Intro to Alpine suggestions

Any suggestions on routes for an alpine newb? I would be espically interested in RMNP.

thanks
john

Finding a competent partner is essential. Ideally, you would find a place like Ouray in the winter. This will introduce you to easy climbs that can be TR'd and you can progress without nasty approaches on delaminated summer ice. Placing screws on lead takes a little getting used to so I would start small. Alpinism is dangerous and you should be taken seriously. I don't know of any climbs In the park that are ideal for breaking into Alpine climbing.

Get a guidebook and check out the three-star 5.6 routes

If you have not already, warm up with some multi-pitch routes at Lumpy to get used to the approach and moving quickly with an eye on the weather.

Then, some excellent starter RMNP routes:
Arrowhead Arete on McHenrys Peak
Northeast Ridge on Sharkstooth
North Ridge of Spearhead

These are great routes with lots of alpine adventure and fun climbing. Be prepared for long approaches and lots of exercise.

Edit: I assumed you were looking for rock climbing routes for this summer.

Could you give more information?

Have you done many multi-pitch trad routes?
Have you done much ice climbing?

Hey jmac, how are the veggie-go's going? I haven't made it out to the Farmer's Mkt yet but look forward to it.

As for alpine routes, i'm assuming you're meaning mixed alpine... as in scottish style mixed stuff, right? Then again I assumed that in another thread and the guy actually meant pure rock routes. Anyway, if we're talking scottish style mixed, Eli has your ticket on his site: climbinglife.com/hallett-pe… ... quick easy access, easy grades, not too long. Boom. Now, scraping up rock with crampons and tools is a unique experience... so it's usually good to do so on TR first... which goes to Ty's comment above, find a competent alpine partner.

In addition to the above, I think a great primer for alpine is to get the book Colorado Snow Climbs, Dave Cooper. It has a bunch of couloirs, ridges, and glacier headwalls in there and is broken down by season. Dragons Tail, Dreamweaver, Martha, Cables Route on Longs, Ptarmigan Fingers, Skywalker, they are all popular beginners routes.

Good luck and climb smart.

I guess I should be more specific. I mean pure rock routes. I have a fair amount of trad experience, much of it on multi-pitch. I am solid trad up to 10a (12a sport) but fairly slow. I am looking for some routes on the less committing side (5ish pitchs or a way to bail). My goal would be to eventually (maybe next year) climb the diamond.

The only Alpie rock I have been on was Kiener's route a couple of years ago. It went fine but waaaaaaaay too slow, we were just lucky the weather was good. I am 100 times more compatent now though.

Eric, thanks for the great info anyway. The veggie-go's are going well although we are not at the Boulder farmers market. We will be at Stapleton and Cherry creek as well as the Peoples fair though.

cheers

The Aprons on Mt Evans. There are a few 5 pitch routes there.

I like Zowie South Face. I take alpine followers up that one a lot. It is 7 pitches, but the approach is one of the shortest in the park. The lower pitches are easy enough that you should be able to work on your speed. But it is a fun climb. BTW, do the face variation for the last pitch--it is cool. mountainproject.com/v/color…