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By now, this spire has become one of the most sought-after alpine routes in the country, and along with the
Casual Route is likely one of the two most popular routes in RMNP. It is a great idea to have a plan B if you intend to climb this. There are numerous alternatives in the area.
The climbing is excellent on the standard route, and the summit is one of the most spectacular in the Park, or anywhere.
Park at the Glacier Gorge Junction Trailhead (a mile below Bear Lake), and hike five miles or so to Sky Pond (above Loch Vale).
Scramble up talus above Sky Pond to the Petit, which offers a steadily narrowing South Face and is overshadowed by the Sharkstooth to the West and flanked by the Saber on the East.
Andrews Glacier trail descent: per
Paul Huebner: we did short rap down the back on the east side and traversed over to other spire behind it. Then we scrambled up to our left/west through chimney that opens up onto large ledge/ramp leading down to the base and back side of that spire. From there, we descended gentle snow field down to talus and continued on down the Andrews Glacier Trail (approach for Sharkstooth) to Loch Vale and on down to Glacier Gorge Parking lot.
Rap descent - per
James Beissel: - All of the rap stations are bolted. If you are rapping off anything besides bolt you are screwing up.- You will need two 60m ropes- All of the raps are double rope rappels- Do not try to rap into the gully!!!- You should not have to downclimb at all
1. Rap from a Fixe anchor at the (climber's) right end of the summit. ~160 ft.
2. Rap from two Fixe ring anchors just past the terrace to a pair of Metolius rap bolts. ~160 ft
3. Rap from the fatty Metolius bolts to the big grassy ledge. ~160 ft. The next set of bolts are about 50' to your left at eye level, above a chimney of sorts.
Addendum: it's exposed clipping the anchor. 4. Rap from the anchor over the void (homemade hanger + modern Fixe ring bolt). Pass up the grassy ledge (Second Terrace) at about 160ft. and aim for the big horn about 20' below you. There's probably slings around the horn. They'll help you spot the station, but you will actually be rapping from bolts below the horn. ~180' ft.
5. A 200+' rap to a big grassy ledge (First Terrace). The next bolts will be about 50' climber's right.
Addendum: you may not reach this anchor, but there is a slung boulder at ~165' to make a short additional rap. 6. Another 200' rap to the ground off two Fixe ring bolts.
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Estes Park
Snow on the hike up is in grape shape, possible in boots without snowshoes. You may desire crampons or an ice axe. Enjoy the early spring! Mar 26, 2007
Houston, TX, USA
Portage, WI
Loveland, CO
Loveland, CO
Boulder
The climb was equally beautiful. You can reach the 1st Bench with a 60 meter, and, if you belay higher up in the chimney (25 ft, +or-) for the 2nd pitch, you can string 2 and 3 together, giving the leader an interesting chimney/5.7 crack to reach the second bench.
After the next chimney pitch, The climb goes vertical, beginning the real deal. Stellar climbing! Up higher, I don't know what the Gillett guide meant by 'sparse pro' on the upper 5.7 'meandering' east face pitch; I found plenty. The Pizza pan ledge at the end of that pitch reminded me of the Yellow Spur's arete belay. Very cool! Get comfy.
The final 5.6 summit pitch needs attention, as there really ISN'T good pro for THAT one. It's all there, however, and the summit is amazing! If the weather's holding, definitely spend a little alone time up there before pulling up the slack.
On the descent, watch for ropes sticking on the upper rappels. Also, rock fall is very possible (probable?), so be cautious. But that's all part of climbing, so really doesn't merit mentioning, generally. Whatever. ENJOY IT! Jul 10, 2010
Worcester, Massachusetts
We climbed the Petit (south face) on 9/5 and had amazing weather and, even better, the whole route to ourselves all day! Sep 6, 2012
United States
Provo, UT
From the summit of the Petit, rappel 100' to the north and scramble down the very narrow ridge to the base of the south face of the Penknife. One moderate pitch with a 5.6 move or two gets you to the summit of the Penknife. Rappel to the north from slings to the saddle between Sharkstooth and the Saber. Hike and scramble north down the Gash to the Andrews Glacier trail. Jul 21, 2014
Big South Fork, TN
AMGA Certified Rock Guide; PNW
Longmont, CO
Home is where you park it
Denver, CO
ALTERNATE DESCENT BETA:
We did a similar descent as Mark and Paul describe, except we did a very necessary second rappel that I'm not quite sure how you would avoid. For the first rap, aim for a pinkish, broken, sidewalk-looking ledge below with visible tat anchor just past it. Scrambling over to those and getting the rope pulled is exciting. Be careful. The tat anchor for the second rap is currently a little old looking but seemed solid enough. We backed it up for the first. A second rappel gets you down to a cool spot with 2 corner lines that you could potentially use to escape. We climbed the left side, 50' or so up a chimney/corner. There were a few easier 5.moves culminating in an easy squeeze chimney that will probably require you to take your pack off. We didn't rope up, but some people will probably prefer to. From here, it opened up into another little, rocky alpine field and, eventually, a saddle and a drop down to the north for a long time. Snow conditions will probably vary greatly from here. We traversed a scary but super solid, 80 degree snow slope then hiked down boulderfields and glissaded amazing snow fields for hundreds of feet, eventually making it back down to the Andrews Glacier trail. I'm not really sure of the difference in time, but this way seemed pretty fast compared to the traditional alternative. Definitely more adventurous! Jul 3, 2017
Littleton, CO
Boulder, CO
If, in the next few days, someone is willing to carry out that rope and return it, we'd be very grateful, and would gladly give you $70 for your trouble! It's a 70m 9.5mm orange Petzl rope.
Also, if you don't want to pack it out, but could drop it onto the ground could you please let me know? In that case, I'm guessing something would chew it up, but I'd still hike out to pack out the trash. Or, if you notice it's gone completely, it'd be great if you could let me know so that I don't waste a hike out trying to pack out the trash.
Thanks! Jun 11, 2018
Boulder, CO
Colorado Springs
Yes, it can be busy just like many of the Front Range climbs. Went on a Saturday over Labor Day weekend, and there was one party on the SW corner (us) and one party on the East Face all day, and last time I went climbing about a year ago on the East face, again on a Saturday, there was only one party ahead of us.
However, I would be prepared for alternative routes in case everyone decides to climb the route on the same day, but to say never go on a weekend is garbage. Sep 8, 2019
Salt Lake City, UT
Denver, CO
Boulder, CO
Colorado
Durango CO
Boulder, CO
You can also do this as 200 ft rappel to small ledge 10 ft above the big grassy ledge. Most people should feel comfortable unroping on this small ledge and scrambling down third class terrain to the big, grassy ledge. If you do a single strand rap on a 60m rope and tie a cordallete to a second 60m pull cord, you should be able to comfortably reach the larger ledge on rappel and pull the ropes from the larger ledge.
The 3rd bolted rappel station is hard to find, and most parties planning to descend the bolted rap line should be able to skip it. Jun 21, 2024