sunset boulevard and poly gap

So after a little setting at the gym my friend and tormentor of  souls , Brendan Aiken and i went for a little Kloof session .  After a little first try jitters Brendan sent the classic "Sequential" 12.a . Then i sent (#9)Poly Gap 12.a which was not classic but still worth the moments of shear terror involved in the upper 11 section.  After a speed session at Kloof we bailed out of the oven to the west face of the Bastille which was windier than  something that is really windy. Anyway we climbed (#10)"Sunset boulevard" 11.c  which is consensus 11.b . this route is absolutely classic, it's only drawback is that it is a sport climb.  ( the route is pictured on the left with brendan hooking it up) 

outer-space and Hair styles and Attitude

Today i climbed perhaps the best climb on the Bastille. 

6. Outer-Space 5.10+

Anyone who climbs this route knows why it has it's name, you feel like you alone on the moon. The route host's some of the most amazing exposure found in Eldo. Weighing in at a relatively easy 5.10+ and 3 pitches long, you can climb this route on even the hottest days of summer. I have climbed this route many times including once free solo.  Photo on left is Andrea on the last pitch. 

7. Hair styles and Attitudes 5.12c/d

This route takes the breathtaking headwall at the top center of the Bastille. It is a adventurous sport climb ( if you can say that) . The route took me 2 days to red point. good fun and well worth it. Perhaps a shade easier than the Evictor but more classic of a line. I think this route could go on a all natural , all gear ascent. 

(pictured above) 

8. Kings X 5.10+ ( but in my opinion solid 5.11a/b )

Henious.... full value and scary. oooh yeah and very very fun. It's like a easier version of the bombay pitch on the naked edge.  A good test of your smearing and stemming skills. Harder than vertigo which gets 11a . 

a rest day....

 

Here are the promised photo's from my man Mike Sakas. Check out his web page at sakasphoto.com. The first one is falling of superfly 5.12d and the second i me myself free soloing Kloof 5.11a. 

day 2

back for more trouble...

Day 2 was very simple, warm up with a free solo of Kloof 5.11a and fall repeatedly on Superfly 5.12d r. We went out and Shot photo's with Mike Sakas  the photos came out great, if not incriminating. I'll post those as soon as i get them.  SO since i dont have to much else i thought i would share some info on two routes i climbed last week. 

5. Blind faith 5.10a - this very popular line was put up by Jim Ericson in 1972 onsight freesolo, yes thats right, he walked up said "hey that goes" and bam, you have one of Eldo's most accessable classic 10's.  It has two cruxes and climbs much better than it looks. Below is a picture of Jim climbing the route many years later ,except with gear.Also the is a picture of myself climbing the route the way Jim did back in 1972 except i used new Madrock climbing shoes.

 the other route i wanted to talk about is a roof crack in the not so often climbed area of Hawk Eagle Ridge. The routes name is Cinch Crack which i think is just plain mean, because this thing is hard and not kinda hard but " damn those sandbaggers at Falcon guides hard" the guide gives it 12b but i would give it solid 12c . Anyway it short and sweet and steep, my personal favorites "s's". Dan Gambino took some amazing shots of it that you can check out here.

concept and "the beginning"

This blog is an attempt to chronicle 100 days of climbing in Eldorado Canyon in one year. All routes climbed  will be reviewed and sprayed about, good or bad. Think of this as a online guide to Eldo. 

yesterday was day 1. 

routes climbed-  w/ Lisa 

1.Vertigo 5.11-  which is a classic that should be repeated yearly, the ultimate way to climb this route is derek Hersey style free solo (pictured in the old eldo guide) . The last pitch gets the award for hero-pose-sending-action , while i feel the dihedral below is the crux.

2. Sequential 12a  onsight. A very good "all gear" route of which there are very few in the canyon.  Low in the grade.

3. Kloof 11a onsight.  Again very good, pumpy , steep and sustained, a rare combination for eldo. Deserves more traffic. I will consider soloing this route due to the clean line and top outable finish, 

4. Superfly 12d R Absolutely classic, i was unable to send today but maybe tommorrow. The climb is not too sustained, the crux revolves around a v5/6 boulder  problem that is amazing. Not to dangerous, but i also did not send, i will report back after the redpoint.