Managing Risk in Eldorado

Here are thoughts for managing risk when climbing in Eldo, gleaned from a recent MP thread. Thank you to the many Eldo climbers who contributed to this content. There is no particular order to this, and I’ve added my own thoughts in places.  

This list is not at all comprehensive, and there is a lot more to consider when climbing in Eldorado, other trad climbing areas, or any sport climbing area for that matter.

Risk Tolerance

Every climber has a unique and personal level of risk tolerance. Climbing at a trad area like Eldo requires higher risk tolerance than many other climbing areas. Eldorado is a serious place to climb, requiring a broad set of climbing skills.

“It's not for the feint of heart…”

“Climbing is a mine field of accidents waiting to happen. You need to be prepared. Climbing outside is very different than climbing in a gym.”

"Eldo, Lumpy Ridge and South Platte have a reputation of being hard and scary, and rightly so. It does and should keep inexperienced climbers from going there. As the previous axiom, "Climbing there safely takes time, experience, and hard work”.”

“If you can’t legitimately accept the risk you are taking then you shouldn’t be doing it. If you are too inexperienced or jumping hoops too fast to not even know the risk you are taking then that is also your own fault.” 

"Of what's relevant to this thread, it reminds me that I was once young(er) and bold(er) (and stupid at times): I was a pretty solid Eldo climber & had pushed both difficulty & spiciness. If I had to summarize, I got solid at Eldo b/c I went often, stuck my neck out a bit now & then, and got lucky.”

“..all climbing is inherently dangerous…"

“Experience carries a lot of weight, but also judgment about where and when the team reaches its limitations, and what degree of risks increase as they decide to continue, rather than retreat - and then, of course, what risks ensue with retreat itself. "Climbing beyond their ability" is an epitaph for hundreds of dead climbers.”

“A quick look at this document (referencing an RMR accident report), mostly the charts, makes me think that the majority of accidents parallel that of avalanche victims, males in their 20s-30s with enough experience to get in trouble and not enough to know or say when they are in over their heads.”

“The bottom line is that, at some point, the act of climbing holds inherent risks that can never be totally eliminated, aside from banning all climbing. Preserving some of the more serious elements of historically risky routes has been deemed acceptable in most parks, along with the understanding that no one is forced to climb anything.”

States of Mind

The YOSAR climbing ranger John Dill emphasizes the role our “mindset” plays in accidents. Most accidents are the result of human error from distraction, casualness and complacency, ignorance (as in not being knowledgable or prepared), and hubris.

“Leave the ego at home. You climb for yourself, no one else.”

 Pay attention. Maintain situational awareness at all times.

“Watch me when I am climbing! Shout out your commands loud and don't assume anything!”

“…our psychological and emotional states are much more consequential trad climbing. You learn calmness is safety. You learn to prioritize. First, are both of you safe and secure. Second, be calm and give some time to figure out how to fix the problem. There are a lot of tools hanging on that harness that might be helpful. When climbers are inexperienced and venture out to Eldo it is easy to panic from fear…”

“For me, I approach every route in Eldo with a lot of humility and respect. This equates to choosing routes that are well within or below my usual grade (if I am leading), studying topos (descents for sure, bail options, try to minimize route finding clusters), and pretty picky about my climbing partners - probably would not climb with a new to me partner in Eldo as a 1st outing.”

“It happens to be that the mind is often the weakest part of everybody’s rack. Not knowing what you don’t know can get you in a world of trouble. More importantly, knowing what you can manage can help keep you out of trouble.”

“…self reliance…”

“Judgement reigns supreme! We're constantly judging; grip, gear, rock, partner, fall/injury potential, weather, etc. Continuous, critical judgement is commonly deficient. Yet we look outward, rather than inward, for what we feel is the expedient solution in the form of bolts. The byproduct is complacency. We become great bolt-clippers at the expense of judgement and proficiency.”

“…hubris is a dangerous emotion here.”

“I think it is helpful to have a checklist/system of fundamental principles and rules that apply to every climb. A system of solid habitual practices reduces risk exposure even when things are stressful, casual, or distracting.”

The Nature of Eldo Climbing

Eldo grades are stiff. Climbers who've climbed at other historical traditional climbing areas like the Gunks, Joshua Tree, LCC, any crag in North Carolina (!), etc. recognize that grading in these areas, for whatever reason, tends to be stiffer than at many sport climbing areas. 

Grade compression, an artifact of the original 5.0 to 5.9 grading system, is still a factor in these traditional climbing areas, although in Eldo many grades have been slowly changed to represent modern baselines. The Bastille Crack was originally rated 5.6!

Grades tend to reflect the most difficult movement on a climb, but recognize there is often a disjunct between sport and trad ratings. In traditional climbing there may be more physical actions required (the obvious one is having to stop and place gear) that are not necessarily reflected in the technical grade.

 “(There is a) discrepancy between gym grades and Eldo/ Front Range grades, and … this affects climber's experiences and safety. Eldo grading is stiff.”

“NEVER will you see a 5.7 gym route include any movement similar to entering and exiting the P3 Hueco (on Wind Ridge).”

 “So, we reach an impasse where soft gym grades are used as a marketing tactic to increase membership by the perception of greater climbing ability potentially lead to sketchy situations in the outdoors. You come outside and the skills, the style, it all changes.”

The tilted strata, often friction-less and “greasy” feel to the rock, weird and irregular holds and features, etc. take some getting used to. Tone it down a notch or two if you are unfamiliar with the climbing.

“Unless I am spending a LOT of time in Eldo, it feels pretty insecure with tricky gear and complex route finding/descents. It requires a different head game than most of the other places I climb.”

“I think reminders to beginners that 5.6-5.7 in Eldo is not beginner lead climbing would be a good addition to the effort.”

Recognize “…the myth that easier climbs are safer than difficult ones.”

“I was a new trad climber when I moved Boulder in 2012 and I REALLY did not feel comfortable in Eldo until I put in a lot of time following people there, hiking around the park to scope out the features and descents, and still had a fair share of close calls figuring some things out. Eventually I felt pretty good there and when I found myself in a dangerous situations, I was at least aware of the risk before doing the climb/making the move. P1 of Werk Supp always scared me. Since moving away in 2017, I've come back and climbed there just a few times, but recall feeling a little bit 'out of tune' with the park.  With all the loose rock and quick moving storms, the hazards are constantly shifting but are manageable with experience there, there are also routes that are just downright dangerous, but those are well known and rated accordingly.”  

Learning, Mentoring and Honest Self-Assessment

“Climbers can only be made safer by more stringent training, preparation, and understanding of all the ways risks occur, from poor technical skills and improper use of gear, to foreseeing the consequences of proceeding beyond their limits of control, as nightfall, or adverse weather approaches, or unforeseen situations arise.”

“Develop the skill set. Have proper training, skills and mindset that's required to survive even an easy traditional climb.”

“Do not rush things. Climbing is for life, and there is absolutely no rush to advance grades at a pace that introduces unnecessary risk. Every day you come home from rock climbing is a success.

"Seek mentorship, you are never as experienced as you think, and can always have your skills validated by a seasoned guide/ friend.”  

“A climbing skill that requires a lot of experience is being able to evaluate the dangers presented by a particular climb and being able to deal with it or not. Essentially knowing what you know and, importantly, what you don't know.” 

“(P)rofessional rock climbing instruction is available now more than ever before.” 

“As a climber of many years I can say that overall the level of skill is very poor (out at any given crag). I see sketchy behavior nearly every visit to the crag. I get the sense that the gym raised climber is a bit naive with regards to danger.”

“Learning non obvious anchor building, placing tons of gear and following a lot of pitches was definitely an experience I wouldn't want any new climber to miss.”

“There are strong indications that younger climbers are influenced by social media, peer pressure, in ways climbers were not ten, or twenty or more years ago; learning in a gym may foster distorted expectations along with errors in judging routes and abilities in the very different, and far more complex scenarios, particularly on trad routes. Breaking through the egos and resistance, in order to offer advice in a manner that avoids condescension, "mansplaining," old Boomer platitudes, etc. is not just a matter of being respectful and non-judgmental - it can be a matter of life or death. Mentoring inexperienced climbers can be a great gift to all involved.”

“Where a basic level of competence will preclude most accidents, the responsibility must go to the climbers, not to society, parks, rangers, or the greater climbing community.”

Specific Preparation

Research the route, including guidebook information, online resources, opinions from other climbers you know who have climbed the route, etc.

Regarding online resources, recognize:

“Eldo gear gets crowdsourced. Most of us would probably be a lot more conservative about whipping on the pins on, say, Naked Edge P4, or the Northcutt Start, if we didn't know that hundreds before us had already tried out the fall. A downside to this is that there are a lot of posts on MP that tend to downplay the seriousness of Eldo routes. Collectively this can create a mindset where people feel encouraged/subconsciously pressured to go for it perhaps more than they should.”

In addition, crowd-sourced information has no standard or consistency, so treat online resources as suspect. 

Note any sections of the climb, anchors, protection, movement etc. that may be challenging or present difficulties.

Have a plan: what are your retreat options should weather or other factors demand you get off the cliff? What variations or other routes are nearby? 

“Research. Obsession. Commitment. Focus. Preparation. None of these can be forgotten when playing a high stake game like rock climbing. Casual class 4 cruising can still result in death with a lapse in any of these items.” 

Wear a helmet! “Without a helmet you don't even need to pull a hold or blow it. Someone above you could just as well drop a #3 and when you rip 80' even if the fixed gear your clipping doesn't rip there's still a good chance you'll take out another party.”

Technical Skills

“Become proficient in placing gear and building anchors before venturing on to climbs requiring these skills.”

Placing good gear requires considerable practice, as does developing an "eye" for gear placements and natural gear opportunities.

Practice and develop gear placements in a safe, ground-school setting. Aid climbing is a great way to learn what a good placement is, and how to remove gear. Do it on toprope, watch your eyes/face should a piece blow (wear goggles).

Don't skip protection placements when they are available.

Belaying and anchoring- anticipate the direction and severity of the forces should the leader fall, and how these will impact the integrity of your anchor and belay.

“Never pass up gear placements and try to get 2 pieces early off (of) every belay.”

“I try to avoid getting tunnel vision for gear placements - I think it can be really helpful to have a wide focus as good options are not always super obvious.”

“Using ancient pins as pro is my least favorite part of (E)ldo.” Whenever possible backup fixed protection.

“…if you are not competent at building anchors, you aren't qualified to lead a trad route, especially in Eldo.” 

“Redundancy in all components of an anchor system. Always test/weight a new anchor system before freeing yourself from the previous one (such as when transferring from a rappel to an anchor or vice versa). Belayer should stand close to the base, in line with force from potential fall. Be aware of factor 2 situations and place gear early when leading off an anchor. Make sure you don't have dangling slings, gear, shoelaces, etc before starting a down climb. Always be on the lookout for loose rock, including sketchy holds and debris that can be dislodged by the rope.”

Lead Climbing Mindset

Lead climbing is when the climber is most at risk.

“Eldo is rarely a great place for most climbers to push one's grade.”

The acceptance of falling as a routine and common aspect of (sport) climbing is a dangerous mindset to have in traditional climbing areas like Eldo. 

“(I) adopted the "leader shall never fall" attitude, and climb far below my physical limit there. I'm often asked "You haven't fallen on your gear yet ?!?!" to much surprise. I think this mentality is what leads to accidents - "if you aren't pushing, you aren't climbing.”

With all that said, there’s more to it:

“There are times climbing when you really just shouldn't fall. Even on sport routes. You need to learn when those times are and if you're feeling sketchy you need to learn when and how to back off. It is an under appreciated and often unknown skill. Especially to novice climbers.”

“It’s not about pushing vs. not pushing - it's about knowing when it's safe to push.” 

“Your climbing ability is absolutely the most important piece of protection you own, but never climbing anything where you might fall doesn't make any sense (to me). I do agree that building a good base of climbing skill that allows you to only fall on gear in situations where you are in control of the gear quality, fall length, etc, is a fundamental part of building the trad climbing skillset. Learn to hangout, to downclimb, and to make mandatory, tenuous moves in high-consequence situations. Also learn to evaluate when gear is bomber, marginal, or garbage, and when it is appropriate to back up gear/build life nests.”

“The actual pulling part is only the half of it in trad climbing. In that sense, Eldo is, in fact, a great place to push one's technical skills and expand one's head game. However, it requires patience and preferably a mentor who is more skilled than you.”

“I've found it pretty helpful to approach climbs with fresh eyes as much as possible. In the case of Wind Ridge, I'm pretty happy building a hanging belay 10-15' below the nasty red ledge. Solid gear, lets me see my second as they ascend p2, and lets the belayer see the leader as they ascend p3. And maybe next time I'll try going up p2 and clambering around the funny overhang on p3 before setting a hanging belay.” 

I will add that many guides belay on the ledge about 30 feet below the big walk off ledge, and then lead through the crux hueco flake for the next pitch.

“ ‘Discretion is the better part of valor.’  Be OK with backing off or not embarking on something difficult on a given day if your head isn't in the right space.”

“1) Never underestimate an Eldo climb or pitch, regardless of rating. 2) Always be willing to back off.  Leave gear if you need to.  Have this discussion with yourself before leaving the ground so that you are fully prepared and willing to leave some expensive equipment behind.  Your health and life are irreplaceable, gear is easy to buy.  3)  If you are unsure about a piece then DON'T keep climbing.  The next piece may not be good either.  "Don't build a house of cards". 4)  Build gear "nests" when the opportunity presents itself.  Place two or even three pieces from the same stance.  5)  Practice down climbing.  Don't just try til you fall.  Back down, re-group, climb back up and suss the sequence again.  Down climb again if needed.”  

“For me, on trad climbing at/near my limit I try to follow the rule of "two bomber pieces between me and disaster." But this calculus can be a lot harder on some routes in Eldo because of the nature of the flared, intermittent cracks and thin, hollow flakes, the fixed gear that can be hard to assess, and the style of climbing. In a typical scenario you might have, say, an old pin, a good but small rp, and a weird flared cam in a slot, and any or all of these might be behind a flake that's a little thin for comfort. It just makes the "two bomber pieces" part of the analysis that much harder. That is where climbing conservatively, going up and down a few times from a decent stance until you're getting the technical move "wired" on the onsight, and as many have said, backing off (and maybe even TRing/headpointing), all come into play.gaining the Eldo experience necessary to be "safe" in Eldo.”

Here are some more thoughts on managing risk in Eldo, sent to me by fellow Eldorado climbers. 

Using Passive Protection & Recognizing Loose Rock

"I’ve climbed in Eldo for 15+ years (probably 500+ days) and with a lot of  intermediate (5.8-5.10) climbers over those years. Two scariest things I see are:
1) Many climbers either don't recognize loose blocks or don't care that they are loose (or nearly loose) blocks. They happily place gear behind/under them anyway.
2) Many climbers these days are what I call "cam climbers". Their first option is always to place a cam and if they can't find one that fits, they reach for their nuts as a "last resort" (or just blast on bypassing great nut placements). I get the impression that this attitude "tunes" their eyes to only look for and see cam placements. They simply don't see gorgeous nut placements. I have seen a C grade cam placement with an A+ grade nut possibility just 2 inches away. I have followed 15ft runouts with numerous #4 and #5 (BD size) nut placements along it. Get your nut placements in order!" (From MP user Patrik)

Distraction from Other Climbers

"I actively try not to let nearby climbing parties, who may be impatient to climb the route I am on, have any effect on my sense of urgency or my decisions making. I try to block their presence out of my mind so that I can focus on my own task at hand. This is important for me on any route but especially with routes on Wind Tower or Bastille where there are almost always people around. I try to get out early to avoid distractions from other climbers. I try to be efficient (basic courtesy) but not at the expense of shortcuts. If I’m going slow and start to feel the pressure of other parties, I try to take a deep breath, regroup, and make decisions as if no one was around.

On the flip side, I try not to be impatient when others are starting their climb because I don’t want to rush or distract them. I think this is an area where the community can improve and give new climbers more courtesy and more patience. This can be an opportunity for more skilled climbers to choose other nearby routes, an option an inexperienced climber may not be able to do safely.

Friendly and relaxed communication is key.

Toproping

I’m also fine with climbing easier routes in order to top rope a harder route next to it, if no one is around. I know it might be not be considered good style. Purple Haze to Chockstone is a good example. Duh Dihedral to White Lightning and Terminal Velocity is another. Without this crutch, I think I would never do those harder routes even though they have good protection." (From Bob J.)

Steve Levin wrote:

Other thoughts on managing risk in Eldorado, or trad climbing in general?

Nah dude, I think you covered it.

This is a great thread - thanks, Steve. Just a couple of additional thoughts:

-I’ve never climbed with Ballnuts before climbing in Eldo, but now I consider them an essential part of my Eldo rack.  (Practice learning to place them on the ground, where you can test them)

-it’s really easy to get off route in some areas, and the rock quality can quickly diminish. Example:

On my first trip up Green Spur P1, I accidentally followed the “bomber” handcrack left over the roof, because I was pumped, and afraid of the runout above the crux.  But as I made my way up and left (beyond the point when I could safely or easily downclimb due to the pump) I jammed my hand blindly into a crack, grabbing a loose dagger of rock (maybe 8” long x 4” wide at the head, and tip as sharp as a knife) that came off in my hand, slicing my finger. I shoved it back in the crack, and was absolutely terrified thinking about what would have happened had it fallen onto the climbers below.  

After that I climbed the next 20 (easy but steep) feet placing no gear at all, because I was so afraid of pulling rock off the wall in case of a fall.

A few lessons / reminders I took away:

-Always (always) wear a helmet at the base
-Follow the topo/route description, unless a viable variation is called out (there isn’t much untravelled territory at Eldo)
-Don’t head up a route assuming you can pull through on gear, unless you know the crack is continuous

I first climbed in Eldorado Canyon in 1992, much less crowding then especially weekdays. I did a number of routes solo, Green Spur, Werksup, Bastille Crack, Anthill Direct, and Wind Arete, the last four as a link up one morning. I’d say the climbing in Eldo is difficult, I had been inspired by soloists like Peter Croft and John Bachar and wanted to experience this type of climbing. I haven’t climbed in Eldo in nearly two decades but I recall multiple fatal accidents there over the years. This is NOT an entry level crag for inexperienced gym climbers to learn lead or multi pitch climbing at.

thanks Steve

A V wrote:

Not enough Trad climbers also aid climb. ... Aid climbing quickly shines a light on whether or not a piece will hold at least body weight. Many climbers would be surprised to find - as they start to aid climb - that they’ve placed plenty of gear that would not have held body weight. It’s worth doing if you care about testing your gear placing abilities. 

This is a great suggestion, and highlights the risk management concept of a Negative Event Feedback Loop, where a system is used but never tested, and so its efficacy is never determined (and we continue thinking we're doing everything correctly). How many of us have made marginal actions in climbing that were never challenged by gravity? I know I have.

A good example of the NEFL in rock climbing relates to the quality (i.e. strength and security) of individual gear placements, as AV describes above. 

One consideration with aid climbing is that it only tests "strength". Certainly there's a lot to learn there about micro-rock quality, the need to place cams (especially smaller cams) within a precise camming range, etc. but it doesn't address how directionality impacts the system- all placements are weighted in a downward direction. 

Directionality, i.e. where the force pulls the system, has several consequences in both anchor building (as the recent accident on Wind Ridge would suggest), and for lead protection, where the moving rope can impact the security of placements (unlike the stationary anchor system), as can the tensioned rope when a climber falls. It's a "bigger picture" concept to think in terms of the rope system, not just individual placements, especially when leading. 

Several accidents on Wind Ridge's neighbors Calypso and Tagger, where the climber fell, the rope system was tensioned, the aggregate of lower placements were exposed to secondary rope forces (i.e. outward, not downward) and failed, and then the top piece failed in a downward direction, suggest the need to focus on this bigger picture. Placing gear with directionality in mind, using opposition in both anchor and lead protection contexts, and using slings to extend from protection placements, are some strategies to address this failure mode. 

Aiding is a good suggestion and what I did, but IMO most kids learning to lead today couldn’t be less interested.  Aiders and daisy chains are not cheap and there is a considerable additional skill set to learn over normal leading, with its own set of dangers.

The other problem is finding routes that will be useful learning experiences.  Many do CCC at Castle - you’re just not going to learn much in such an ez crack.

I suggest yelling take a lot - weight the system - as an exercise.  Weight every piece.  If one is suspect and there is a clean fall to more certain gear below, all the better.  Put aside the on-sight and just make it a skill practice climb.

My 2c for Eldo is to be careful who you look up to.  Top roping headpointers, massive repeaters of routes and simple liars may look and sound better than they really are.  It can be very dangerous to try to emulate their behavior as a ground-up on-sight trad climber.

Excellent points and not just for Eldo but most trad in general. That said, virtually all of Eldo is a slab to some degree. Not falling is an excellent survival tactic.