- Part 33

Culebra in Winter: J Completes All of Colorado’s 14,000′ Peaks

by Brandon Chalk | Feb 5, 2013 | Colorado 14ers

Well, its in the books. My great friend & climbing partner, J Weingast, completed his quest to climb all 55 of Colorado’s 14,000′ peaks this past Saturday, February 2, with a winter summit of Culebra Peak (14,047′) down in the southern Culebra Range near the town of San Luis, CO. Culebra Peak is the only 14er in Colorado that completely sits on private land and requires permission and a fee from the ranch in order to hike/climb it. I had climbed Culebra in summer years ago with Kristine and others, but always had the desire to come back in winter for the extra challenge and especially to come back with J if he ever wanted to officially complete the 14er list.

Culebra Peak (14,047′) as seen from the San Luis Valley

So, a post on 14ers.com about organizing likely the only winter climb up Culebra this year permitted by the ranch owners sparked my interest and immediately J & I were on board. Coordinating with our buddy Mike from Avon, who has climbed an amazing 350 of the 584 13,000′ peaks in Colorado, and Sarah, who is a Vail ski patroller, we all had dinner at our favorite Casa del Sol in Buena Vista and headed on down south to the ranch gate entrance arriving at about 11:30pm. I was looking forward to meeting Sarah’s boyfriend, Matt, from Denver since we had been corresponding via email for awhile now as well as Jason Blyth, whom Kristine & I had met on Fletcher Mountain a year ago in December. There would be several other 14ers.com members that we would meet on the hike and a few familiar faces for me. J and I threw down the Bibler and the -40 deg sleeping bags in the parking lot where several other cars and tents were already located and hit the sack for the 4:30am wake-up call. The alarm went off way too early, but we got up in the 5 degree pre-dawn air, packed up the tent, sleeping bags, & pads, got dressed and ate breakfast in the front seats of J’s prius with the heat on trying to warm up. The new ranch foreman, Sam, arrived promptly at 5am and let us in the gate and we all proceeded to drive to the ranch headquarters where we paid our fee and turned in our liability waivers. The ranch usually packs a snowmobile track 3.5 miles up the dirt road to an intersection called Fourway at 11,200′, but there was significant recent snow the last week in the Culebra Range (and around the state) which made trailbreaking a necessity. The crew left the ranch headquarters at 5:30am, which is just shy of 9,000′, and proceeded breaking trail in 6-8″ of fresh snow on top of the snowmobile track. J & I got a bit later start at 5:45am in getting our gear sorted. The morning was cold and still and J & I were quickly trying to catch up to other folks while trying not to sweat at the same time – me on my snowshoes and J on his favorite Koflach boot/Silvretta binding AT setup.

First light hits the Blanca Group to the north

J in the early morning light

We reached Fourway after about 2 hrs where we could turn our headlamps off. A 14ers.com fellow, Tony, who is soon going to attempt Orizaba in Mexico as his first high-altitude climb, had done a majority of the trailbreaking thus far and we thanked him profusely. Time for J and I and others to take our turn. The snow after Fourway was very deep and untouched. The snowmobile had not gone any further in recent weeks and thus there was no packed surface underneath the fresh 24″ of snow. J was able to stay on top of the snow more than the snowshoers so he plowed ahead packing down the surface snow for us which helped a bit. After an hour of laborious trailbreaking in deep snow, me switching leads with 2 others, we reached J and treeline and the gorgeous, untouched basin where we actually started the hike in the summer years ago! My is it a different beast in the winter, especially with fresh snow.

An untouched winter wonderland beyond treeline

Mark takes his turn at the extensive trailbreaking

We then aimed for the line of minimal avalanche danger towards the steeper northwest slope, which was bare of deep powder snow and would be easier going on the windblown snow and rock. The wind started to pick up and the long slog up the northwest slopes to the 13,000′ ridge was strenuous. However, we were getting close.

J skinning high above the San Luis Valley

J taking a break on the 13,000′ ridge with Culebra’s false summit behind

J left his skis at this ridge and we proceeded to lose some elevation to the saddle while regaining it up Culebra’s long northwest ridge. I stashed my snowshoes after looking at the rocky, windblown, snowy ridge. Mistakingly, I led a few of the climbers on a traverse on the ridge’s south side through deep, unstable snow high up across a steep couloir. This was not a good idea and we regained the ridge as soon as possible after the couloir. I aplogized to the crew as I honestly thought the ridge itself would be more miserable than the face with its rime snow-covered boulders. However, I was absolutely wrong on that account! Sorry guys! Nevertheless, we all proceeded onto the much easier northwest ridge proper and made our way up to Culebra’s false summit.

