PRINT: Rock Climb Intensive Care, Colorado Springs

Intensive Care

5.8, Trad, Sport, 160 ft (48 m),

Avg: 1.8 from 10 votes
FA: Stewart Green, Ian Spencer-Green & Brett Spencer-Green in 1993
Colorado > Colorado Springs > N Cheyenne Canyon > Silver Cascade Slab a…

Access Issue: Road closure and reopened after flood damage! Details

Per Steven Armijo: Cheyenne Canyon Road is closed until May 2022 for bridge repairs. Only hiking and biking trail access is allowed into the canyon.

Per Stewart M. Green: the North Cheyenne Canyon was reopened after the floods of 2015.

Per Stewart M. Green: ATTENTION!! The Colorado Springs Parks Department has CLOSED ALL CITY PARKS, including Garden of the Gods, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, and North Cheyenne Canon, to rock climbing for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

This is due to record rainfall totals in western Colorado Springs which as caused severe trail and parking lot damage, saturated the sandstone cliffs, and is causing parts of cliffs to break off.

The parks will be re-evaluated on Monday to determine how the closure will last.

Please respect the closures and take care of our precious climbing areas!

Description

This excellent 1-pitch route, established after I got out of intensive care for a throat injury in 1993, ascends the big slab on the right side of Silver Cascade Slab. Begin at a shallow corner on a wide sloping ramp below a long roof. Climb polished rock past a chopped bolt to a V-shaped break in the roof. A Friend below the roof protects a move to a bolt. Step left past the bolt (harder for short climbers) and onto some small shelves. Continue straight up the slab above past 5 more bolts to the cliff-top. Belay from a tree anchor. Walk-off descent to the left.

Part of this route may have been climbed previous to my ascent since a funky old 1-inch-long bolt with a rappel sling was part-way up the slab. I also established another 5.8 route to the left, but the hangers were stolen in 1995.

Protection

A #2.5 to #3 Friend and quickdraws. A 200-foot-rope is useful, because it's a full rope-length.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Looking up at the V-shaped break in the roof.

Looking down "Intensive Care".

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Rich F.
Colorado Springs, CO

5.8+

Fun climb -- but I think I missed the start. I started directly below the V-shaped break in the roof and went straight up placing one cam in a crack about 12' above the ground, then climbing up a blank slab for about 50 feet until I got to the bolt right below the roof. Actually, I found one small horn to sling to the left of me about 45 feet up -- whew! From where I started, I could not see over a small bump/crack where I put the cam in, so I expected some protection above it but there was nothing. If you do the route like I did, it is definitely an "R" rating (maybe an "X") being that runout on about 5.7 slab climbing. I think the correct start is probably 15 feet left of where I started because it looked like there was more featured rock over there, along with some bolts -- but I thought those were for Larynx. Hmmmm.

Anyway, a 5.8 rating was about right for the climb -- except I thought the move through the V-shaped roof was probably a 5.9 move. I wasn't quite long enough (or flexible enough) for that move. Fortunately, it is very well-protected at the roof with a cold-shut bolt placed perfectly. Once above the roof, there are about 4 more bolts and the climbing gets easier the higher you go. I used a big pine tree for my anchor at the top.

As Stewart says, it's a very long climb, and I would recommend it. Just maybe not the way I did it -- straight up and very run out to the roof. Thanks for putting up the climb, Stewart! Apr 9, 2011