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Snake Buttress
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Wake of the Flood 

Snake Buttress 


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Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: John McNamee on Feb 17, 2006

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J. Bryan leading Illusion Chain

Description 

Snake Buttress contains a good number of bolted slab climbs, and a couple of nice cracks.


Getting There 

To get to Snake Buttress, keep heading North past the normal parking for the Cynical Pinnacle parking area, for about 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Park in a pullout on the East side of the road (by the river). You will be directly below the rock, and will see it as you drive up to the parking spot. You can spot the crag when you are looking at the back-side of the Cynical Pinnacle, and it will be to the right, and down a bit. Hike directly up the drainage, starting up an old road that is gated (steeper, and longer than it looks), and Snake Buttress will be the second major rock that you encounter. If you keep on the right path, you will encounter a couple of cairns on the way up. As a comparison, the approach is maybe a bit shorter than the approach to Cynical Pinnacle.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Snake Buttress:
Jo Bubba   5.10a     Sport, 1 pitch, 140 feet   
Mr. Pitiful   5.10a PG13     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 150 feet   
IIlusion Chain   5.10c PG13     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 150 feet, Grade II   
Rude Boy AKA Rue Boy   5.10c X     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 130 feet   
Dr Demento's Descending Demise   5.11c     Trad, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
Browse More Classics in Snake Buttress

Featured Route For Snake Buttress
3 horizontal cracks.

Jo Bubba 5.10a  CO : South Platte : ... : Snake Buttress
I think this is one of the best routes on the rock. The crux to me is just past the first horizontal crack. I protected here with a small HB. The route is well protected by Platte standards. I have never done the second pitch....[more]   Browse More Classics in CO


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By Jason Haas
From: Broomfield, CO
Oct 12, 2009

Kevin Stricker is my hero and should be yours, too. This bad ass not only crushes, he also replaces more bolts down in the Platte than probably everyone else combined. Considering he only gets out once a month or so these days as most of his time is consumed with being a super psyched new dad, he is by far the coolest and most humble steward in the area I know. For example, he literally replaced every bolt on the entire Snake Buttress a year ago with the only exceptions being Ride um Rueboy (rebolted by another person) and Dr. Demento. My count was 60 bolts, give or take one or two. Who does that!? Very few, exceptional people. Buy that man a beer.

By Kevin Stricker
From: Evergreen, CO
Oct 14, 2009

Thanks Jason, I wanted to credit Fremont Shields for getting the ball rolling on the Snake Buttress replacement, which was done in 2007. He replaced the bolts on Rue Boy and the first pitch of Hodge Podge. Also thanks to Dave Russell for helping with logistics, and especially to the ASCA who provided all the hardware.

Snake Buttress is a fun place to climb, but be considerate of the private property in the area and don't park on the closed mining road.

By Fremont Shields
Oct 31, 2009

I too want to thank Kevin for his selfless efforts to replace the many aging bolts in the South Platte. He does this with ASCA hardware, but still at considerable expense using his own equipment and equally valuable free time. His work is strictly replacement of like-for-like hardware and he does a quality job not scarring the rock. The one day I worked with him at Snake I hammered all day and had replaced 5 bolts by the end of it...my forearms were pumped and my ears were ringing. Hand drilling 12mm holes in granite is a humbling experience.

By slim
Nov 2, 2009

Fremont,

I usually bring some of those little cheezy foam earplugs when I am doing any hand drilling, it is definitely really hard on my ears otherwise. Thanks to you and Kevin both. Snake Buttress is a fun little crag. I'm always surprised it doesn't see more traffic.

By Tzilla Rapdrilla
Nov 2, 2009

Somewhere back in the distant past I was in on one of the slab routes at Snake Buttress, unfortunately I don't remember which one. We placed 1/4" bolts on lead on that route and I recall some differences in our feeling how reliable the bolts would be after they were in as some stances were easier to drill from than others, etc. Thanks to Kevin and others for replacing that old junk with something that might actually hold a fall.

By Jason Haas
From: Broomfield, CO
Nov 6, 2009

Tod, according to Climbing #111, you, Curt Fry and ?? Frizzell put up Wake of the Flood. Sound about right?