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The Devil's Backbone
5.11c YDS 6c+ French 24 Ewbanks VIII- UIAA 24 ZA E4 6a British
Avg: 3.1 from 21
votes
Routes in Mary's Bust - left buttress
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Beak, The T,S 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c |
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Bloody Mary T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c R |
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College Fund T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R |
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Devil's Backbone, The S 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a |
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Quartz Groove T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R |
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Run Out Of Love T 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b R |
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Sparky's Cooler S 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a |
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Sympathy for the Devil S 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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That's What The Rope Is For T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R |
| Type: | Sport, 280 ft (85 m), 3 pitches |
| FA: | Bernard Gillett and Mark Ronca, 2009 |
| Page Views: | 5,319 total · 29/month |
| Shared By: | Orphaned User on Mar 22, 2009 |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Access Issue: Access issue - Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc. - open since 2023
Details
Per JF M: as of May 2022, there is no signage on-site, nor information on the USFS webpage for the Cameron Peak Fire (nor on their published map of closures) that indicates the area is closed.
Per Bruce Hildenbrand: it appears that the Forest Service has closed access to all the climbing areas accessed via Storm Mountain Road (Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc.) until they can clear all the dangerous dead trees from the Cameron Peak fire.
I worked this issue with Eric Murdock at the AF, and it looks like the Forest Service picked Devil's Gulch Road as the southern boundary even though all the climbing areas on MP.com were not burned.
Description
This ascends the extreme right edge of the buttress that is immediately left of the main formation of Mary's Bust. It is across the gully from Violet Blue (west face of Mary's Bust), and to the right of Sparky's Cooler.
It chases the extruded rib of rock (the backbone) that forms the right arete of the wall. The name is inspired by Devil's Backbone Open Space, a prominent landmark in the west Loveland below Big Thompson Canyon.
Approach Mary's Bust (a short trail leads to the middle of that wall), turn left at the base, and then turn right around a corner, passing Proud Mary, Mary's Tricks, and Violet Blue. Scramble up the left side of the gully for 100 feet, and then scramble up 20 feet of 4th Class to a ledge at the base of this arete. This ledge is above a 60-foot wall and goes left another 50 feet.
Pitch 1: climb on big holds through an scary bulge (3 bolts, 9+), and sling a horn. Follow a groove just left of the backbone (3 bolts) to a shelf, and then dance up a slab (3 bolts, 11-) to another ledge. Move right around the arete for the final 3 bolts (steep buckets), and pull onto a ledge. Clip the first bolt of the next lead for a directional, and then go down and left to belay at chains, 12 bolts, 5.11a, 100 feet.
Pitch 2: climb delicately on a slab around the left edge of an overhang, avoiding hollow flakes right. Traverse right at the 3rd bolt to the arete, clip the 4th, and then go up the right side of the arete (the bolts on the left). As you near the roof overhead, move over to the left side of the arete (crux), and then surmount the roof to the right on jugs. Beware of a block on a ledge just beneath the roof. It is risk for cars below, but it's easily avoided Once above the roof, sling a horn, and prance up and left to a ledge to belay at chain, 12 bolts, 11-, 90 feet.
Pitch 3: slab up right, and surmount a steep headwall with knobs (crux). The 5th clip is tricky, and you have to punch it through the crux to get to the 6th. Belay at chains, 7 bolts, 5.11, 60 feet. You can add 25 more feet (6, bolt) to chains at the top of the wall.
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