10a trad climbs

I'm trying to break into the 10 range of trad climbing. I want to start racking up 10a and b climbs that are soft enough for someone just starting harder trad. Looking in the Front range area but willing to travel to northern Colorado. Any area with more than one or two 10a/b would be great.

Hit up Turkey Rock, more than a couple good ones there.

Straw Turkey - mega classic
Too Much Crack - killer finger & hand crack w/crux at bottom. Has fixed wire at the crux sometimes.
Southern Comfort - Not 5.10 but quality
Rasmussen's Crack

Eldo canyon, you can tick off some great 9+/10- routes in a day there. Bit of a drive from the springs but the approaches are not epic at all. Go hit up blind faith a great 10a climb. No better place than Eldo to sharpen your trad game.

Like any other funky place, Eldo is a bit of an acquired taste. IMO though, if you're driving through and want to climb in Rado, I'd stay out of Eldo this time of year.
Head up and enjoy something at elevation where it's a little cooler. Eldo is freak'n great... but not in July. If you must absolutely do something in Eldo, go early and get out of there by mid-day.

LawHous,

two words:

South Platte.

That whole region is STACKED.....it's truly the great, under-utilized climbing resource of Colorado. Maybe that's just my opinion.

Central Corner (Skinner Mountain)
Castle Corner (The Castle)
Cardiac Crack (Da Butts)
Nazi's Demise (Da Butts)
Gonzo's Lament --> Rip Van Winkle (Sunshine Wall)
Wunsch's Simulator (Wigwam Dome)

Plenty of fantastic hard 9 and easy 10 climbs in Eldo. You may want to work on the 10a's before the 9+'s. ;) Climbing there in July is fine, bring sunscreen and water and choose shadier spots. Lumpy has great trad climbs at the grade as well.

breaking into 5.10 trad is pretty much the best time in a person's climbing career (i think). you could probably use the 'best routes for you' function and come up with a huge list of good routes at a bunch of front range areas. good luck and have fun.

Eldo is fantastic but the ratings are pretty stiff (or rather, other newer areas are soft). If you want to work towards getting into climbs that 'feel' like easy 10a in many other areas, come do Eldo 9. You've already gotten great suggestions for Eldo 10a but you should include a bunch of Eldo 9 in that list.

Yellowspur, Werksupp (2nd pitch), Unsaid, Allosaur, Emerald City, West Buttress, Pony Express (1st pitch), Touch n Go to Anthill Direct, Green Spur, Hair City

I'm having flashbacks just writing the list. ;-)

slim wrote:breaking into 5.10 trad is pretty much the best time in a person's climbing career (i think). you could probably use the 'best routes for you' function and come up with a huge list of good routes at a bunch of front range areas. good luck and have fun.

Thread drift - Just kind of curious what you mean by this.

Thats a really good question. For me, i feel that onsighting my first handful of 10s was a pivotal time in my climbing career. It just felt so good to be on those lines, and the happiness of success. I still think 10s are probably the most fun. Those first hanging belays, where you realize you are really relying on your gear, skills, and judgement - pretty exciting.

As you start getting past that into the harder grades, it is a lot more work, and zometimes a bit of the joy gets stripped out. As your hunger for sending grows, sometimes success only brings relief, instead of hapiness, but not always.

I am always really psyched to be around folks sending their first 10s. You can really feel their excitement.

Everything John Keller listed is awesome and each are great climbs that will get you ready for .10a. Once you feel comfortable on his list I would add Darkness till Dawn and for a longer jaunt, hit Rosy Crucifixion in Eldo. For Boulder Canyon I have to recommend Dementia (10a) as well as Cosmosis (.9+++). The Center Route on Cynical Pinnacle is (.9) and a great tick for a new 5.10 climber. It is outstanding and sustained for pure crack practice and there are several other spots in the Platte that will be right in the wheelhouse. Have fun and be safe.

More Eldo 5.9+, 5.10a-b ish

read route descriptions, some are well protected at cruxes, some are a bit spicy.

Blind faith
hair city
first pitch march of dimes
Darkness til dawn
Over the hill
First pitch of cest la vie
break on through
handcracker direct
positively fourth street
xanadu
Chockstone
white lightning
First pitch of rincon
5.10 crack
deviant

Nick Barczak wrote:LawHous, two words: South Platte. That whole region is STACKED.....it's truly the great, under-utilized climbing resource of Colorado. Maybe that's just my opinion. Central Corner (Skinner Mountain) Castle Corner (The Castle) Cardiac Crack (Da Butts) Nazi's Demise (Da Butts) Gonzo's Lament --> Rip Van Winkle (Sunshine Wall) Wunsch's Simulator (Wigwam Dome)

You forgot Parachute Rock and some areas in Elevenmile. Believe me, I've prowled all over looking for the trad 10s in the South Platte. The problem is is that there all so spread out. No good areas with a high concentration of harder trad in the South Platte like Eldo. Thanks for the ideas though, I'll definitely hit those up!