Moderate single pitch front range trad lines?

Where is a good place to look for that? Bolted anchors would be cool...

I am still a pretty new trad leader.

Thanks!

The wind tower at eldorado has a good concentration of moderates...be prepared for crowds though...

Happy hour crag in boulder canyon is also a good bet.

many to choose from...
the dome in boulder canyon is nice single pitch, short approach.

on another thought, maybe click on an area.
then hit the best routes for you button.
you can have mountain project show you what it has in your range.

good luck!
c

These are the places I first learned on in the order I climbed on them. Routes from 5.3 to 5.7.

Eldo
1. Whales Tail
2. Windtower
3. West Ridge
4. Peanuts Walls

Boulder Canyon
1. The Dome
2. Cobb Rock
3. Happy Hour
4. The Riviera

I found Windtower to be better than Happy Hour Crag, but I think I am biased to Eldo.

"Rivera is mostly sport and the few mixed lines are sketchy at least 9+"

Ummmm no. Chouette and Splash are great mixed and mostly gear lines for beginners. I've had more than one beginner lead Chouette as their first line. Then they can step up to Au Natural, an easy 8 that takes plenty of good gear down low and offers a couple options up high (traverse on gear or traverse to a bolt). Plus there is another 5.7 gear line there I haven't done.

"Cobb is multi-pitch and hard to get to now (I am guessing) and sort of old school..."

Has a tyrol and at least some single pitch lines. Huston is OW but takes plenty of gear and really is still a moderate.

"Happy hour ... well the gear can be tricky... I personally have seen some bad accidents there...and it seems most folks TR there (nothing wrong with that)"

Gear anywhere can be tricky. Hence the point of learning on moderate lines where falls are much less likely. Plus accidents happen everywhere, what does that have to do with Happy Hour??

"Dome ...I've done some dome routes in one pitch, but I don't place much gear and I climb or used to climb"

I *just* did the East Slab (again) on the Dome. It's fantastic for beginners. Lots of sizes of gear can be used. Great nut options so you don't need double cams. Yes the crack runs out but you can get gear to make falls safe should one happen. Easy to do as a single pitch with a 60m and plenty of other lines to step up to once you feel like it's easy (5.6 and 5.7)

"Wind Tower -- yes you can do a single pitch there but why.... and I know of at least one person die'ing on the first pitch of breezy... on TR!!!"
Again what does anyone dieing have to do with it? Wind tower has plenty of good trad routes with bolted anchors to learn on. Calypso if you don't take the direct start but better with Breezy, Wind Ridge, The Bomb, Recon. Then later you can do West Overhang, Reggae, Boulder Direct (tricky gear at teh start) and Calypso Direct.

There just aren't really moderate single pitch routes around. At least I haven't seen many in my limited experience. Now that I think about it, Happy Hour may not be the best starting area because the anchors are kinda crappy up top with the sporadic trees and questionable rock.Windtower routes all have walkoffs or rappels; however, small gear is needed for the anchors atop Breezy and Wind Ridge.

Riviera and much of wind tower that I posted is single pitch with bolted anchors and the dome has trees! I'd say those in particular are just what he asked for.

Andrew if you link p1 and p2 on wind ridge there is a bomber natural thread at the lip. Easy with a 60 m too though does take plenty of gear and runners to sew up. Then just walk off.

More specifically...

West Crack and West Dihedral on the Whale's Tail were the first climbs I did in Eldo. Very mellow with great gear the entire way and bomber anchor up top - I'd highly recommend both.

To the OP I'm probably the one who has most recently climbed all the moderate routes you should be on anyway. Chris is dead on with his suggestions IMHO. I've led some of those routes at his urging also. I'd be happy to show you the stuff I learned on last summer sometime if you want. You're going to have to learn to build anchors sooner rather than later around here though.

What about Castle Rock in Boulder Canyon? There is the West Face route, which has a ton of variations, all of them pretty easy, with bolt anchors: mountainproject.com/v/west-…. You can sew that puppy up six ways to Sunday.

EdAsh wrote:the OP said bolted anchors at the top!!!!

They only said it "would be cool".

My question is what does moderate mean? Easy? or 5.10 (like most people around here would have you believe)

The Boulderado looks fun. 5.4 to 5.8's with bolt anchors.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you cannot build a redundant, equalized anchor, should you really be leading traditional routes? Perhaps hire a guide for a day, or buy one of John Long's books. I was dicking off at the Boulderado area about a year ago and witnessed some guy fall to his death. I'm pretty sure there are "bolted anchors at the top".

Ok, I know I am probably going to get shit for this, but,

NORTH TABLE MOUNTAIN.

In my opinion I think it is a really terrible place to climb, but everything is very short, there are lines every 2 feet, and MANY of the sport climbs will go clean on gear, which will put you within feet of bolts if things get to be a little over your head. You can knock out 10-15 climbs within a 100 yard area ranging from 5.6-5.9 and walk away feeling like you are ready to tackle some bigger/harder stuff.

Just an idea. Good luck and have fun!

Bill C. wrote:Ok, I know I am probably going to get shit for this, but, NORTH TABLE MOUNTAIN. In my opinion I think it is a really terrible place to climb, but everything is very short, there are lines every 2 feet, and MANY of the sport climbs will go clean on gear, which will put you within feet of bolts if things get to be a little over your head. You can knock out 10-15 climbs within a 100 yard area ranging from 5.6-5.9 and walk away feeling like you are ready to tackle some bigger/harder stuff. Just an idea. Good luck and have fun!

+1

But if you're planning on climbing anytime soon, it'll be an oven up there (plus slippery rock!)...

EdAsh wrote:Mark, good post but the Bouldrado does not have bolted anchors at the top... and I could say more... but I have already said to much

Yeah it does. Went in a few years ago.

New toprope anchors on the Boulderado, at the top of Jam It, Ho Hum, Idle Hands, and Mons. Red dots show access to anchors. Be very careful if you are at the top of this cliff and are not anchored in. Please toprope through your own gear, and not directly through the anchor rings. Photo by Richard Rossiter.

EdAsh wrote:Rich, thanks for the update I am sorta surprised you are ok with this.... based on on our previous conversations....

I'm not really arguing for or against these bolts. Just letting the OP know they are there.

Convenience anchors are an interesting debate. I'm not sure where I stand on the issue. Sometimes I love them, sometimes they seem kind of lame. Too late tonight to try to conjure any intelligent opinion on the topic...