Culebra’s northwest ridge

We were getting really close now. I was so excited for J. Reaching the false summit you get a glimpse of the true summit still a good distance away, which is a bit defeating. Yet, we continued on and I got up to the summit first to take pictures and video J’s final steps to the summit of his final of the Colorado 14,000′ peaks.

J making his way from the false summit to Culebra’s true summit

J takes his final steps to Culebra’s summit

Here is a short video of J’s summit of Culebra Peak:

It was a special moment. I was so honored to share J’s last 14er summit with him. I honestly have no idea how many mountains we have climbed together – hundreds and hundreds. Everything from CO 14ers, 13ers, & 12ers to Denali to Castleton Tower. I was so happy for J, as I know he was, that he decided to knock off Culebra and finish climbing all of Colorado’s 14ers. It was even more fitting that he climbed this peak in winter. It was definitely no cakewalk as it is in summer. He earned this summit.

J & I on the summit of Culebra Peak (14,047′). J has now climbed all of Colorado’s 14,000′ mountains

J on the summit of Culebra Peak (14,047′), Februrary 2, 2013 – his final of the CO 14er summits

Matt, Me, J, & Mike on Culebra’s summit

We celebrated on top for a good 30-45 minutes welcoming other members of the crew to the summit and savored the moment. I collected a summit rock for J as a memento of the occasion. It had taken us 6 hrs to climb the 7.5 miles and 5,400′ up to Culebra’s summit topping out at around 11:45am. It was pretty chilly and breezy up top and on the ridge (likely below zero with windchill), so we headed on down the ridge, collected our snowhsoes & skis, and made our way down the northwest slopes with Mike.

J & the large cairn frame Culebra’s false summit on the descent

As the cherry on the cake, J got to ski pretty darn good snow down the northwest slopes back to our trench

My snowhsoes were on their last leg all day and that morning they had broke while I was trying to break trail in the deep snow. I had temporarily fixed the snowshoe with some shoestring I always carry, but on this descent they were breaking all over again. I took them off and plunge-stepped down the broken trench in my Koflachs. Thankfully, the trench’s bottom surface was very supportive and I didn’t sink in all that much. J made some wonderful turns down the northwest gully in buttery, smooth snow. It was great to see and I know it was icing on the cake for him on a terrific day. J skied all the way down to the ranch headquarters in no time while Mike & I plunge-stepped our way down the road for an hour arriving back at the car at 3:45pm. The ranch foreman, Sam, was so nice to offer us gatorade, granola bars, and bananas. It was a special treat.

The long road home after a 10 hr, 15 mile roundtrip day with 5,400′ of vertical gain

J & I joined Mike, Sarah, and Matt in Fort Garland for a post-climb dinner celebration and then we were all off on our separate ways back home. It was a long drive home but the trip was so worth it to be with J up on another summit, especially for his 14er finale.

My hat is off to J for completing all of Colorado’s 14ers and doing it in style. This was my first winter 14er finale, and while there was not 30 of our closest friends, buckets of KFC, PBR, and blaring 80s music from Steve’s boombox, this one was extra special in that it was just J & I (and obviously the other members of the crew) doing it together. J has been my #2 climbing partner and best friend for years now (behind my wife, of course, on both accounts) and I’m so proud of him and honored to have him in my life. Congratulations again, J, for you have earned it! Here’s to infinitely more mountains & adventures together to last a lifetime!

The Stone Sentinel

by Brandon Chalk | Jan 15, 2013 | 7 Summits News

Well, Kristine & I are back home from Argentina and we did it! We were fortunate enough to summit Aconcagua (22,841′), otherwise known as “The Stone Sentinel of the Andes”, last Wednesday, January 9. Aconcagua is the summit of the Americas and is the tallest peak in the world outside the Himalaya. Aconcagua is just shy of 7000 meters and its weather & altitude sure pose significant obstacles for any climber on its slopes. Anyone saying the peak is a “walk-up” surely hasn’t been there. Now having been very lucky to have summitted the peak twice in as many attempts, I can honestly say it is one of the most underrated and underappreciated mountains I have yet to experience. I believe the summit success rate hovers at around 30% and now can truly see why. The high winds, weather, extreme altitude, and health factors all conspire against a climber’s determination and will to reach its pinnacle. I think many climbers come to the peak having only hiked Kilimanjaro and again think its just another fairly high trekking peak. I beg to differ here as would Kristine. Aconcagua’s summit is over 3,600′ higher than Kilimanjaro with colder temps and worse weather. That is a significant elevation difference in the 20,000′-23,000′ range. I’ve seen & witnessed several accidents and fatalities on Aconcagua that definitely don’t sit well with me. This mountain deserves a lot of respect.

