The Cathedral Spires are closed from March 1 to July 31 for raptor nesting.
Description
Located on Sunshine Wall to the right of Turkey Foot Crack. It is best to establish a belay on the sloping ledge by the tree (hand-sized pieces in the crack).
Steep 5.10 crack and face climbing take you to a stance below the crux. Luckily, it has three fixed pins because it is helpful having both hands available to stay on the rock through the technical crux section.
Tie off the small tree because the next bit of gear above the pins is small and not particularly confidence building. Be brave because 1/2 move higher gets you some good cams. Save some juice for the sting in the tail before the anchor. 80'.
One of my favorite pitches in all of the Cathedral Spires Area. The climb has really cool moves, good protection (RPs, nuts and small cams), and surprisingly large holds at the rests between the harder moves. A party can descend after the first pitch; anchors are in place as of '98. My friends Dave and Kevin believe the 3 pins at the crux are still in good shape. The gear to back up these pins is bomber.- Pat
Good point! These don't come up if you do a search for "astro", 'cause they're one word I guess.
By Pete Gallagher From: Manitou Springs, CO Jan 28, 2009
...actually, the name Astro Dog has nothing to do with any of the other "Astro" routes around, but is, in fact, in honor of the poor golden retriver that pancaked at the base of the route a few days before the F.A. Inspiration for the route name came from that poor pooch (fetching a tennis ball - so the story goes) and from the '60s cartoon, the Jetsons.
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