Saturday morning, we got a call from Kris around 7:30am. The group would be arriving in about an hour. Boy was I excited! We were expecting Kris, Kat, and Steve. A couple of Kris’ friends would be joining us later…so a nice sized group.
I got up and made some coffee. Dennis & I had some breakfast, and chatted about climbing.
I think it was around 10am when we were all standing around the campsite planning the days events. By 10:30am, we were heading for the crag.
We drove down Elevenmile Canyon and ended up at Elevenmile Dome (how fitting!). The most popular routes were already crowded with people, so we walked around the Eastern side of the dome.
I noticed that the climb Easy Street was not occupied. In the book, it mentions it being a 3 pitch climb with ample pro and a nice walkoff. It looked like the perfect warm-up climb!
Climbergirl at the top of Easy Street, pitch 1 (5.5)
Kat at the top of Easy Street pitch 1 (5.5)
Easy Street was a bit more excitement than I was expecting. The first pitch is akin to a sidewalk with a few well placed bolts. It also has fixed anchors (nice!).
The second pitch of Easy Street goes over a roof (which was noted to be 5.6), but I thought it felt more like 5.8. All the holds are there, but there is a cruxy move (protected by a bolt) traversing to a bomber right handhold. It is supposed to end just over the roof as evidenced by the bomber anchors with rap rings on a *huge* ledge.
Unfortunately, I thought the second pitch was longer, so I followed a bolt trail, as suggested, straight up. The climbing was ledgy, and getting over them was a bit tricky (slab climbing on thin holds and then mantels over a sloped lip). The height of the ledges varied from 6-10 feet, and the bolts were perfectly placed. I thought this part of the climb felt like 5.9 or 5.10- (not 5.7).
I stopped climbing the 2nd pitch when I saw a bail beaner. I thought the climbing was getting a bit too hard for Dennis & the rest to do. Turns out my prediction was true, Dennis couldn’t get over the last ledge, and he tried a couple different attempts! I lowered him to the huge belay ledge and rapped off the bail beaner.
I radioed down to Kris and told him & Steve that I was bailing, when I could see Dennis struggling. Steve climbed the first pitch and helped Kat to get back down, then he continued on, turning the second pitch roof and grabbed my draws along the way (thanks Steve!).
So, Dennis, Steve, and I were on the ledge above the roof, when lightning started getting obnoxious. We tied our two ropes together and collectively bailed.
Kris went up and cleaned the anchors of pitch 1 while we three were negotiating tangled ropes on the ledge…A big thanks to Kris, for being so patient and helpful!
I was happy we were all able to make it down in safety, despite the added stress of the thunderstorm! I believe it was Dennis & Steve’s first time seeing two ropes tied together, and experiencing a bailed climbing attempt while multi-pitch climbing.
We all took a bit of a break, to wait out the weather.
Finally, the crowds were gone, so we trounced over to the popular climbs and picked out some fun climbs. Here are some of the better pictures from our afternoon!
Kris Climbing Cheryl’s Peril (5.9) WAY TO GO!!!
Steve Climbing Cheryl’s Peril (5.9) and LEAVING US IN THE DUST!!!
Dennis Cleaning Cheryl’s Peril (5.9) and MAKING IT LOOK EASY!!!
Kat Climbing the Route to the Right of Cheryl’s Peril (5.9) WITH FINESSE!!!
After climbing, we went back to camp and the rest of the tents went up.
Then, we had dinner. Kris BBQ’d some chicken (AWESOME!!!), Kat cooked up some Polish Sausage (Which Simply Disappeared!), and we all stuffed our faces.
I worked on getting the fire raging, and soon we were all enjoying the crackles of sparks. What a fantastic day, I was so happy I climbed 4 pitches in relative pain free conditions. My back was a little tired & sore, but at least I got to climb!
Tags: CO, Elevenmile Canyon, Rock Climbing