Aconcagua’s south face as viewed on the flight from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina

Kristine & I spent a total of 16 days on Aconcagua between the 3 day trek into basecamp, the climb itself, and the 1 day marathon trek out of basecamp. This was the exact same duration of trip as my last Aconcagua expedition in January of 2006 with good friends Lee Hoffman & Rob Schnare. Brett Wamsley, Kristine, & I were sitting pretty up at the high Camp 2 (19,200′) for a summit attempt the next day (Sunday, January 6) when the weather forecast suddenly did a 180 on us and the weather got very bad very quickly that afternoon. We decided to pack up and retreat down to basecamp that evening. Brett’s fiance, Maura, had just trekked into basecamp with us and was there when we arrived. Brett & Maura together decided that they had had enough of the mountain and hiked out to Penitentes in 2 days and spent 5 great days in Mendoza full of Argentine beef, Malbec, and ice cream. I think Kristine & I were a bit envious. However, we had come to climb the peak and give it our all until the last minute. Kristine was the spark in this last ditch effort most assuredly and she was completely spot on with her planning & effort. Wednesday, January 9, showed very favorable summit weather with essentially zero winds and moderate temperatures. We then proceeded on our 5 day binge up and down the mountain. We moved to Camp 1 (16,200′) on Monday with large backpacks, moved to Camp 2 (19,200′) on Tuesday again with big loads, summitted Aconcagua via the False Polish Traverse route on Wednesday in great weather in 10 hrs roundtrip from Camp 2 at the base of the Polish Glacier, descended the 5,400′ back to basecamp on Thursday, and completed the very taxing and exhausting 27 mile trek out of basecamp to the Vacas Valley trailhead on Friday in about 10 hrs as well. We were done. After some great showers & steaks at the Penitentes hotel, we shuttled ourselves and our gear to Mendoza on Saturday morning, settled up with the mule providers, met up with Brett & Maura, downed dulce de leche ice cream, and made our flight out of Mendoza Saturday afternoon. I honestly couldnt believe we pulled it off, but we did. All thanks to Kristine’s motivation and perseverence on the mountain. Again I was reminded that she is the toughest woman I’ve ever known. If there is a task to be done, she will get it done. I will leave much of the details of the trip and sequence of events to Kristine’s trip report skills, but I just wanted to post this brief description and the following pictures of our climb of Aconcagua. Now, we have climbed 6 of the world’s 7 summits together with only Vinson Massif in Antarctica remaining.

Aconcagua & its Polish Glacier wrapping to its summit towering almost 13,000′ above us in the Vacas Valley

A lone gaucho & Aconcagua en route to Plaza Argentina basecamp

Moon over the Ameghino/Aconcagua col en route to Camp 1

Kristine & I at Camp 2 (19,200′) for the first time

Brett, Kristine, & I getting ready to move up to Camp 2

Kristine & Brett working hard at 18,000′ with big loads

Kristine on our 3rd trip up to Camp 2 with the biggest load yet!

Kristine traversing an ice slope on the False Polish Traverse route on summit day

Beautiful summit morning views to the north and Mercedario (at top left in picture)

Big mountains cast big early morning shadows

The Andes from just below Aconcagua’s summit

Kristine almost to Aconcagua’s higher north summit with the south summit and 10,000′ south face behind

Aconcagua north summit (22,841′) – January 9, 2013 at 11:15am

Our 6th of the 7 summits together!

Aconcagua summit (22,841′) with the south face falling away behind

Beautiful summit morning

Me on Aconcagua’s summit for the 2nd time so extremely happy & grateful Kristine & I persevered to reach the summit

Back with our great friends Rob Casserley & Marie-Kristelle Ross at Camp 2 on their way up. We enjoyed a great evening at Camp 2 with Rob & MK before packing up the next morning and descending to basecamp

Kristine & I back at the Vacas trailhead after a 27 mile hike out from Plaza Argentina in 10 hrs

