Rock Climbing – Cracked Wall, Ophir Pass, Telluride, CO

Cracked Wall at Ophir Pass
The Cracked Wall at Ophir Pass, Telluride, CO

At Summit of Entrance Exam
Clare at the top of Entrance Exam (5.3)

On 4th of July, Dennis and I drove to Telluride to stay with the J-man. He was one of the participants in my Pigeon/Turret trip last summer and at the end of the trip, he invited us to stay with him if we were ever in Telluride. It was a place we had been wanting to visit, so we arranged a multi-sport vacation and took him up on his offer.

Friday was the day for climbing. So, we headed to Ophir Pass and climbed at Cracked Wall.

The trail head for cracked wall is just past the post office. There were a couple vans parked on the right hand side across from the trail, so we flipped a U turn and parked just around a bend. The following pictures demonstrate approximately where to park and start hiking. There was a cairn right on the trail, but it might not be there next time.

Pullout for the Cracked Wall
Looking back towards the post office, and to the trail head.

Trail for Cracked Wall
The trail is on the left, looking from the post office towards the cars.

Cracked Wall Trailhead Marked with Cairn
Trail head and cairn!

First Glimpse of Cracked Wall
Glimpse of Cracked Wall through the trees.

When you hike up the trail, about 2 minutes into the hike, you should be at the spot where you can see the wall through the trees. It is up a very loose gully, so I would suggest wearing a helmet for the approach!

J-man Ready for Climbing
Here’s J-man in the loose gully, en route to the climbing crag.

We found the super easy climb, Entrance Exam (5.3). I wanted to use a climb that would have some exposure, and approximate the climbing we might find on Dallas. I thought it looked good because it was vegetated and not polished or full of chalk. I climbed up to the top and set an anchor. The goal was to have J-man get experience climbing, rappelling, cleaning gear, ascending the rope using a prussik, and belaying.

J-Man Gets an A on Entrance Exam
J-Man climbing entrance exam.

J-Man Making Crux Move on Entrance Exam (5.3)
Close-up picture of the crux.

J-Man Climbing Entrance Exam
J-Man cleaning gear

Practicing Prussiking
J-Man practicing ascending using prussiks

Thanks to Dennis for being so patient and for helping J-Man while I was up at the anchor! It certainly helped having you on the ground while I was up there!

J-Man, you did awesome! I think you’ll have no problems on Dallas Peak, in August!

The Cracked Wall at Ophir Pass is a nice wall. I’d love to go back there and do some of the other climbs, too bad it started raining and we only got one climb in…but there’s always next time!

Tags: , , , ,

Comments are closed.