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fluffystuff
Aug 16, 2007, 8:42 AM
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Registered: Nov 21, 2006
Posts: 25
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Heya. Looking for beta on finding easy to moderate climbs in Eldorado Canyon (maybe 5.4s-5.8s). Just got the guidebook.
Will have four days to climb, and feeling a touch intimidated on heading outside of New England (Acadia, Gunks, Cathedral, boston area crags- Crow Hill, Quincy, Hammond) for the first time.
I'm a new leader, only feeling comfortable on well protectable 5.6s and less so far. I climb up to 5.10s without falling as a second. My climbing partner climbs similarly, but with a bit more trad experience (some 5.7s, and maybe 5.8s might be ok). Not sure how ratings vary from East Coast to Eldo. These are east coast ratings.
Any tips on getting comfy at Eldo would be appreciated.
Bastille Crack is on our list- would like to start out on something easier though.
Thanks
(This post was edited by fluffystuff on Aug 16, 2007, 9:02 AM)
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percious
Aug 16, 2007, 9:05 AM
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Registered: May 19, 2005
Posts: 140
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Last year my buddy and I were leading 5.6 pretty comfortably at the gunks, and bastille crack was pretty do-able. There are discrepancies on where the crux is on that climb. Some say P2, some say P3. I thought p3 was more technically challenging, but P2 was more heady. (you can combine P1+2 with a 60M, but many people belay at the chains because of the p2 crux.)
Bastille crack is the where most of the accidents occur in Eldo. The park labels it a 5.8 but I don't know if that is just to scare the newbs away. The climbing is definitely slimy in parts, well worn from use. It is a great climb though.
Here are some nice pictures of the climb.
http://www.percious.com/...02006/02%20Eldorado/
-percious
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petsfed
Aug 16, 2007, 10:58 AM
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Registered: Sep 24, 2002
Posts: 7173
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percious wrote: Last year my buddy and I were leading 5.6 pretty comfortably at the gunks, and bastille crack was pretty do-able. There are discrepancies on where the crux is on that climb. Some say P2, some say P3. I thought p3 was more technically challenging, but P2 was more heady. (you can combine P1+2 with a 60M, but many people belay at the chains because of the p2 crux.) Bastille crack is the where most of the accidents occur in Eldo. The park labels it a 5.8 but I don't know if that is just to scare the newbs away. The climbing is definitely slimy in parts, well worn from use. It is a great climb though. Here are some nice pictures of the climb. http://www.percious.com/...02006/02%20Eldorado/ -percious
If you offwidth it, its not that bad at all. Third pitch felt solid at 5.7 to me. And may in fact be the best pitch of 5.7 in the universe.
Other leads:
Wind Ridge, Breezy, Calypso (although the traverse can be spooky for the second), anything around Calypso (there are several), anything on the West Face of the Whale's Tail, the Bulge, the list goes on and on. Eldo is one of the most well covered areas at mountainproject.com. If you navigate there and click the link that says "best climbs for me in this area" (or something similar) you can look for precisely this range. And there's dozens of them.
Good luck.
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