Castleton Tower

by Brandon Chalk | Dec 4, 2012 | Rock Climbing

I think I remember first going to Moab back in 2004 looking up at these desert towers thinking how spectacular they were yet couldn’t comprehend actually trying to climb them. As I hadn’t been to the Moab area in years, I was definitely looking forward to getting back down there this Fall/Winter to climb one of these towers with my good bud Jesse Hill. I had been doing alot of climbing all summer and was feeling confident at 5.9 trad. Jesse was always like “Just say the word, Brando” and we’d be off to the desert. If we were going to make a move at the iconic Castleton Tower above Castle Valley, I felt now was the time before we set off for Aconcagua and the winter really set in. I always want be solid at the climbing route grade or just a bit over-prepared as I like to climb the pitches cleanly, i.e. without resting on gear and struggling up. The last thing I want to do is attempt this route under-prepared and having to rest on gear. I just don’t feel very accomplished or good about myself when that happens. I like to give the route its due respect and be solid at the grade for an attempt. Jesse & I had our sights set on the classic 5.9+ Kor-Ingalls route up Castleton Tower marked as one of the fifty classic climbs of North America in Steck & Roper’s book “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America”. The Kor-Ingalls route was the first route up the 6,656′ tower ascended by Layton Kor and Huntley Ingalls in 1961. This route ascends the huge west facing dihedral on the south side of the tower, so it sees alot of sun in the cooler months, which is always a plus.

Castleton Tower at first light

When our good buddy Steve Cizik sent an email out early in the week saying he had the weekend free for a camp and climb of something, I emailed him back saying Castleton Tower may be on the agenda. He was immediately on board as was our other really good friend J Weingast. Thus, we had a foursome and two teams of two, which would be perfect. Odd numbers are just too complicated and inefficient. Jesse & Steve left Denver friday evening, picked up J & I in the Vail Valley, and we were off to the desert. The forecast was for sunny skies and around 60 degrees, just perfect climbing weather. The drive reminded me of all the countless roadtrips we would all take back in the day around the state to climb these things called 14ers. It was a fun drive. We arrived at the Castleton Tower campground and trailhead around 11pm, hung out for a bit, and then spread our pads & bags out for a sleep out under the full moon.

J, Jesse, & Castleton Tower on the approach

Our alarm was set for 6am in order to be on the trail by 7am and hoping that we would get ahead of any other parties attempting the route. There were numerous other camping parties at the trailhead upon our arrival which had us a bit concerned. However, we were the only ones stirring at 6am, so our concerns were put to rest. We ended up being the only climbers on the Kor-Ingalls route and only one of two parties on the entire tower that day. The other party was a team of two on Castleton’s 5.11b North Face. The nice approach hike took just shy of an hour to the base of Kor-Ingalls. I always like a good approach hike with a heavy pack as its a good warm-up for the climb ahead, in my opinion.

Just gorgeous country & morning light on the approach. I really missed the Moab area and am so glad we made this climb happen

Our destination – the classic Kor-Ingalls route (5.9+) in the obvious dihedral up this 400′ tower

Castleton Tower & The Rectory cast their morning light shadows

The 5.9+ Kor-Ingalls route up Castleton Tower in 4 pitches. The Kor-Ingalls route is listed in Steck & Roper’s “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America”

J & I paired together as team Chalk-Weingast and after racking up J took off leading the very fun 120′ 5.7 Pitch 1. A great 25′ dihedral led to a big ledge and two 25′ awkward squeeze chimneys ensued which eventually dumped you out on a large ledge with belay anchors. J did a wonderful job leading this pitch – I think he does well in tight squeeze chimneys as he loves caving and getting in tight spots. Even on top-rope, I had some tough moves and positions in these squeeze chimneys on Pitch 1 somewhat due to my SLR camera on my harness, but my hat was off to J for a great lead.

J led the 120′ 5.7 Pitch 1 for team Chalk-Weingast. J is focused here at the top of Pitch 1

Looking down Pitch 1. The first squeeze chimney can be seen on the right

I was extremely hot upon reaching J at the Pitch 1 belay anchors, so I took off my Marmot windshirt jacket, wrapped it up in a rock, and sent it sailing down to the base of the route obviously letting team Hill-Cizik know first of my intentions. Jesse was belaying Steve at the time I sent the shirt and rock sailing 120′ yet Jesse yelled and darted out of the way of the incoming missle. I guess my throw was pretty dead on. We all wished we had captured that episode on video as it was pretty hilarious. J & I swapped my rack and I took off up the slightly intimidating 100′ 5.8 Pitch 2. I have read reports that some folks thought this pitch was harder to lead than the 5.9+ crux Pitch 3, though I didn’t think that was the case. It was a solid 5.8 crack lead for sure, but nothing runout like Pitch 3. I could have used two #4 camalots as I had to move one with me, but it worked out and I was soon at the Pitch 2 belay anchors.

