Girlfriend's first alpine route. Suggestions?

So I think my lady is finally ready to venture up into the mountains with me. The plan is to head somewhere for my birthday weekend in late June and climb some kind of multipitch alpine route. I want to take it easy and have fun, more than likely a day for the drive up and approach, camp, then a day on route and then hike back out the third day, She's followed 5.10 trad while cragging, but I'm aiming for something more in the 5.4-5.6 range for this outing. My main thought right now is that we'll do the Northeast Ridge on Sharkstooth, but I'm open to suggestions for other routes. Which particular sub-range of the Rockies isn't an issue, RMNP is most convenient for us, but heading to SW Colorado isn't out of the question.

I think you are on the right track with a good choice!

That was my exact first thought too. NE Ridge is mellow and fun.
Enjoy!

Another vote here for Sharkstooth NE Ridge. She can experience the funky rappel anchors, too. Not super sketch, but interesting none the less. Good climbing, too.

Or North Ridge on Spearhead? That one's good too.

Also look at Spiral Route on Notchtop. Pretty mellow but lots of fun.

North Ridge of Spearhead is another fairly obvious but nevertheless great choice, especially if you're going to camp. With the possible exception of some remote west-side spots, there's no better bivy spot in the Park, in my opinion.

The Petit? A bit harder than the range you stated plus a lot of rappels but a bivy at sky pond and a summit bid on a nice day is a real PDM. (Panty dropping move.)

TheBirdman wrote:The Petit? A bit harder than the range you stated plus a lot of rappels but a bivy at sky pond and a summit bid on a nice day is a real PDM. (Panty dropping move.)

Haha, right on. Yeah, I did the Petit last fall, a bit more of an undertaking than I think we want right now.

Keep all the good pointers coming!

I'd probably advise against the Spiral Route as the crux of that route is the descent IMHO. Definitely N Ridge of Spearhead is cool. As a "warmup" I've taken some newbies in the First Flatiron to get used to longer multipitch. After that, then head for the mountains. I haven't climbed (the whole route) yet, but Keyhole Ridge is supposed to be a good one as well.

The prow on Kit Carson.

Ellingwood arête on Crestone Needle. A 9 mile 4wd road to get in but a cool route.

Sounds better than prom.

Will McDonald wrote:The prow on Kit Carson.

Terrible suggestion for a first alpine line. The Prow is a very committing line. The rock generally lacks natural gear placements and when I did it in 2001 there were no fixed anchors -- retreat would be quite difficult even if you were willing to sacrifice much of your rack. We did a lot of simul-climbing in order to belay at spots with decent gear. Furthermore, the approach to TP from either the east or west entails a lot more effort than some of the other suggestions on this thread.

Sharkstooth is a much more sensible choice.

david goldstein wrote: Terrible suggestion for a first alpine line. The Prow is a very committing line. The rock generally lacks natural gear placements and when I did it in 2001 there were no fixed anchors -- retreat would be quite difficult even if you were willing to sacrifice much of your rack. We did a lot of simul-climbing in order to belay at spots with decent gear. Furthermore, the approach to TP from either the east or west entails a lot more effort than some of the other suggestions on this thread. Sharkstooth is a much more sensible choice.

Depends on the person. My wife's first climb ever was the 1500' North Face of Sugarloaf in the Organ Mountains. We got back to the car at 4:30 in the morning. As we were wandering around lost in the bushes at about 2:30 in the morning she said it was the best day of her life. That's when I knew she was the one. I got lucky.

Not hard to see it devolving in the opposite direction, though :)

How's she with the exposure? Make sure to find out before heading out into the mountains. I've seen strong climbers losing it especially on long free-hanging rappels. Take her up the Maiden to find out first if she likes long free-hanging rappels in the wind (good practice downclimbing and traversing too).

david goldstein wrote: Terrible suggestion for a first alpine line. The Prow is a very committing line. The rock generally lacks natural gear placements and when I did it in 2001 there were no fixed anchors -- retreat would be quite difficult even if you were willing to sacrifice much of your rack. We did a lot of simul-climbing in order to belay at spots with decent gear. Furthermore, the approach to TP from either the east or west entails a lot more effort than some of the other suggestions on this thread. Sharkstooth is a much more sensible choice.

All good points. I mostly just think its a stunning and, after the opening V0 boulder problem, very moderate line in the mountains that doesn't get mentioned enough when people discuss classic alpine moderates in Colorado.

Mout Alice(RMNP) is my vote.. did it as my first alpine route at age 13. quality

Keyhole Ridge is an excellent route, but the crowds everywhere on Long's could interfere with the PDM aspect of things. N. Ridge of Spearhead is a great route in a beautiful setting. Ellingwood Arete is a great route, I recall the 5.7 section being pretty short. The road to South Colony Lakes was closed at 9950' a few years back, which might help keep the crowds down.

Make it something disgusting and awful so you can keep on climbing with your bros, brah.

+1 for Spearhead North Ridge, and +1 for recommending against Notchtop as the first one due to the descent. It's true the bivy below Spearhead is one of the nicest in the Park. Glad you're thinking LATE June. In the early years, I pushed the season several times with my now-wife by trying to go for some of the classic alpine lines in early June. The result was hours of postholing in the woods, only to set up a tent and try to sleep through days of lightning hailstorms. At our wedding, someone joked about how we seemed to like hauling large amounts of metal and rope into remote campsites and then hauling it back out several days later without having left our tent. She still married me, so I guess no harm no foul.

A recommendation for July, after the high passes have melted out: Hiamovi Tower. It's waaaay back there in the Indian Peaks, but the camping is gorgeous, the route is fun and easy (5.4, with a 5.7ish variation if you bring a piece of wide gear), and there are multiple escape options along the way. The hike down is nothing like the long talus hopping in the Park, and you will be the only people for miles. An underappreciated destination, IMHO.