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amanda
Sep 22, 2003, 2:00 PM
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Just got off Lizard Head near Telluride, CO. Do it! It is a very loose pile of rick, but it's sooo cool. Awesome hike. Great summit. Yay fun. Do it now.
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timstich
Sep 22, 2003, 2:20 PM
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Yo amanda, Lizard Head indeed looks fun, so thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep it on the list of possibilities.
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atg200
Sep 22, 2003, 2:34 PM
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worst trip report on the site. it is a good climb though, and not nearly as loose as its reputation makes it out to be.
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timstich
Sep 22, 2003, 2:55 PM
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Alas, I just noticed that it was posted to the trip reports section of the forums. Yes, it would be nice if you could write up more details if you post it here. Otherwise just put it in the Colorado area forum or community, I would say.
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amanda
Sep 24, 2003, 2:05 PM
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It's a great climb. But you have to into the pretty hike. You can pull off, park, and walk up a ways to a flat area to camp, or hike past treeline and camp in the meadow. This time of year is getting pretty cold, though. We had perfect weather, and it was still freezing when we got to the first pitch. The start of the climb was almost too cold to be fun. But when the sun gets to it (the classic SW facing route), it's so nice. The 'fourth class scramble" sucks bad. It's wayyyy loose, so it's nice to rope up. The last pitch is really fun and the summit is really nice. I think you can see the Mt. Wilson- Escalante traverse from it.
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timstich
Sep 24, 2003, 2:14 PM
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A'ight. There's a few more details. Check out some of the other trip reports to see what other authors write like. Maculated (Kristin) writes some nice stuff, as does Brutus of Wyde, Dingus, and others.
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benkiessel
Oct 14, 2003, 6:12 PM
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amanda that was horrible. let me try, so amanda and i left durango on friday afternoon and got to the trail head at around 6-7pm that night. the view from the road in really cool! We drove in on a dirt road for awhile until it stopped and then we camped with piles of horse sh-t all around us, man it smelled so good!! saturday morning we got up at around 5-6am (thinking we did not want to be up there in the afternoon because of storms that roll in.) so at 6 am there was frost on everything and i made the mistake of sleeping in my bivy sac and ended up having a layer of frost on the out side and inside of the bivy sac. we ate some food and started hiking, we hiked for about 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours (all beautiful hiking) and finally got to the base. we did not have a topo and so just chose a dihederal that looked easy and started up. the route was still in the shade and was freezing. climbed up about 80 feet on loose rock to a belay and was in the warm sun! amanda on the other hand was still shivering at the base with 2 pairs of gloves on and all the clothing that she brought.(i was glad she was belaying with a grigri!) she climbed up into the sun and warmed up a little. the second pitch was suppose to be 4th class but was scarry and loose to we stayed roped in. base of the last pitch starts was still in the shade so the shivering started again. the last pitch was the crux probably 5.8 buldge, it was really not that hard it just seems like it is trying to spit you out the whole time. then you climb a little farther on loose rock and back in to the sun! 3rd class to the summit and then the decent. the scarriest part of the decent was down climbing the 2nd pitch while amanda took in slack. keep in mind there is no place to place gear on the second pitch. got back to the cars in the afternoon and had time to go to telluride and then indian creek that night. on sunday we climbed ancient art and then went back to durango. was that better?
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allarounder
Oct 14, 2003, 6:30 PM
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not by much
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telluryan
Oct 14, 2003, 7:21 PM
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so...you went to Telluride, then Indian Creek, then the fisher towers on Saturday??
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stevematthys
Oct 14, 2003, 7:45 PM
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you go with out door pursuits?
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benkiessel
Oct 14, 2003, 8:15 PM
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what do you mean that was not much better? that was way better then what amanda wrote! yes we went to telluride then to indian creek then to fishers, so it was alot of driving but we knew people climbing in indian creek so we camped with them. we did not climb there because amanda's ankle was messed up so she could not jam her feet so we went to fishers and climbed ancient art. and no i did not go with O.P. because they don't ever climb anything on their trips.
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atg200
Oct 20, 2003, 1:53 PM
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it had a bit more detail, but very little of interest and poor writing. climbing lizard head in and of itself is not particularly interesting - you need some sort of hook to keep it entertaining.
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amanda
Oct 21, 2003, 2:34 AM
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I guess Ben and I didn't know trip reports were supposed to be entertainment. I assumed it was information for people considering doing the climb. Hence, "report", not "story". My bad.
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atg200
Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM
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Trip reports are stories. It has been that way on internet forums and the rec.climbing usenet group for many years. I am an awful writer, so i'll do a mini-pictorial trip report and spare everyone most of my writing: Lizard Head is stunning from the road. At just over 13,000' it is the most difficult peak in Colorado to climb, and has an awful reputation for loose scary climbing. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=17284 My brother Peter, Martha - skibabeage on rc.com, and I set up camp at the trailhead and steeled outselves for a scary day. I don't know anyone who has ever climbed Lizard Head and 5.8 is near my limit, but I enjoy loose rock so I reasoned we would be fine. The next morning was clear and beautiful, so we set off up the beautiful 3 mile approach hike. It was cold and shady at the base, and I was cursing my gloves sitting safely in my car while I belayed my brother on the first pitch. The climbing looked hard for 5.8, but the rock wasn't nearly as loose as rumored - nothing compared to the kitty litter and death blocks I have endured in the desert. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=17279 Peter finished the pitch, and it was Martha's turn. She hadn't been climbing much rock lately and was intimidated, but there was no way I would let her back off. I told her life is cheap on a toprope, and she cruised the pitch in fine style. I followed the pitch cursing the lack of directionals on the traversing parts and regretting bringing a skinny line for the third climber. The second pitch is a horrible hanging rubblefield. It is only third class, but exposed and appalling loose. I really had to hunt for solid anchors at the base of the third pitch, but managed to find a solid crack buried in the munge and brought up the others. The standard third pitch is a chimney with a bulge, but water was pouring down it from the near constant rain from the week before. I wanted no part of it, so I climbed back down and checked out the original Ellingwood finish. The opening loose bulge looked scary and hard to protect, but the ramps above looked appealing. Against my better judgement I set off up the overhanging choss and was soon on easier ground. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=17280 An easy right angling ramp lead to an exciting exposed left angling ramp - i've never seen a feature like that on a route before, and the last steep summit move was directly above where I started the first ramp. This pitch was great - Ellingwood knew what he was doing. The summit was very loose and exposed, so we decided to play it safe and stay roped up on the last bits of 4th class. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=17281 The summit backdrop of the Wilson group is stunning, and we couldn't believe our luck with the weather. Not even a hint of a storm. http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=17283 Two rappels and a nasty loose downclimb of the hanging rubblefield later we were back on the ground. A terrific day with no mishaps at all, and the beers back in Telluride were cold and satisfying.
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