Me leading the 100′ 5.8 Pitch 2

Me finished with the cruxy crack moves of Pitch 2 and on easier ground

J cleaned Pitch 2 nicely and cruised up to me while Jesse started the lead of the same pitch behind him. The whole time I was belaying J up Pitch 2 I was scoping out the first 30′ of the crux 5.9+ Pitch 3. It was definitely a bit intimidating, though I was excited. I was able to stem my way up 6′ or so and found some old webbing wrapped around a chockstone in the off-width chimney. It seemed solid, so I ran a biner and sling on it. I then mantled up to a small ledge on which I could stand and was able to clip the first of three bolts on the pitch. This bolt is well placed and protects the first 5.9 crux move of the pitch. It was a tough sequence of moves, but the goal was to move slightly right past the bolt and pull yourself up to a decent rest before the big off-width chimney.

Me leading past the first crux move on the 100′ 5.9+ Pitch 3

I then entered the large off-width chimney, placed a cam in a chockstone, moved up another 8′ or so and clipped the second of three bolts on the right face in the chimney. Stemming my way up another 5′ in the chimney, I was able to clip the last of three bolts on the face itself just below the 5.9+ crux moves. The 8′ crux section involves either face climbing to the left, stemming on smooth calcite, or laying back the off-width. I chose to lay back the off-width, but don’t ask me why. Steve thought I was nuts for doing it this way. I should have face climbed to the left as he did. Nevertheless, after laying back the crux, I slid my whole left leg and knee into the chimney locking it out to give my arms a rest. I was a good distance above the last bolt and needed to get some sort of protection in. I was able to slide in a small cam into a crack deep in the chimney. After a few more big chimney squeeze moves, I found myself way above my last cam, yet was able to get a very small nut in a tiny crack of a chockstone within the off-width chimney. It didn’t inspire alot of confidence, but is what I needed mentally. I then entered the chimney completely and was able to body stem up using decent holds inside the off-width until I could move out on the face and place my last 0.5 cam horizontally in a crack to protect the last big mantle move before the Pitch 3 belay anchors. Pitch 3 was indeed the crux of the route in my book. It had several small cruxes comprising the pitch, some very runout sections, and not many places for good protection. Thank goodness the bolts were there, however. All in all, a heck of a pitch and a solid hard 5.9. I then anchored myself and brought J up Pitch 3.

The Pitch 3 off-width and Castle Valley below

J’s perspective up at me in the Pitch 3 off-width with about 15′ to go until he reaches me and the belay anchors

Steve said that from the Pitch 1 belay ledge he had a great view of me leading Pitch 3 at the same time Jesse was below leading Pitch 2. J soon joined me at the Pitch 3 belay anchors, I gave him my rack, and he took off up the final 80′ 5.7 Pitch 4. Steve was beginning the lead of the crux 5.9+ Pitch 3 at the same time and I was able to give Steve some beta from above as he led the pitch. He did a great job, but agreed with me that there were some serious nerve-racking sections and placements. J cruised the final Pitch 4 and before I knew it, he was on top at the Pitch 4 belay anchors. Steve reached me at the Pitch 3 belay anchors and we congratulated each other on a tough lead. The airy Pitch 4 was probably the most fun pitch of the route. Great moves and nothing too tough.

Steve almost to me at the Pitch 3 belay anchors and stoked to have led the crux 5.9+ Pitch 3

The second half of J’s lead up the 80′ really fun 5.7 Pitch 4 to the top of Castleton Tower

J & I then belayed each other up the final 5′ mantle to the summit plateau. It was a great feeling to be on the summit of Castleton Tower. We hung out for a bit, checked out the North Face rappel anchors, signed the summit register, and enjoyed the views.

J likes drop-offs to the point of making me nervous

Steve belaying Jesse up the final Pitch 4

Jesse leading the 80′ 5.7 Pitch 4

Steve on the final moves of Pitch 4

Jesse & Steve sooned joined us on the summit plateau and took in the views and sense of accomplishment as well. Castleton is such an airy tower that you really get the feeling you are high up in the sky when you are on the summit. We spent over an hour on top taking pictures, swapping stories, and enjoying each other’s company. Looking over the North Face, there was a party of two on the first pitch, so we decided to descend Kor-Ingalls as there was no one behind us on that route.

