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Name this route of destination

Tony B · · Around Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 24,665
slim wrote:tony, my star ratings for eldo on based on eldo only. sure, there are a handful of good routes there, but the density of good routes is really poor. also, comparing the best of eldo to the best of other places is laughable.
It's my favorite place, but not everyone's. To each his own. I love the flatirons too, but I've read rants on how terrible they are.
I always thought the ultimate pile was supposed to be Rifle... and that's why they glue it together. But some love it too.

Oh well. Our tastes are definately different. You liked Bastille Crack. I think it's average at best, and at worst slick and over-hyped/over-traveled. Would have never put it on the best of list. In fact, reading what you put in for four stars, I understand why you think Eldo's best are not so great... those are 2&3-star climbs!

I do liek the long routes in the SPlatte & Lumpy just as much. There's fantastic climbing to be found most places.
Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145
Ryan Forbus wrote:...great state of Georgia...
You can't fool a Seminole, Ryan. You can only buy him a sweet tea.
slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

tony, what do you consider 4 star routes at eldo (whether it be relative to eldo or larger scale)? also, concerning routes like the bastille crack, i try to consider what a person who is climbing at the upper end of their ability would like it. in those terms, i imagine that out of all of the 5.7's at eldo the bastille is one of the better ones. also, keep in mind that i haven't input data on all of the routes i have done at eldo (a little over 300 last time i counted), most of which didn't seem worth assessing.

my point is that a person travelling to eldo as a destination is going to be pretty disappointed if they have climbed at other truly world class areas. i've seen this quite a few times, where people climb rewritten, ruper, yellow spur, or the edge, and say "that was it?". on the other hand, people who haven't climbed at a lot of great areas might think it is pretty good.

eldo is an OK place to climb after work, or if i don't have a full day. otherwise, i would rather drive a bit to get to some good climbing.

agree with you about the flatirons (the best of the climbing that is really close to boulder in my opinion), and rifle (i would rather just sit in a dark room with a bottle of jim beam, watching "fargo" over and over than climb there) though.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

i just looked through at the star rankings in my profile, and there is definitely something goofy with it. there are quite a few routes that i KNOW that i didn't give 4 stars. not sure if it is a translation problem from the old 3 star system(?). either that, or i was drunk at the time (actually somewhat more likely).

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

yes, slim, the 3 out of 3stars went to 4 out of 4s

rob rebel · · Bend, OR · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 5

Slim,
well stay out of eldo then and we can have Vertigo, Rosy Crucifixion, alice in bucket land, Hair City, Metemorphasis, Over the Hill, Cset Le Vie (2nd pitch), outer space, naked edge, etc, all to ourselves. If you don't think these climbs are classic where are you climbing? can I come on your next outing there? Are you climbing the diamond, el cap, moses tower on the weekends? Of course there are better destination climbing areas (yosemite, moab, etc) but it is hard to get the amount of climbing available in eldo so close to somewhere you can get a professional job.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

rob,

no reason to get wound up. i agree that, particularly outer space and vertigo are very good routes. i also agree that boulder is a great place to live, as i will never run out of routes to do after work. my point is basically that boulderites tend to think of eldo as one of the best climbing destinations in the world. it definitely doesn't make my top 5 in colorado (it might be in my colorado top 10, not sure, would have to think about it). i mean, can you really compare, say rosy crucifixion to the casual route on the diamond? or super slab to the DNB? or the edge to the rostrum? or t2 to the lotus flower tower? or green spur to epinehrine? or calypso to high exposure? etc.

as another person said in a similar thread, eldo is what it is. i see in your profile pic, it looks like you are at the creek. to me this is a good comparison. at the creek you look at a line like wiggins 2 and have sleepless nights, chewing your fingernails in anticipation. you think about it at work and feel a restless, homesick anxiety. when your partner bails on the weekend, you are in a psychopathic frenzy.

at eldo, you look up at a line and think, "now where does this go?", and then some silver haired fluff-nut comes up and immediately tells you about some 10 foot variation that he put up, that avoids the 3 "obvious" holds, and how he debated with himself whether to pound a pin or not....

then you climb the route. 10 feet of climbing, 20 feet of scrambling/ledge walking to link up to another 10 feet of climbing. just seems kind of lackluster to me. at the end of the day you don't feel destroyed, just ho hum. mind you, i am not saying that every route at eldo is like this, just the vast majority.

rob rebel · · Bend, OR · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 5

slim,
you are right. Eldo is eldo. it is a choss pile and I love it and I would not recommend someone fly or travel very far to come out here. It is no yosemite, etc, etc. but we are very lucky to live where we live.

