Home - Destinations - iPhone/Android - Gyms - Partners - Forum - Photos - Deals - What's New
 ADVANCED
Ridge 1 aka Stairway to Heaven
Metolius Monster 9.2mm Rope

$238.95 25% off

$179.21

at Backcountry

8    more...
Patagonia Men's Rubicon Down Jacket

$399.00 50% off

$199.50

at Patagonia

33    more...
Metolius Contact Board

$94.95 25% off

$71.21

at Backcountry

3    more...
Black Diamond Half Dome Helmet

$59.95 20% off

$47.96

at Backcountry

5    more...
Evolv - Demorto Climbing Shoes

$120.00 33% off

$79.97

at GearX

7    more...
The North Face Verto S4K GTX Boot - Men's

$349.95 20% off

$279.96

at Backcountry

   more...
Black Diamond Primrose SA Package

$99.95 20% off

$79.96

at Backcountry

   more...
 more Dirtbag Deals
Select Route:
Ariel 
Armed Forces 
Arms Reduction 
Better Than Better Than Love 
Better than Love 
Guardian, The 
Gunky 
Like Hell It Is 
Love 
Stairway to Heaven 

Better than Love 

5.5

   
569 page views
Good page?   

Type: Trad, 2 pitches
Consensus: 5.5 [details]
FA: Unknown
Submitted By: George Bell on Jun 6, 2001

You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (6)
Your todo list:
Your stars:
Your rating: -none- [change]
Your ticklist: [add new tick]

Patty follows up somewhere near 'Better Than Love'...

Add Photo  Add Comment    Printer View

Some crags in this area are closed 1 February to 31 July: MORE INFO >>>

Description 

This route begins in the same place as "Love". See the description for that route to locate the start. Crank the entrance move to get onto the rock. After you reach a large ledge about 15' up, instead of moving up and right into the large dihedral (Love), move up and left.

The exact line of this route was not clear to us. If you move far enough left you run into a clean arete, and we climbed this to the ridge. I believe you can also climb the face right of this arete. It may be possible to lead this entire thing in one giant pitch with a 60m rope, but you would have to be careful with the rope drag. We split it up into two pitches.

Once you reach the ridge, you can downclimb the east side, or continue to the top.


Protection 

Standard Flatiron rack.



Photos of Better than Love Slideshow Add Photo
Tony Bubb wanders around looking for protection on the way up to the summit of 'Like Heaven' to find the rap after climbing 'Better Than Love' on the West side of Skunk Canyon's Ridge One. Photo by Patty, 2006.

Tony Bubb wanders around looking for protection on...


Comments on Better than Love Add Comment
Show which comments
By Warren Teissier
Jun 20, 2002

Lead this today and I have to say, it is NOT better than Love.

From the point where the routes separate, follow the strata left towards the arete to a point where the arete has a large pointed horn (separated from the arete by a one foot crack). This is the crux.

Turn the horn towards the North and climb the arete straight up from this point. The rock near the horn is brittle but take a large piece (#3 Camalot).

By Tony B
From: Around Boulder, CO
Jun 15, 2006

I went up the crack and then rather than going left or right, went up more or less central to the face. I did it in a single 50+ meter pitch and got 4 pieces of gear in. It felt harder than 5.5, too.
Anyway, it was a decent line.
You can rap from the chains of the 'Like Heaven' tower summit with a 60M rope to the ends to reach a chock in the dihedral of 'Love.' There is a SOLID rap station there from which to reach the ground in another 40-50' rap.

By Chris Zeller
From: Boulder, CO
Mar 28, 2007

I did this yesterday along with Love. I agree, this was a fun climb but Love with its dramatic summit is much better.

One 60m rope is plenty to reach the summit. The line is pretty straight so no rope drag issues.

To get off this climb, scramble right from the summit over a boulder, along the NE face and around to the west side to two medium sized fir trees. One tree has a bunch of green slings with rap rings. One 50 m rope should make it to the ground. We used one 60m.

By Brendan
Oct 20, 2012

Thanks for the excellent beta on the route, Warren Teissier! I really liked the airy exposure on the arete. Maybe not quite as good as "Love", but I enjoyed the route very much. The rap station on the tree to the north was in good condition.