Me happy to be on Castleton Tower’s summit

The Rectory on the right from Castleton’s summit

Climbers on The Rectory near the bottom as seen from Castleton’s summit

The Fisher Towers in the distance from Castleton’s summit

Sun’s out, guns out! Castleton Tower summit with the boys. Not bad for the first of December!

Hanging out on Castleton’s summit

Three double rope rappels later we were safely at the base of Kor-Ingalls. The first long rap dropped us at the top of Pitch 2. The second shorter rap put us at the top of Pitch 1. And then the third rap put us at the base of the route.

Jesse on the first of three double rope raps down Kor-Ingalls

Steve on the second of three double rope raps down Kor-Ingalls

The climb went so smoothly that we were almost home free without any snags or delays. However, never count your chickens before they hatch. I came down the last rap last, tried to pull the ropes, and something was stuck. After 15 minutes, we just could not free the ropes. It seemed the knot was stuck on the final lip of the Pitch 1 belay ledge. Moving the ropes downhill and putting some serious muscle into whipping the ropes off the lip, we finally freed the knot and were able to pull the ropes. Worst case, we would have climbed Pitch 1 again, but who wants to do that 🙂 After some lunch and packing up, we were back at the car by 3pm for the long ride back to Vail. However, the ride was full of excitement and stories. You know its a good climb when you chat about it for hours on the ride home.

Castleton Tower on the hike out

The Rectory & Castleton Tower with the snow-covered La Sal Mountains beyond

I think Castleton was a terrific conclusion to a fun-filled season of good rock climbing with Kristine and the boys. Now, its seriously time to swap out the rock gear (just for now) for mountaineering boots and warm clothing for higher altitude adventures. Kristine & I leave Decemeber 22 for Aconcagua in Argentina with our friends Brett Wamsley & Maura Stack-Oden and we couldn’t be more excited. However, higher peaks around the state will be on the menu for the next few weekends. The next day after Castleton, we took a nice couple hour hike up Atlantic Peak with Rainie, Kona, J Weingast, & Mike Santoro. Atlantic is one of our local favorites since its so close, is relatively short, and gets you close to 14,000′. From desert towers to snow-capped peaks in a weekend with great friends and my wife! Couldn’t ask for much more!

From deserts to snow-capped peaks. Atlantic Peak summit (13,841′) the next day

Independence Monument

by Brandon Chalk | Nov 26, 2012 | Rock Climbing

I left Edwards at the crack of dawn the Saturday before Thanksgiving in a snow storm only to meet Jesse Hill in Fruita 2 hours later under partly cloudy skies with the landscape dry as a bone and a 50 degree daytime temperature. Our agenda for the day was a climb up the historic Otto’s Route on Independence Monument in Colorado National Monument outside Grand Junction. Jesse had climbed this route before a few years back with our friends J Weingast & Chuck Pratt, but was willing to give it a go with me since he had been in Vernal, UT all week for work and would be on his way back to Denver anyway.

Independence Monument on the 2.5 mile approach to the tower

The first ascent of this tower was by a political fellow named John Otto in 1911. Otto placed a United States flag on its summit on July 4, 1911 after its first ascent and hence the tower’s name. In recent years, local climbers have continued Otto’s tradition by planting a United States flag atop the tower each July 4. John Otto played an unstrumental role in declaring the area west of Grand Junction a National Park by Congress. Colorado National Monument became a reality by an act of Congress on May 24, 1911. Otto made the first ascent of Independence Monument by chipping & chopping steps in the soft sandstone as well as drilling & installing metal pipes to use as ladders. Back in that day, any means of getting to the top was fair game and regarded as a historic feat. The metal pipes have since been removed, but the ever-eroding holes still remain. These holes, or “Otto holds”, gives the route a moderate 5.9 free rating. Without these holes the route may be rated at 5.11 or even harder.

Looking up Pitch 1 of Otto’s Route from the base of the tower

Its about a 2.5 miles approach to the base of the tower. Though we saw various hikers, we were the only climbers on the tower before noon, which was nice. The trails in Colorado National Monument would make for wonderful trail runs as they are maintained well and not too steep. Jesse took the lead up the fun 140′ 5.5 Pitch 1.

