks for pro and best of all....no crowds!

Jared Workman wrote:Three thumbs up for The Blitzen Ridge. I'd go back in a heartbeat. An easier way to do it might be to have a second car parked at the visitor station up top and simply make your way over Chapin and Chaquita and up to the summit of trail ridge road.

No doubt. Blitzen Ridge was the only climb on my wishlist this season that I really wanted, but didn't get. The weather at the end of the season just didn't cooperate. It's at the very top of my list for next season!

Dags is 5.8, and solid at the grade in my opinion. Good route though.

Lizard Head was also solid at the grade at 5.8, and you wouldn't really want to be a 5.8 leader on it. Agreed that the rock isn't awful on the 5.8 bits, but it is really bad on 5.6/7 sections and the pro isn't necessarily that straightfoward on the 5.8 sections. Wonderful summit though.

Batman and Robin is a weird recommendation - its a fairly forgettable cragging route i barely remember.

Inwood Arete is fun, but more chossaneering than good rock climbing. I liked it, but more for the novelty of being on quandary on a nice day and seeing no one until the summit than the route quality.

I wouldn't mind trying something like Blockbuster.

Andy, also, might want to try Mt Thorodin - CMC Route @ 5.7, mostly 5.5. Though it's not that great a climb & is sub-alpine (but, not that bad a climb either), the scenery is pretty cool.

And, if you're not feeling too solid @ 5.8, I would wait on the Evans Aprons, or take the far right (but you will sacrifice rock quality); you're gonna find yourself on a fairly committing & serious slab climb not offering to much for gear except for the belays. The rock though is exquisite up the center line.