Adam, grinning up Grins, 5.8, on the Happy Hour Crag.
Once upon a spring on Colorado’s Front Range, it was warm and sunny, then snowy and cold, then warm and sunny again. And while it was warm and sunny, the climbing bug bit me. Hard. So I put on my T-shirt and shorts, packed a bag, and went climbing in Boulder Canyon for the first time. I had heard plenty about the historically rich climbing area west of The People’s Republic, and I must say it lived up to its reputation: fast, easy access; quality rock; a lifetime of short-but-sweet trad and sport routes alike; and big time weekend crowds.
On Friday my friend Adam and I climbed on the Happy Hour Wall. We warmed up on a couple 5.7s on the climber’s left side of the wall: Are We Not Men and Are We Not Robots. Both were exceptional for their grade, and featured an exposed, juggy mini-roof to pull over. Gear was thin but possible on top, but would feel pretty darn run out for a beginning leader. A fall on the roof would be bad news as your last pro is at our feet above a low angle slab. Then we moved right and Adam put up Twofers, a deceivingly easy 5.8 with a surprise jug as you pull around a slightly larger, but more protected roof. We finished the day with Nightcap, an awesome 5.9 with a dihedral finger-crack crux.
Ronnie, clipping the bolts on her first trad lead. Yahoo! Her life will never be the same, I'm sure.
The next day, Saturday, Ronnie joined Adam and I and led her first trad route, Ho Hum on The Boulderado Wall. The day’s crux turned out to be crossing the busy road from the parking pull out to the crag, which the guidebook says has a 1-5 minute approach, and involves a death-sprint across the busiest climbing access road in America. We figured the biggest risk was probably getting hit by a car and flying into the creek below, so we roped up and simul-climbed across the asphalt, ready to team arrest on gravel at a moment’s notice. JK, LOL, LMNOP. Jam It is another great climb, although the sweet, steep hand crack section is but a tease, being only 7 feet long and all. I thought Idle Hands, 5.6, was perhaps the nicest climb on the wall. It’s a thinly protected face climb that’s steep for its grade, and requires some precision nut craft (and don’t forget the C3s!). I also got a chance to rappel the kinks out of my new 8mm half rope tag line (for long rappels, but relatively obsolete in Boulder Canyon).
We cruised down canyon to The Bihedral crag for the afternoon. Arriving at this climbing area felt kind of like transforming into a bowling pin on tournament night. So many people were on the deck above the lower tier that we put on helmets to scramble up. Every single route with bolts on it was occupied and then some, so we stuck to plugging cams and jamming cracks. We found the only open space available on the far climber’s left side, and climbed Tool King, 5.8, and Fly In Ointment, 5.10, before flailing on top-rope on Edge of Reality, 5.12 R. My lead up Fly In Ointment went a lot like a Chris Sharma movie: scream and dangle! Scream and dangle! Scream and dangle! Chat with my belayer, scream and not dangle!
I recommend Boulder Canyon for anyone, especially on a weekday, and especially for beginning trad climbers looking for quality moderate and easy routes with solid rock and protection opportunities.
Happy spring, happy climbing season! A la muerte!