Jesse leading Pitch 1

Jesse getting into the 5.5 crack of Pitch 1

Jesse at the Pitch 1 belay anchors

Looking down Pitch 1

I then led the shorter (80′) yet much more awkward 5.8 off-width chimney of Pitch 2. The Otto holds really were a tremendous help in this chimney. I cannot imagine leading this chimney without them. I brought Jesse up to me at the Pitch 2 belay anchors but not without some grunting by Mr. Hill in the chimney, which is always good to hear.

Me leading the 5.8 off-width chimney of Pitch 2. The camera on my waist and 2nd rope on my back made me a bit thicker around the middle minimizing my squeeze potential, but it worked out

We then de-roped, climbed up a class 3 bulge, and scrambled through the “Time Tunnel”, a narrow 40′ long slot, to the base of Pitch 3.

Jesse on the other side of the Time Tunnel

Me & the remaining two pitches up Otto’s Route from a large ledge at the base of Pitch 3

Jesse leading the 5.7 Pitch 3 complete with three fixed pitons

After clipping three fixed pitons on the short 70′ 5.7 Pitch 3, Jesse brought me up to the Pitch 3 belay anchors at the base of the final Pitch 4. The final 80′ Pitch 4 is really fun and airy. Its pretty much a scramble up the chipped Otto holes to the 5.9 roof. There are three fixed pitons protecting the final 15′ and the cruxy 5.9 roof move.

Me leading the 5.9 roof of the final Pitch 4 of Otto’s Route

Me clipping the last fixed piton before the 5.9 roof move of Pitch 4

Jesse about to make the 5.9 roof move of the final Pitch 4

Jesse made quick work of the 5.9 roof move and was soon up to me at the Pitch 4 belay anchors. We then belayed each other up the final 8′ mid-5th class summit plateau mantle.

Jesse on top of Independence Monument for the 2nd time with Grand Junction in the distance

More towers of Colorado National Monument including the “Kissing Couple” in the center of the picture

Independence Monument summit register

I was excited to have finally climbed the historic Otto’s Route up Independence Monument and to have done it with Jesse

We arrived on top to have the whole summit to ourselves. The views overlooking Colorado National Monument & Grand Junction were spectacular. After 30 minutes on top, we decided to descend. Two double rope rappels later we were on the ground.

Rappel #1 off the summit down to the Time Tunnel

Rappel #2 from the Pitch 2 belay anchors to the ground

Its good we started earlier in the day because two parties were on Pitches 1 & 2 as we rappelled to the ground. The first group of three, in particular, was extremely slow on Pitch 2 so we felt bad for the party of two from Boulder who were beginning Pitch 1 when we hit the ground. We ate some delicious sandwiches Jesse had picked up in Fruita at the base of Otto’s Route and relaxed for awhile chatting with the nice girl from Boulder as she belayed her partner up Pitch 1. Packing up our gear, we checked out Jesse’s guidebook for some single pitch climbing on the way out since it was 1:30pm and Otto’s Route had only taken us about 2.5 hrs roundtrip.

Climbers can be seen at the anchors of Pitches 1 & 2 as well as in the 5.8 off-width chimney of Pitch 2 of Otto’s Route on our hike out

Independence Monument on the hike out. Otto’s Route ascends the other side of the tower

I found a really fun looking 5.8 dihedral in Jesse’s guidebook, so we hiked up to its base on the hike out. This was a perfect 5.8 layback dihedral and was so fun to lead and place gear in this perfect crack. I led it and then Jesse top-roped it. We then pulled the rope, Jesse led it, and I top-roped it. There is an extremely tough sport route about 20′ to the dihedral’s right that I tried to climb on top-rope off of the dihedral’s anchors. The face really looks blank and is hard to believe someone thought this would be a good route. However, with a nice belay from Jesse, I worked and grunted my way up to the height of the dihedral’s anchors and then swung over to be lowered. The sport route continued, but I didn’t want to climb higher than the dihedral’s anchors. Probably a good thing since I honestly don’t think I could have continued. The rest of the route looked almost impossible. All good fun.

Jesse leading the fun 5.8 dihedral

Lowering Jesse after a nice lead

It was now 3:30pm and we decided to call it a day as Jesse still had a 4 hr drive back to Denver. We arrived back at the car around 4:15pm and said our goodbyes reflecting on yet another great day of climbing.