I am curious what is everyones top 5 in co? Mine would have to be in order

1. RMNP
2. co natl monument
3. black canyon (have yet to be there but I have to put it on the list, will get there soon though)
3. eldo
4. south platte
5. shelf road

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

rob,

good to see that you aren't wound up. as much as it sounds like i hate eldo, it is more of a love-hate thing. i have had some good times there, and have some great memories.

my top 5 colorado, probably, just off the top of my head

platte (hands down, the beer doesn't taste much better than this!)
shelf road (sport wankin, i know, but a LOT of good routes)
rmnp (although i don't climb there much these days)
lumpy (should definitely climb there more, always slips my mind)
escalante (almost like the creek, but looser, dirtier, scarier, more rattlesnakes, worse anchors, more gunfire, and WAY stiffer ratings).

other areas that are probably top 10
penintente - unique, interesting atmosphere
the black - stare not into the abyss too long, lest it stare back into thee (yikes).
delores canyon area
colorado monument
unaweep or independence pass

i tend to like more backwater areas for the most part, it seems (shelf not included apparently).

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

just throwin it out there, Vedauwoo is sooo close; I mean it's right there. You know what I mean??

Taylor Canyon is also worth a spin

Tony B · · Around Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 24,665
slim wrote:tony, what do you consider 4 star routes at eldo (whether it be relative to eldo or larger scale)?
Check out my profile and go to the stars list and see what 4star climbs I listed that are Eldo. Ther eare plenty. remarkably, Rob's list reads like mine- which perhaps he got from my stars list, as it si so remarkably similar...

If you want "Classic Eldo" and perhaps to get a second ascent, go try "Bo Diddley" up at Sobo. Whoo-hooo!!!
That'll blow your skirt up in all sorts of ways.

Climb safe & have fun!
Keegan · · San Francisco, Ca · Joined Apr 2007 · Points: 60

Did I see T2 compared to the Lotus Flower Tower earlier?

Now that's laughable.

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

How bout this one?:

CCC vs Eldo

Protection type & vehicle traffic aside, rock versus rock -- which climbs better?

(or better yet; you close US 6 down to vehicle traffic, would you goto Eldo or CCC?)

rob rebel · · Bend, OR · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 5

CCC vs eldo. I would say eldo due to the cerebral nature needed to climb it and the ability to climb crack and face at the same time. Eventhough I said eldo I am headed up to ccc in a couple of hours.

Bubb didnt get my list from yours but we both obviously appreciate the eldo gems. I need to check out your list to see what I need to go climb next.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

if vedauwoo was in colorado, it would make my top 5 for sure. jesus a beer tastes so good at the end of a day there.

CCC vs eldo, i kind of wondered about this one. if CCC didn't have the highway so close, i would actually possibly lean towards it. if somebody asked me which of the 2 i wanted to climb at tomorrow, i would probably be pretty undecisive. maybe clear creek because i haven't done that many routes there, and the routes i have left i probably won't get killed on.

tony, going through your list, it doesn't seem too much different than mine, although you have a lot more routes assessed. i wish we could sort that list by area or whatever. one of the main differences that i saw was king's X, i thought that route was a total pile. ugghhh.

Tony B · · Around Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 24,665
slim wrote:if vedauwoo was in colorado, it would make my top 5 for sure.
Well, that explains a few things. I strongly prefer multi-pitch climbing, which Eldo has and Vedauvoo basically lacks, by my definition. If I can lead it as a single pitch on a 60M, it is not really multi-pitch to me. Our values are just different.

rob rebel wrote:Bubb didnt get my list from yours but we both obviously appreciate the eldo gems.
I figured not, but at the same time, what you listed was so similar I thought maybe you looked at my list and answered for me.

Buff Johnson wrote:How bout this one?: CCC vs Eldo Protection type & vehicle traffic aside, rock versus rock -- which climbs better?
Estimated days climbed in Eldo since 1995:
900
Estimated days climbing in the Flatirons since 1995:
300
Estimated Days climbing in Bocan since 1995:
200
Estimated days climbing at Lumpy since 1995:
150
Estimated days climbing at Indian Creek since 1995:
100
Estimated Days climbing in the Park since 1995:
70
Estimated Days climbing in the Splatte 1995:
40
Estimated days climbing in SSV since 1995:
12
Estimated Days climbing at N. Table since 1995:
10
Days climbing in CCC since 1995:
6

My opinion is clear, right?
Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

Is that an opinion based after enjoying all the new route development?

And, also from Tunnel 6 all the way to Tunnel 1 -- There's is all kinds of stuff. Eldo really isn't crack climbing anyway, it's naturally protected flake & slab climbs.

Man, I tell ya, CCC today may be a tough call as to Eldo -- If it weren't for crappy access/parking, constant traffic, and charging for rescue by bunker gear; CCC could very well give Eldo a good run for a cragging destination.

Tony B · · Around Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 24,665
Buff Johnson wrote:Is that an opinion based after enjoying all the new route development?
I don't understand the question, honestly.
I think of CCC as predominantly single pitch sport climbing and Eldo as predominantly multi-pitch trad climbing. That's the most important difference to me.
Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

It's an all new canyon, amigo; though the pro will more than likely be fixed-pro to mixed-pro, due to what the rock offers, you can find the multi-pitch experience with all the exposure that Eldo offers; though maybe not as great in abundance as the ridges that Eldo has; the climbing has come along due to development; you can get those multi-hundreds of feet of air vertical to overhanging routes, as well as moderates.

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

JL -- so rock for rock, you say Eldo?

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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