Whipping in Eldo

I am writing a gear review next week and I want to take a few decent falls on the product, with pictures of course. What climbs are relatively steep, are "non-ledgy", accept medium-large sized nuts, and are mildly photogenic(not as important)?

Also it would be good if this was the first pitch of the climb.

I was originally thinking Center Route would be a good candidate but the gear at the crux is a small nut.

I was gonna say center route, too - I wouldn't say it's a small nut (although that's obviously subjective), I used a red (#7) BD stopper a few feet above the roof

And I "tested" the fixed pin under the roof on my first attempt, so you should have a solid backup there ;)

I guess I should specify on the approximate size... I'm holding it in my hand and it is actually about the same width of a bd#7, but longer. If that makes any sense. It compares more closely to a wild country rock 6.

Thats the smallest size.

Since you might be up at Rincon anyway you might check out 5.10 crack (which I recall protects well with nuts and is fairly steep). It has great photo ops hanging off of the bolted belay to the right or standing on the boulder near Center Route. Backup pro would probably be pretty small though and not much room for error since it's the lower section of the climb that is steep and eats nuts. However, you could rig a TR off the anchor as the ultimate backup for the first tests. Worth checking out if you are there anyway.

Blind Faith,Unsaid,Rincon,Darkness til Dawn

what about sequential (12a) up at the kloof, or kloof for that matter.

Cor wrote:what about sequential (12a) up at the kloof, or kloof for that matter.

Lots of great suggestions! I appreciate the help!

- Right side exit to p1 on Blind Faith.

Erik W wrote:- Right side exit to p1 on Blind Faith.

Phil Lauffen wrote: I was wondering about those. Would they get sun this time of year?

The Kloof Alcove gets spectacular lighting this time of year! You could definitely get some good shots in there.

Positively Fourth Street? May be less photogenic but I think it takes that size gear.

Supremacy Crack might be worth checking out. I got a few bigger stoppers in there while I was on it. Its also a really clean fall. G rated so you can back them up if you really want to test them.

supremacy would probably be good, if the sun is high enough to get over the ridge and light it up. it also has good logistics for photos.

Thanks for the suggestions! Maybe try supremacy in the morning, then move to sequential.

Best thing about sequential is I won't have to purposefully fall off...

It's been several years Phil but I remember a great nut placement at the start to the big run-out on Jules Verne! That would make a great review!

West face of the Bastile (the 11a), Evictor, Sequential, Crazy fingers, Pony Express. All of which are west facing(good light), and all but pony express are 1st pitch climbs.

Joke Crack has easy access (up start of Purple Haze), good gear,
and good sunshine in late morning. Good photo opportunities.

problem with joke crack is that it leans a lot to the right, which is right above and really close to the purple haze slabby dihedral. probably wouldn't die or anything, but probably not pleasant.

how about the last real pitch of the edge, or maybe diving board? some work to get up there though.