Shelf Road & Mt. Lindsey’s NW ridge

by Brandon Chalk | Nov 6, 2012 | Colorado 14ers, Rock Climbing

Early Saturday morning I headed down in a packed up Tahoe to Canon City to meet my good bud Jesse Hill for some climbing at Shelf Road. I had never climbed at Shelf and this place was absolutely overwhelming (in a good way) with the quantity of high-quality established sport routes. It literally seemed like there were endless miles of awesome limestone cliffs in every direction. I think Jesse told me there is close to 900 routes at Shelf so if you average say 12 bolts (including anchors) per route, then that’s something like 10,800 bolts that have been drilled and set at Shelf. That’s alot of bolts. Anyway, we climbed for about 5-6 hours in gorgeous weather and, though somewhat crowded, these routes are of very high quality. We climbed routes in the 5.10 range all day with me struggling up a 5.11 on my 5th route of the day. While I topped out, it sure wasn’t pretty and sure wasn’t without some serious resting. Maybe I should have attempted the 5.11 on my 2nd route of the day. Maybe I would have done better. Maybe not. Enough talk, here are some Shelf climbing pics:

Jesse leading an awesome 5.10b dihedral

Jesse getting in deep on a 5.10d that I led

Jesse leading another 5.10a

Me contemplating the final 5.10a hand jambs on our last route of the day having completely pumped my forearms and fingers

The Cactus Cliff where we climbed at Shelf Road

After a full mexican dinner with Jesse in Canon City, I drove an hour to Westcliffe and slept in the back of my Tahoe in a motel parking lot in preparation for meeting my friends Reid & Tara Jennings as well as Brett Wamsley at the Mt. Lindsey trailhead the following Sunday morning. This was the first time I had used my -40 degree Marmot Cwm sleeping bag in a long time and boy did I fall in love with it all over again. It was a chilly 15 degrees in my car when I woke up at 6am, but I was nice and toasty in my -40 degree bag. I had climbed Mt. Lindsey (14,042′) in the southern Sangre de Cristos years ago with my golden retriever, Rainier, as well as other friends in my company’s annual Peak Challenge via the standard class 2+ north face gully route. However, I am always up for going back with good friends. Plus, there was the class 4 northwest ridge direct route that looked enticing which I wanted to try. After a cup of joe via the jetboil, I drove another hour to the trailhead where I had another cup and some oatmeal. The Jennings, Brett, and the dogs showed up around 8:45am and we were off on the Lily Lake trail by 9am.

The north faces of 14ers Blanca Peak (left) and Ellingwood Point (right) form one of the most dramatic mountain walls in terms of vertical relief in Colorado. Photo taken on the drive into the Lily Lake trailhead

The Iron Nipple (left) and Mt. Lindsey (right) come into view

Lindsey’s class 4 northwest ridge (right) and class 2+ north face gully (left). Tara remained at this saddle, I took the ridge, and Reid, Brett, and the dogs took the gully

We reached the 13,000′ saddle where Tara remained and we were off on our respective routes to the summit – me up the NW ridge and Reid, Brett, & the dogs up the north face gully. The NW ridge was really a fun route and, in my opinion, much safer than the standard class 2+ north face gully route in terms of objective danger though technically harder and more exposed. There are several ways up the class 4 headwall of the NW ridge, but the chimney I climbed was really fun and had some good moves with good exposure. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Looking down the initial easy portion of the northwest ridge. Tara can be seen as the dark spec at the top of the picture

My route up the class 4 headwall on the northwest ridge

Although unnecessary, I went up and over this gendarme on very solid rock to reach the bottom of the class 4 headwall

Looking down my chimney route up the headwall from just below the top – pretty fun class 4 scrambling

I can be seen below the headwall on the right side of this picture while Reid, Brett, & the dogs can be seen on the left in the gully. Photo taken by Tara at the 13,000′ saddle

I can be seen on the northwest ridge at the top of the headwall against the skyline while Reid, Brett, & the dogs can be seen in the gully on the left side of the picture. Photo taken by Tara at the 13,000′ saddle

Reid coming up the north face gully route

Brett on the summit of Mt. Lindsey with Blanca Peak & Ellingwood Point behind

Mt. Lindsey summit (14,042′) on a cold and breezy November day

I chose to descend the standard class 2+ north face gully route with my buds and dogs. It was definitely a little loose and sketchy with the hard snow in spots, but we all made it back down to Tara at the saddle in one piece. For those interested in climbing Lindsey, I’d almost recommend the harder but much more solid NW ridge over the standard north face gully. If you are somewhat experienced in scrambling, then I honestly believe it to be much safer. Anyway, it was a great day with my good buds on a 14er in the southern Sange de Cristos. We made it back to the trailhead by 3pm for a 6 hour and 8.25 mile roundtrip climb with 3,400′ of vertical gain.