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Location: CO : Boulder : Eldorado Canyon SP : Shirt Tail Peak : Gambit (5.8) : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Nov 7, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: I love the exposure there! One of the best 5.8s in the universe.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : Boulder Slips
By: Justin Cantrall When: Oct 19, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: This should always be obvious, but a warning anyway: be careful when pulling your rope from Party Time and/or Minutia. It can easily get stuck on a rock outcrop where the real climbing begins, requiring an exposed-but-easy solo-scramble (then a down scramble) to retrieve it.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : Boulder Slips : Minutia (5.8)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Oct 19, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: 3-star handcrack on a 1-star crag. Worth doing if you're there anyway, but don't go to the 'Slips just for this climb.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Flatirons : Central : Skunk Canyon : ... : Satan's Slab (5.8 R)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Sep 4, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Climbed Satan's Slab today; finally got to finish the route!
Beware of Poison Ivy, it is present on the approach and damn near everywhere on the descent.
Freesoloed the first pitch, then climbed six more with a 70m rope--stretching to its full length a few times. Got some "style points" for the P2 crux: bomber handjam, then swung my feet off and around for a one-point-of-contact swing into a kneebar to pull the move. That was a fun way to do it, although I admit it was not how I ha... more >>
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Location: AZ : Paradise Forks : The Prow : The Prow (5.11a) : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 31, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Gollum is so great that he doesn't even have to look to find the perfect placement for a #2 camalot. I'm surprised, though, that he'd part with his gold preciousss #2 so willingly. Ah, so that's the look on his face. He's runout by a good thirty feet and that's his last preciousss. Bummer dude, better make sure that thing's not overcammed so that Frodo can get it out later.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : Vampire Rock : The Vampire (5.9)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 12, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: We climbed this route yesterday, and while it's enjoyable, I'm not sure if it merits three stars.
That said, I still found the first two pitches to be worthwhile, and if the final pitch hadn't been so shitty (literally full of shit) it would have been great. The crux pitch (P2) is awkward and thin, but pretty straightforward. The roof is pretty easy, but fun; the pro is pretty sparse afterwards though. I got a blue tricam in somewhere that I wouldn't want to fall on on the traverse... more >>
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : Cob Rock : Empor (5.7+)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 9, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The line that this picture shows Ben taking, while being the route, is not the most obvious line to me. I keep left, staying in the dihedral while working stems and great hand/finger jams. Feels about 5.8, and superfun the whole way. Protection is adequate (a bit tricky in the boulder cave though, so PG13.) Climbing the first pitch this way ties with the 5.7 zigzag crack on P3 for quality of climbing.
I like to link P1-... more >>
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Location: Shawn Mitchell : Miscellenia : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 4, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: ahh, yeah. my bad. better get to buildin' an anchor for the portaledge and get ready for a bivy, those desert nights get CUH-HOLD!
I can't believe you didn't go for that sexy offwidth about six feet to your right. I mean, that'd really show them... what're a few bullets, bombs, and thousands of years of animosity to a few stacked-fist and thrutching-induced curses and shoulder scrapes?
off-width = world peace. sounds logical enough to me.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Eldorado Canyon SP : Shirt Tail Peak : Missing Link (5.10d) : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 2, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Yeah... "floated" ;)
I'm not sorry for sandbaggin' you onto that one Celeste!
Great shot, John!
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Location: Shawn Mitchell : Miscellenia : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 1, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: You know, Mr. Senator, that Buildering is illegal in some places? I just feel it to be my civic duty to make you aware of this fact. Nice Send!
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Location: CO : Boulder : Eldorado Canyon SP : The West Ridge : West Ridge - top to Xanadu : ... : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Aug 1, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Crap! I didn't even think of stemming across like that! Stemming on lead always kind of freaks me out, so I don't always think of it when onsight-routefinding. When I onsighted the pitch, I thought it looked way harder than I'm currently willing and able to lead and so took the copout route to the right of it. Damn did it look good though...
No wonder there was so much lichen on that uninspiring 5.4 finish to the tree. psh.
Now I have a reason to go back and climb the route again. :)
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Location: CO : Boulder : Eldorado Canyon SP : The Bastille : The Bastille - W Face : Hair City (5.9+ R)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jul 9, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: What a phenomenal route! I was glad to lead it today. I do think that the S/R rating is appropriate due to the runouts, but the hard moves on the first pitch are well protected. The 15'-20' runouts between bolts and gear force great focus!
