Last week I got to spend four incredible days climbing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We managed to put together a pretty good crew that trickled in over the course of several days, teaming up for various ascents along the way. This was my fifth visit to the canyon and perhaps one of the most fun climbing trips I’ve had in recent memory.

First up was Escape Artist. Ya and I had never climbed together in a multi-pitch setting, and certainly not one so demanding as the Black, so we figured it would be a good intro. A lazy morning had us out of camp around 9:30, and down the SOB gully into the canyon. Fortunately we had the place to ourselves, despite the late start. The highlights of the route were the crack at the top of the 70 meter first pitch, the wild Vector Traverse, and the never ending stemming of the crux pitch (calf pump!). We were in the shade until the last 250′ of 5.6 exit slabs, and once the sun hit us we realized we’d need to be in the shade for the rest of the trip.

Derek rolled into camp later that night, and we settled on Comic Relief for the next day. Another leisurely start had us walking down the SOB gully again around 9:30, and today there were other climbers all around us. The route was fantastic, offering up pitch after pitch of excellent crack climbing. We were all impressed with the quality, and both Ya and I were feeling tired but happy with the 2000′ of climbing we’d done in the first two days. That night Steve joined us, and he and Derek made plans while Ya and I tossed back some beers, knowing that we had earned a day off.

Our rest day was excellent, including a late start, some stretching at Chasm View, watching our friends climb, and scoping future adventures. Jon and Mike arrived around 4pm, and quickly headed off to go simul-climb Maiden Voyage. That night around the fire we made plans for the next day, and headed off to sleep relatively early.

Our most “alpine” start of the trip had us up at 7, and out of camp by 8 am. Whoa buddy, we’re kicking ass now! Steve and Mike had headed out earlier as they were going for the Moveable Stoned Voyage, so Derek, Jon, Ya and myself all descended the Cruise Gully together. They were heading for Midsummer Night’s Dream, while we were going to check out the Checkerboard Wall. We had great views of each other as the day progressed, and even some banter back and forth at exciting moments. Nothing like pulling through a crux to hear your buddies on another wall cheering for you.

We made it back to camp first, and the others sooned joined us as we relaxed in the afternoon and listened to the thunder rolling closer and closer. As the rained started, we broke down camp, thankful we were off our routes, and wondering how the parties not yet at the rim would handle the weather.

All in all it was a fantastic trip, with excellent routes, great friends and one of the most incredible canyon’s anywhere.

On Sunday, September 8th Chris Van Leuven and Mike Schneiter made a free ascent of Glenwood Canyon’s International. The ascent is possibly only the second free ascent of the entire route, which climbs 1800′ from the base of the canyon to the rim on two granite buttresses and one limestone buttress.

The duo completed the route in 10-1/2 hours car-to-car.

Originally rated 5.9+ when free climbed by Michael Kennedy and Jeff Lowe in 1982, Kennedy recently revised the rating to “5.10+??.” Kennedy doesn’t know of anyone else to have climbed the route since its first free ascent.

The first ascent was made by Kennedy and Harvey T. Carter in 1975. The pair climbed two granite buttresses and one-third of the way up the limestone buttress with one bivy before retreating. Later, they returned and finished the route, traversing into the limestone to skip the lower granite climbing. Their effort was all-free minus “60 feet of aid” in 18 pitches of climbing. Kennedy later went back and freed the whole climb with Jeff Lowe in a single push.

The route’s primary difficulties lie in the dubious rock quality and questionable protection. The crux pitch involves climbing a wide crack through a roof, with the benefit of face holds. Getting to the roof is guarded by some of the “worst rock I’ve every seen,” said Schneiter, who, with Van Leuven, is a veteran of other choss affairs such as the Grizzly Creek Wall (a.k.a. Mudwall) in Glenwood Canyon and a free attempt on the Finger of Fate in the Fisher Towers. While the granite climbing is mostly straightforward, the limestone requires the use of a hammer and a selection of knifeblades, lost arrows and angles for the route’s upper limestone buttress, all of which were used to a great extent.

Props to Mike and Chris for getting it done on this line. Those looking for a big adventure need look no further than the towering walls of Glenwood Canyon.

References:

1976 American Alpine Journal

1982 American Alpine Journal

Guest blog by Andy Wellman.

