Shelf Road’s Hardest Route Climbed

Mark Anderson just below the boulder-problem crux of Carnage (5.13d). Photo by Kate Anderson

Colorado’s Shelf Road , a network of vertical limestone cliffs near Cañon City best known for sunny moderates, has a new 5.13d pitch and may soon get its first 5.14. On Sunday, March 7, Mark Anderson redpointed a striking, super-technical arête at Cactus Cliff that was bolted in the early 1990s but apparently never free-climbed. Listed in the guidebook as Wild Virus, the newly redpointed climb has been renamed Carnage (5.13d).

Carnage ascends 5.11 ground to a big rest ledge, followed by sustained 5.12 climbing up the prow, with the desperate crux coming below the eighth bolt in the form of an “ultra-subtle V10-ish boulder problem [that] slaps directly up the arête.” Anderson, an engineer who lives in Morrison, spent four days working on the route and sent on his ninth attempt. … Continue Reading

Truly Tested: Spinner Leash

By Dougald MacDonald

North face of Andrews Tower, RMNP. Photo by Greg Sievers

Since last spring, I’ve been using  the Black Diamond Spinner to tether my leashless ice tools. I went mostly leashless a few years ago, and I’ve always worried about dropping a tool on big climbs. In fact, I’ve had a couple of scary bobbles. The Spinner is a sweet solution to the leashless dilemma. It girth-hitches to your belay loop with a 360° swivel device to minimize tangles, and it’s outfitted with easy-to-use clips for your tools and bungied tethers that extend for high placements.

I find these tethers slightly too short for long reaches on steep ice; you have to stretch the bungie a bit to get it to full length—it’s a minor exertion, but who needs any extra effort on vertical ice? Maybe BD should make a “long” for tall people.

But these tethers aren’t really designed for short ice and mixed routes—they really come into their own on multipitch routes and alpine climbs, when dropping a tool could be disastrous, and on such routes the Spinner definitely eased my mind. … Continue Reading

New Route Likely Platte’s Hardest

Jason Haas entering the crux of Comprometido (5.14a). Photo by Ben Schneider

Jason Haas, who’s working on a new guidebook to South Platte rock climbs, has just redpointed what’s likely the Platte’s hardest pitch, a roof seam that’s protected with removable pro and might be 5.14a. The new route, Comprometido, took about a year and a half to complete. Here, Haas tells the story.

While researching routes for the upcoming South Platte guidebook through Fixed Pin Publishing, I came across an old aid climb simply named A3 Route on Dome Rock, a few miles from the Cathedral Spires. The formation is similar to a mushroom, with a small stalk on the bottom leading up to a massively imposing roof that actually dips down at the lip, like a crashing wave, followed by a long slab to the summit. Working the route in summer was sketchy due to the deep, pushy river, which would dump you out 100 feet downstream from where you started, making you swim it with dry bags. The winter was heinous—not only was the river scary to cross when it was partly frozen, but also the rock faces north so it was an icebox. Fall was best, when the water was low enough to wade across at about thigh height. … Continue Reading

Rocky Seeks Climbing Rangers

Rocky Mountain National Park is recruiting seasonal climbing rangers for this summer. Applicants must be well-rounded alpine climbers (capable of climbing at least Grade IV 5.9 A2), possess or obtain a First Responder or higher certification, and be available from May through September. The position pays $16 to $20 an hour.

Fun New Mixed Routes in Vail

The new route Dragons Tongue, left of Spiral Staircase. Courtesy of Rob Ginieczki

Let’s say you’d like to try some sport-mixed routes, but you aren’t into fruit boots and cranking figure-nines. Until recently, your options have been limited at East Vail, the mecca of modern mixed climbing. But this season, several new climbs have been added to the Firehouse West and Spiral Staircase areas, and at M6 to M7 these should be very attractive to experienced ice climbers looking to dabble in dry tooling.

… Continue Reading

Clear Creek’s Cat Slab Will Reopen

The Cat Slab, a closed crag in Clear Creek Canyon that once was very popular for its moderate, bolt-protected routes, will see a second life thanks to a deal worked out between Clear Creek County and the landowner. Here’s today’s announcement from the Access Fund, one of the groups that worked on the deal:

“After months of negotiation, Clear Creek County successfully acquired the 76-acre Oxbow Parcel that contains the Cat Slab cliff, located south of U.S. Highway 6 near Tunnel 5. Cat Slab boasts some of the only moderate routes in Clear Creek Canyon and was a popular crag to bring beginners before it was closed to the public in 2006 due to liability concerns. … Continue Reading