As an interesting variation, I setup a belay to the right of the block after the aesthetic pockets section. Such a nice belay seat--reminded me of a motorcycle seat (slightly less padded, though)--with a great view to bring up your second. This is follow... more >>
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : Solaris : The Luminosity (5.9)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jul 8, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Nicely varied climbing (backstep, layback, you can even fingerjam if you really want) on positive holds the whole way.
Recommend using a double-runner on the bolt inside the dihedral; this will help with rope drag a bit later, but it's manageable without.
5.9? It's a "boulder canyon 5.9" which means it's more like 5.8. Whatever. 5.youcan or 5.youcan't.
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Location: CO : Golden : Clear Creek Canyon : High Wire Crag : Stone Cold Moderate (5.7)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 27, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Not sure what the totally obvious "direct start" variation goes at, but it is 5.fun if you brought a trad rack to the crag. I guess you should probably feel pretty confident climbing a bouldery, brief overhang/roof jugfest if you want to try leading this "variation" (that seems like the more natural line to me than traversing into it from the bolt.) V0--nah, but 5.9 maybe. Pulling through the roof protects well with a stopper, but placing gear above that is pumpy until you get to the rest. I... more >>
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Location: CO : Golden : Clear Creek Canyon : High Wire Crag : Ace in the Hole (5.10a)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 27, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: It may be a little bit easier to move onto the face from the gully if you step over at or above the second bolt, but why? It is quite fun moving over from just at, or just below the first bolt after an easy clip, so don't cheat yourself of that pleasure and just commit! The handholds are pretty positive there, though they do require the leader a moment of airborne feet. Perhaps that was just me having fun with it. :) The moves above that are a slightly tricky, but those are the business and... more >>
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Location: CO : Boulder : Eldorado Canyon SP : The West Ridge : West Ridge - Pony Express t... : Sister Morphine (5.9)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 26, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Whether or not the anchor was "legally" installed, it is good to have it there. The tree that is at the top of SM isn't going to last forever, especially if people are consistently using it to rap/anchor off of. Granted, the anchors for Mesca-Line are in a good place and not inconvenient to scramble to from here, nevertheless this does allow more options.
I thought the crux moves were a bit hard for an 8, but relatively easy for a 9, so I vote 9-. Small gear, but small falls if you take the ... more >>
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Location: Dirty Gri Gri, or is it GiG... : Good for the soul : Photo
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 16, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: You have beautiful tomatoes!
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Location: CO : Boulder : Eldorado Canyon SP : Redgarden Wall : Redgarden - Below Lower Ram... : Mr. Natural (5.8+)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 12, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: So sick, it made my teeth hurt from grinning so wide. Takes great gear, jams great the whole way, nicely sustained. Definitely a route that made me holla; and exclaim upon touchdown, "That was freaking AWESOME!"
Way too short, but maybe that's part of its charm.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : Animal World : Unfamiliar Strangers (5.9+)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 8, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Phil,
Rope stretch and the amount of slack out by the belayer (some climbers prefer a loose belay) could make a top-roped groundfall a possibility if the climber fell down low.
The best solution should obviously be to have the belayer keep a snug-to-tight belay for the first 5-10 feet or so, until rope stretch will definitely not be an issue.
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Location: CO : Caņon City : Shelf Road : Sand Gulch : Free Form Wall : Barney (5.9)
By: Justin Cantrall When: Jun 1, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Top half of this (route extension) did not feel like 5.9 and is comparable with other 10s in the area. First half is 5.9 though. Getting to the anchor was a bit confusing; there's one on the left and right? I chose right; a shoulder-length runner helps with rope drag on the last bolt prior to the diagonal traverse to anchor. Pretty enjoyable climbing, varied techniques throughout and nicely sustained with rewarding rests.
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Location: CO : Boulder : Boulder Canyon : The Bihedral Area : The Bihedral (Upper Tier)
By: Justin Cantrall When: May 13, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Just FYI, this is not a great approach for our canine companions. I've twice seen climbers attempting to bring their dogs here, once successful with a few scary dog-moves on the traverse, and once bailed entirely. Best just to leave them at home for the day if you're going to climb here.
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