By most accounts this year’s Rifle Clean-Up event was the most productive ever! If I had to point to one reason I think it was that the locals came out in droves ready to make their canyon a friendlier place for climbing. There had been mass e-mail communication amongst most of the local climbers for months in advance discussing what projects should be completed, and people showed up ready to make it happen. Perhaps nobody should receive a larger pat on the back than Michael Kennedy, president of the Roaring Fork Climbers Coalition, who spent countless hours and who knows how much money fixing up the approach to climbs which he doesn’t even climb on! Props to you Michael. Mike Logan and Mike Brumbaugh (and many others) put in some serious time and effort helping Michael revamp the base of the Project Wall, moving boulders to create more parking spaces, building stairs up the erosion prone trail to Living in Fear, and building a retaining wall type platform along the base of some of the best routes in Rifle to cover the crumbling pile of loose choss which people have been belaying on for the last decade. Thanks so much Mikes!

The Summit County crew impressed everyone by constructing a stone stairway to heaven, (um… I mean PMS) and then back down the hill to the route Kingfisher. The stairway fixes the problem of a very slippery dirt slope which has caused people to eat shit for years, and is impressive in its size and fortitude. And they busted it out in about 2 hours! Nice work guys! Other projects completed include replacing many old and rusty bolts, repairing bridges damaged by high flood waters this spring, and helping clear brush from the Koper trail, a popular hiking trail amongst town locals and visiting tourists. And everyone spent the day picking up trash.

The party was not a disappointment either! Over 140 people showed up to share the Avery Beer and hamburgers, and voluntary donations towards next year’s Clean-Up event exceeded $500, ensuring that this tradition will not stop soon. While the large crowd prevented everyone from taking home a raffle prize, the mad dance party afterwards ensured that everyone took home a nice buzz. And to top it off, we as climbers were personally congratulated by Elmer the camp host, one who does not dish out praise often, for how smoothly everything went, how well we represented ourselves, and how clean we left the community house after we were done(more props to those that helped with the cleaning).

Well done everyone, and thank you so much to EVERYONE who pitched in a helping hand!

This is Andy Wellman’s first post for SplitterChoss.com. When he’s not climbing in Rifle, you can usually find him at the Wolverine Publishing world headquarters, putting out some of the best guidebooks around.

It’s a got a lot of folks talking. How is it still snowing? This is definitely a more “normal” Colorado spring, but everyone has been pretty spoiled the last couple of years with early and warm springs. That being said, you can still get out on the rock (in between snow showers, at least). The Puoux is always sunny, and if the weather looks iffy, you are only 5 minutes from your car. The Super Puoux is also a good option if you pull hard (only one route is 5.11), but it’s a bigger commitment, sitting way up on the side of the canyon. No Name has good access, but can be kinda shady for this time of year. Main Elk is also really sunny, and the rock doesn’t seep there, making it ideal for this time of year, when Rifle is still a wet mess. Rifle Arch is adventurous sandstone slab climbing, for those that are into that kind of thing. And if you have a whole weekend to spare, head down to the Monument or Unaweep, you’ll probably see very few other people, and the climbing is great!

Right now the forecast calls for more snow and then a sunny weekend. Spring time in the mountains.

Well, I’ve finally wrapped up most of the stuff I am writing for the new Western Sloper guidebook, and it feels good to be almost done! There will be more edits and such, but the bulk of my work is winding down. It’s been a lot of time, I can see why they say writing these things is a labor of love! My contributions include the Narrows, Redstone, Coal Creek, Dead Horse, Hagerman Pass, Seven Castles and the Frying Pan. I can’t imagine how much work it would be to put together something for a larger area. It’s also been great working with Dave and Andy at Wolverine, those guys are on it. It’s pretty fun to send in all the text and photos and get back a nicely laid out page.

The book is looking great, and I think people are going to be really impressed with the quality. It would be worth buying just for the updated Rifle section, but with around 20 other new crags, you’ve got to pick up a copy! With so many new cliffs, color photos, it’s going to be a fun season to be a climber in this area, lots of new places to check out. Hopefully the book will be hitting stores in May, and I’ll be offering it for sale through this site as well. Stay tuned for more details.

Oh, and for anyone who is chasing ice, looks like Banzai Pipeline is in. Best…ice season…..ever!