American climbing is as vast and varied as our people and cultures. From Joshua Tree to Red River Gorge to The Gunks and everywhere in between, we are lucky to have so much at our fingertips. But through the history of American climbing, two places stand tallest – Yosemite and Eldorado Canyon.
Tyler leading Pitch 2 of The Wisdom, one of Eldo's many heady 5.11 testpieces
For the last three years, I’ve largely devoted my climbing to Eldo’s beautiful maroon sandstone. Steve Levin’s recent guidebook documents over 1,100 routes. Many, if not the majority, of these lines are rarely-repeated historical notes. But scores of Eldo’s climbs are true classics and several hundred amazing routes await those with the desire to explore and the temerity to face the “old school” standards.
Though numerous excellent moderates and lines up to 5.14 are available, Eldo is the land of 5.11. If you can muster the craft and courage to lead 5.11 on devious gear and bewildering rock, Eldo will reward you with the best tasting warm sunset PBR that’s ever graced your tongue.
Whether vague or specific, setting goals has always helped me stay motivated and excited to keep getting out for great climbing. Last year, two goals became apparent for my Eldo adventures. First, I wanted to either redpoint or onsight at least 50 Eldo 5.11s, on lead. Second, I wanted to climb at least 200 Eldo routes of any grade. In October, I ticked off Eldo 5.11 number 50. Unfortunately, I came up just short of the 200 route mark with 191.
Though every climb and every day climbing holds great potential and great value, some climbs are better than others. I’ve put together a few lists that you might find useful if you’re looking to sample Eldo’s vertical terrain.
Top 15 Eldo 5.11s (I couldn’t narrow it down to 10).
1. The Doub Griffith 5.11c
2. The Wisdom 5.11d R
3. Aerospace to Aerohead to Aeronaught 5.11b R
4. Jules Verne to Lene’s Dream 5.11c R
5. The Naked Edge 5.11b
6. Le Boomerang 5.11d
7. Center Route 5.11a
8. Spicoli 5.11c
9. Pony Express 5.11c
10. C’est la Vie 5.11b
11. Foxtrot 5.11d
12. Parallels 5.11b
13. Back In Black 5.11d
14. Vertigo 5.11b
15. Pansee Sauvage 5.11b R
The perfect 3rd pitch arete of The Doub-Griffith (5.11c)
Here is my take on the best, well-protected Eldo 5.11s – Note that when I say well-protected I don’t mean to neglect a diaper. Organized by difficulty:
Center Route 5.11a
Space Invaders 5.11a
Land of Ra 5.11a
Northwest Corner 5.11a
Practice Wall 5.11a
Wasabe 5.11a
Genesis 5.11a and/or Exodus 5.11b
Evangeline 5.11b
Climb of the Century 5.11b
Vertigo 5.11b
Suparete 5.11b
Parallels 5.11b
Spicoli 5.11c
Genius Loci 5.11d
Barrel of Monkeys 5.11d
The Contest 5.11d
Le Boomerang 5.11d
The Bastille after a Spring storm
Though I don’t feel there are as many “classics,” the 5.10 grade in Eldo is actually the most numerous. Here are 10 must do Eldo 5.10s:
Rosy Crucifixion 5.10a
Deviant 5.10a
The Grand Course 5.10a
Outer Space 5.10b
Over the Hill 5.10b
Eat or Be Eaten 5.10b
Captain Beyond 5.10c
Darkness ‘Til Dawn 5.10c
Super Slab 5.10d
King’s X (5.10d) to Metamorphosis (5.10a R)
The history of Eldo is sewn into the walls. Sometimes the stitches come loose
For can’t miss, well protected 5.12s, make sure you get to these tough lines:
Downpressor Man 5.12a
The Untitled 5.12a
Sequential 5.12a
Hairstyles and Attitudes 5.12b
Your Mother 5.12d
Downpressor Man (5.12a) (Photo: Eli Powell)
For really hard sport climbing, the Industrial Wall just outside Eldo’s park boundary has some of the best gymnastic routes in the Front Range.
Cruxing on Chump, one of the numerous 5.13s found at the Industrial Wall
The high-quality Eldo moderates are well-documented. Basically, you can’t go wrong with a climb like The Yellow Spur (5.9), Gambit (5.8) or Long John Wall (5.8) to name just a few.
Lizz and I enjoying Flakes (5.8), one of the most fun moderates in the canyon that goes largely ignored.
If you are ever looking for an Eldo recommendation, I know the area like the back of my hand. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me and I’ll do my best to help out.
Eli leading Pitch 2 of The Naked Edge
Though I’m now more than 1,000 miles away, I’ve still got an Eldo tick-list that I can’t wait to get to.
I totally agree with you about setting goals. Keeps you motivated and gives you something to work towards. My goal for the coming year will be to tick as many of the above routes as possible, in preparation for something even bigger (Kris you know what Im talking about..). So when are you goin to be back to tick off the last 9 Eldo routes and possibly increase that number to 300?