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The Arsenal

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Los Hermanos de la Penitente de los Matador Pantalones 
Path, The 
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The Arsenal

Submitted By: Chris Beh on Nov 12, 2001
Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac
Views: 3,899 page views

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Rifle's most popular venue for hauling jugs on a t...


Description 

The Arsenal is a thug's paradise, and with its park-at-the-base of-the-routes approach represents the finest in convenience sport climbing. While seemingly a total pile upon first glance, this enormous cave is actually very solid -- riddled with cracks, pockets and large blocky pinches that make the super-overhanging routes viable in the 5.12-5.13+ grade range. Many of the routes have succumbed to kneebar technology yet all are long and pumpy (The Colinator, the cave's longest and hardest line, has around 18 bolts of 30-35 degree overhanging climbing).

This is a good evening area, though in the summer the air can be a bit still and buggy at this end of the canyon, turning jugs into slopers and kneebars into torture. Nevertheless, this is one of the best "work-out" crags around -- the holds are big, kind, and the in-situ chain link draws make for a totally low-hassle experience.

Must-do's include: Polly-nator (12a), Debaser (12d), Pump-o-rama (12d/13a), Sprayathon (13b/c), Slaggisimo (12c/d) and Pretty Hate Machine (12c).


Getting There 

Drive into Rifle Canyon. The Arsenal is about a mile up from the mouth of the Canyon on the left. You can't miss it. It's the huge cave on the left side of the road with the long-ass chain-link draws hanging from half the routes. Park either in the cave or back down the road at a designated pull-out next to the river (on the right going up canyon).


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Arsenal:
The Polly-nator   5.12a     Sport, 1 pitch, 50 feet   
Climb-a-dime   5.12b     Sport, 1 pitch, 60 feet   
Pretty Hate Machine   5.12c     Sport, 1 pitch   
Los Hermanos de la Penitente de los Matador Pantalones   5.12d     Sport, 1 pitch   
Slagissimo   5.12d     Sport   
Debaser   5.12d     Sport, 1 pitch, 70 feet   
Pump-O-Rama   5.12d     Sport, 1 pitch   
Sprayathon   5.13c     Sport   
The Path   5.13c     Sport   
Browse More Classics in The Arsenal

Featured Route For The Arsenal
What a cool line through this roofy section!! Burly underclinging! Very very fun!!<br />Photo by Neil Berget

Pretty Hate Machine 5.12c  CO : Rifle Mountain Park : The Arsenal
Super-mega-ultra-classic! Possibly the best sport route in the universe.This route is rated 12b in the guides, but I think there is a broad consensus among everyone who climbs it that it is at least a letter grade harder than that. This line is on the far left side of the Arsenal. It can be easily recognized by the fixed, chain draws. The first difficulties are encountered early, where you do a series of 12a/b underclinging and sidepulling ma...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO