[CO] Top-ropes at Eldorado Canyon?
Tim Rand
I'm looking for a decent top-rope area for beginner/intermediate
climbers (5.4 - 5.10).
Is there anything available besides big wall climbs in Eldorado Canyon?
The guide book I picked up doesn't indicate any, but that doesn't always
mean they're not there.
Tony Bubb
Well, up at the TOP of the west ridge you can find some, and a lot of
1-pitch classics. It's a long hike to find the top of something and
you need gear to make anchors.
If you are lucky, and you go mid-day, you'll catch people willing to
put your rope up when they rap off, but that leaves you in charge of
cleaqning/threading and rapping (I don't know your capabilities),
because you aren't necessarily "on top" of the cliff.
Wales Tail is accessable by the back-side, but is more than 1/2
of a rope tall on the front, so you have to top-rope via top-belay.
Eldo is mostly longer stuff, with no real fixed anchors for T.R.
Sorry,
-T.
Ilana Stern
Tim Rand wrote:
> I'm looking for a decent top-rope area for beginner/intermediate
> climbers (5.4 - 5.10).
> Is there anything available besides big wall climbs in Eldorado Canyon?
> The guide book I picked up doesn't indicate any, but that doesn't always
> mean they're not there.
Most of the really good toproping in Eldo requires that
someone lead an easy (5.6-5.8) route first. (Last summer we
did a lot of these -- I'd lead an easy route, and then we'd
toprope hard ones from the anchor. What fun!)
If you don't mind a long (and beautiful) hike, the Solar
Buttress area of the west ridge (we accessed it from the "back",
i.e. via the access for Rincon and then downhill) has 5.6, 5.7,
5.8, 5.9+, and 5.10 (all very short) which can be set easily
without leading. The 7 (Doctor Michael Solar) and the 9+
(Positively Fourth Street) in particular are great. Just
uphill from this, if you lead the fun 5.6 Duh Dihedral, you
can set up topropes on an assortment of great routes 5.9-5.11.
If you don't feel like hiking, you can set up a toprope on
Supremacy Slab, which can be 5.6 - 5.9 depending on where
you climb.
If you're not tied to the idea of Eldo, a place I really like
for group TR is Happy Hour Crag in Boulder Canyon. For
a little harder climbing, the Short Cliff with Three Cracks
is nearby, with Peapod Buttress around the corner which is
also a good TR spot. (I tried to TR a 5.12d there. Hah!)
Nate
Tim Rand wrote:
> I'm looking for a decent top-rope area for beginner/intermediate
> climbers (5.4 - 5.10).
There is a guidebook to area top roping availiable. It shows lots of
top roped climbs along with anchor information.
--
Nathanial Beckwith - Boulder, CO
http://www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/g032/beckw007/
Malcolm Daly
Tim Rand wrote:
>
> I'm looking for a decent top-rope area for beginner/intermediate
> climbers (5.4 - 5.10).
> The guide book I picked up doesn't indicate any, but that doesn't always
> mean they're not there.
>
Pick up a copy of Fred Knapp's guidebook - "BOuder Topropes". It's a
great intro to just what you're looking ofr.
Mal
