RMNP climb with short approach?

Can anyone recommend (if one exists) a good multipitch in RMNP, that is probably 5.6 or less and has a relatively short approach. We probably wouldn't be able to get to the parking until around 9 or 10. Is that too late?

The approach to the sharks tooth could be done in ~2.5/3 hours. Mostly good trail the entire way. Great bivvy at the gash that would maybe be hard to find first time in there at night. Can be done in a longer day with an early start to avoid those afternoon storms. 

Check out Great Dihedral on Hallett. 

Hallett is the closest wall to the parking lot.  You can get to the base in an hr or less if you are fit.  There are a ton of routes In the area. Check here and the guidebooks for the grade you are looking for. 

I thought the Shark's Tooth was actually a pretty burly approach... Then again, we did not do it car-to-car and had fairly heavy packs with bivy gear and food, but some friends of mine did the hike car-to-car and said the same thing and they're both in good shape so I don't think I'm too far off here. While I would agree about the trail being decent for the majority of the way, it does have 1-2 hours of negotiating a large talus field and snow patch at the end depending how close you decide to bivy to the formation (if at all). I definitely would not categorize this one as a "short approach" or even relatively close to one. I consider myself to be in great shape and it took me about 6 hours to get to my bivy site which was in the upper talus field 45 minutes short of the base of the classic 5.6 route. So maybe 3 hours is reasonable with no pack if you're running? By the way, your name looks familiar. I think me and my buddy Kelly shared our rope with you and your wife on Solar Slab in Red Rocks last year. You gave us a ride back in the bed of you truck afterwards. Ring a bell?

+1 on the approach to Shark's Tooth being long and our experience was similar to Dan's: 1-2 hours in the talus after a couple of hours of hiking. And there's no clear path and boulders small to huge. The Sky pond zone is way quicker but still took us probably 2.5 hours. 

That's going to be a tough one.  Perhaps look over at the stuff on Otis Peek, which is on the way in to the Sharks Tooth.  Wham and Zowie have climbs, but not 5.6...
Cosmo has a 5.6 route, and as it is on the way in to Sharks Tooth, it is most certainly shorter.
But probably less obvious and less traveled:
https://www.mountainproject.com/v/the-path/106897243

Spriral Route or some of the others on Notchtop also come to mind.  Spiral ROute is 5.4 and there are some 7's.

But you can also do a search and then figure out the approaches to filter that:
https://www.mountainproject.com/scripts/Search.php?searchType=routeFinder&minVotes=0&selectedIds=105744460&type=rock&diffMinrock=1000&diffMinboulder=20000&diffMinaid=70000&diffMinice=30000&diffMinmixed=50000&diffMaxrock=1600&diffMaxboulder=21400&diffMaxaid=75260&diffMaxice=38500&diffMaxmixed=60000&is_trad_climb=1&is_sport_climb=1&is_top_rope=1&stars=1.8&pitches=0&sort1=rating&sort2=scoreAvg+desc

I agree that the Sharkstooth approach is not quick and easy. We seriously underestimated it when we climbed it last summer and the trudge up the Gash took a lot longer than I expected. The trail up to that point was pretty easy but still a good hike with a heavy pack

Dan Evans wrote:

I thought the Shark's Tooth was actually a pretty burly approach... Then again, we did not do it car-to-car and had fairly heavy packs with bivy gear and food, but some friends of mine did the hike car-to-car and said the same thing and they're both in good shape so I don't think I'm too far off here. While I would agree about the trail being decent for the majority of the way, it does have 1-2 hours of negotiating a large talus field and snow patch at the end depending how close you decide to bivy to the formation (if at all). I definitely would not categorize this one as a "short approach" or even relatively close to one. I consider myself to be in great shape and it took me about 6 hours to get to my bivy site which was in the upper talus field 45 minutes short of the base of the classic 5.6 route. So maybe 3 hours is reasonable with no pack if you're running? By the way, your name looks familiar. I think me and my buddy Kelly shared our rope with you and your wife on Solar Slab in Red Rocks last year. You gave us a ride back in the bed of you truck afterwards. Ring a bell?

IT took you 6 hours?!? holy hell it's like 4.5 miles that's wild did you get lost?

There are a bunch of 5.5 - 5.7 lines up McGregor Slab.  It is just before the RMNP entrance gate but it is in the park.  Short approach and low commitment.

I would highly recommend getting to pretty much any RMNP parking lot before 9 or 10 am.

Check out Lumpy Ridge if your schedule doesn't let you get there earlier than 9.

Stephen C wrote:

I would highly recommend getting to pretty much any RMNP parking lot before 9 or 10 am.

This is the truth. You are not going to get parking so you are going to stand in line for the bus up and getting there at 9 might have you on the trail by 10.

Otis is a good sugestion if you can get there early but it is still a 6-7 hour day hike in, climb, hike out. 

I would go to Lumpy in your case but it may be hard to park there as well. 

What's the cliff above the trail to the Loch, past Alberta Falls but before the Glacier Gorge/Loch split? It's above a small talus slope at a point where the trail heads towards the cliff, then turns sharply away from it.

I've seen parties on it a few times and it's very close to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, but I don't know what the difficulty or quality of the climbs is.

If you go to Lumpy you could Uber from Estes.  Only a couple miles.

45-60 minute approaches:

Pin Route or Organ Pipes on Twin Owls.

Batman and Robin on Batman Pinnacle.

Zindango on Left Book.

crackatoa Spiesbach wrote:

IT took you 6 hours?!? holy hell it's like 4.5 miles that's wild did you get lost?

Now that you mention it, we actually did overshoot our turn by the creek for Andrew's Glacier Trail that takes you around the north side, and ended up at the waterfall so we had to turn around which probably cost us 30-45 minutes or so. My climbing partner was hurting a bit from the weight of the pack as well, so we took a few breaks to eat and hydrate. Either way, I think you are looking at a minimum of 4 hours if you are bringing bivy gear to the north zone talus field (which lies above the gash another 1+ hours).

Thanks everyone for the reply. We probably end up in BoCan or Eldo just due to time constraints. 

Hey Dan! How are you? Yes that was Brittany and I with you guys on solar slab. That was a long day. Did you move to CO? 

Good man, thought I recognized the name. No unfortunately... I decided to stay in Phoenix closer to family. You guys were living in Flagstaff right?

We were yes but I finished grad school and there aren't a lot of career type jobs in Flag, so we moved to Westminster, CO..right outside of Boulder. 

Congrats man. My buddy used to live right there in Westminster. Great location and nice area. You should pm me your #, I lost all of my contacts when I got a new phone a few months ago. It would be cool to connect up sometime later down the road. I got 2 years of undergrad left before medical school so I'll be on a summer only basis for awhile.

Micah Kurtz wrote:

Thanks everyone for the reply. We probably end up in BoCan or Eldo just due to time constraints. 

FWIW, I think that makes you the wiser...