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Unbroken Chain

Name: Unbroken Chain
Rating: 2.4

5.11c YDS 6c+ French 24 Ewbanks VIII- UIAA 24 ZA E4 6a British R

Routes in West Ridge - part C - Pony Express to Long John

L › R R › L A › Z

	Barrel of Monkeys S 5.11c/d 7a 24 VIII 25 E4 6a
	Bloke On The Side T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a R
	Bridget the Midget T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c PG13
	Byway T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a R
	Chick on the Side T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Conversions T,TR 5.12 7b+ 27 VIII+ 26 E6 6b X
	Court Jester T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c PG13
	Crazy Stairs T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
	Curving Dihedral T 5.10c/d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
	Dandi-Line T,TR 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Dead Letter Department T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Drug Abuse T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Erickson's Finish T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	False Prophet T 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a R
	Fever, The T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R
	Going Postal T 5.10c/d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
	Good Ship Venus T 5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c PG13
	Handcracker Direct T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Hanging Chad T 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c PG13
	Heatwave T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Horse d'Oeuvre (aka Pony Express P1 to Zip Code aka Pony Code) T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Human Factor, The T 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a R
	Hyperspace Roundup T 5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b PG13
	Ignominity T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Ignore Me T 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b R
	Iron Horse T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
	Iron Pony T 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
	Junk Mail T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Lightning Bolt Crack T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Lost in the Netherlands T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Mail Ridge Tower Link-Up T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Mail Ridge Variation Finish T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Mail Ridge, The T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a
	Mesca-Line T 5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Muscle and Hate T 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b PG13
	Passing Lane T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a R
	Pony Express T 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
	Pony Express, Briggs' Variation T 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
	Practice Climb 101 T 5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b R
	Practice Wall T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Prison Sex T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b PG13
	Pygmy Pony T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a PG13
	Quicksand T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b R
	Quiet Desperation T 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a R
	Reckoning T,S 5.12d 7c 28 IX 28 E6 6b
	Rhombohedral T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c PG13
	Rope to Ruin T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Scoff TR 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c R
	Seemingly Innocent T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c PG13
	Side Wall, The T 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c R
	Sister Morphine T,TR 5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c
	Sooberb T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Sooberb Lite T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Sundial T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Sword Of Damocles T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Unbroken Chain T 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a R
	Unbroken Prophet T 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a R
	variation to Mail Ridge T,TR 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Warp Drive Overload S 5.12a/b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6a
	Who's Holding T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a PG13
	Wind Tunnel T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b R
	Zeros and Ones T 5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a PG13
	Zip Code T 5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c

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Type:	Trad
FA:	Nathan Charlton and Steve Morris, 1984
Page Views:	3,151 total · 12/month
Shared By:	Chris Dawson on Feb 21, 2002
Admins:	Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC Page Updates (admin only)

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Access Issue: 2023 Seasonal Closures - lifted Details

Update: as of 6/7/23 per Mike McHugh, ECSP: all closures have been lifted within Eldorado Canyon State Park, including Continental Crag.

Crags on Eldorado Mountain, such as Mickey Mouse wall and Cryptic Crags, are outside of park boundaries and may still be subject to Boulder County closures.

Previously in 2023: per M. McHugh, ECSP: the upper loop of the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail, above the Crags Hotel Ruin, & the
Continental Divide Overlook, is closed effective immediately. This included Continental Crag.

These areas are closed to all activities, including rock climbing & hiking, through 7/15 or until further notice, to protect nesting golden eagles on the S side of the canyon.

Golden Eagles are protected by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under authority of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A conviction of nest disturbance can carry a fine to $5,000 & one year imprisonment.

See the map in the photo section for terrain closure.

Previous years: per Dustin Bergman, CO State Parks Officer #770, ECSP:

Seasonal Raptor Closures
Check Park site for current closures:
cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/…

For more info visit:
cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/…

Double check prior to venturing there. Thanks!

Description

This route is located on the face to the left of the first pitch of The Side Wall about halfway up the West Ridge. Climb up about 12 feet in the corner of The Side Wall, and then pull up and left following a series of underclings (crux). Follow a dihedral to the anchors. This is a fun toprope or a scary and strenuous lead. The holds are good, but the moves are reachy and the feet poor at the crux. This pitch felt harder and was definitely more pumpy than the first pitch of The Side Wall. There is a fun face climb to the left of this that is easily toproped as well (no name). It seemed to be in the hard 5.11 range somewhere.

Per Adam Brink: Unbroken Chain was radically altered in 2009 when Scott Bennett fell at the crux, ripping off a crucial undercling. The undercling held the only "good" gear to protect the crux (it obviously wasn't that good) as well as the only real hold on the traverse. In its resurrected form, Unbroken Chain (or should it be renamed to Broken Chain?) is one of Eldo's sketchiest 5.11s, not death from the top floor, but you certainly don't want to shit the bed on the crux. You can get #2 and #3 Pecker pitons in the initial corner to "protect" the crux moves going left into the good dihedral. Once you get to the horn jug past the crux at the start of the finishing dihedral, you can place good gear. A fall getting to the horn or placing gear there (which is really balancy) would be a bruiser as you would be falling way right into the initial corner, and that is if the Peckers hold....

It's not quite X rated, but R seems soft. On Wayne Crill's pepper scale, it would be at least 1 habanero, maybe 2... and that's spicy. If it was on the gritstone, it would be E6 6a and as classic and sought after as Downhill Racer at Curbar Edge.

For some reason, Unbroken Chain almost never gets led....

For those super hard trad crushers, this has been onsighted at least once since the undercling broke, by the ninja of Eldorado. It was one of the the three most impressive onsight efforts I have seen in the canyon.

This route is located on the face to the left of the first pitch of The Side Wall. Climb up about 12 feet in the corner of The Side Wall, and then pull up and left following a series of underclings (crux). Follow a dihedral to the anchors. It is a fun toprope or a scary and strenuous lead. The holds are good, but the moves are reachy, and the feet poor at the crux. This pitch felt harder and was definitely more pumpy than the first pitch of The Side Wall.

Protection

Easily toproped from the anchor on top of the first pitch of Sidewall (that's what I did). Otherwise, it looks like you could get some small to midsize cams in the underclings.