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Illusions
5.10c,
Trad, 200 ft (61 m), 2 pitches, Grade II,
Avg: 3.1 from 12
votes
FA: KC Baum, Andrea Heath, and Chris Monz, 3/8/89
Colorado
> Grand Junction…
> Unaweep Canyon
> Main Canyon: Un…
> Access Fund Tra…
> Hidden Valley Wall
Description
Pitch 1:
Start up a series of ledges with easy climbing, and a bit of bush whacking and gain the dihedral.
Start up the dihedral with a thin crack and some good ledges on the left hand wall. Move up to a stance below a flake on the right side. Protect with a finger sized cam. Then move up using laybacks, first one way followed by the other. Gain a small pocket in the crack and protect. Then finish with great fingers in the corner to a ledge with a two bolt anchor.
Pitch 2:
Start from the right hand side of a belay ledge. Climb a good crack starting with fingers and moving up in size through hands until you reach a roof. Then move left around the roof to the top.
Descend via a double rope rappel from the center of the gully.
The first pitch can be climbed and and rappelled with with a 70m rope (just right). A 60m might work with a bit of easy down climbing.
Location
This is located on the opposite side of the gully from
Black Beauty. The route ascends a great looking, steep dihedral. It is also the fist dihedral right of the chimney in the back of the gully.
Protection
Nuts and small cams for the first pitch. I believe I placed two each from #5 down to #2 Metolius (ring locks down to tips).
A number 3 Metolius (or #0.5 Camalot) is essential crux protection.
Cams up through wide hands for the upper pitch.
![I asked her if she thought the pitch was mellow too. She said it wasn't and showed me the finger injury she sustained.]()
[Hide Photo] I asked her if she thought the pitch was mellow too. She said it wasn't and showed me the finger injury she sustained.
![Illusions follows the left-facing corner on the right.]()
[Hide Photo] Illusions follows the left-facing corner on the right.
![The left-side layback that immediately follows the right.]()
[Hide Photo] The left-side layback that immediately follows the right.
![Stef hits the right-side first layback mentioned in the book, July 2013.]()
[Hide Photo] Stef hits the right-side first layback mentioned in the book, July 2013.
![Stef hits the flip-flop layback section of Illusions, July 2013.]()
[Hide Photo] Stef hits the flip-flop layback section of Illusions, July 2013.
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Durango, CO
Western Slope
Also a little beta: for the second pitch, you can go up following the above description, and belay off a tree, then schwack back into the gully to the left to rap down Anasazi, but for efficiency, it's also possible to traverse directly left at the top of the second pitch and belay off the rap anchor.
With a single 70m, you can rap to Black Beauty and then TR the good climbing of Anasazi, but place a directional at the very top of the crack to avoid a bad swing at the crux. Then rap to ground from Black Beauty.
Ticking off all these routes makes for a really fun day of 5.10 trad climbing with a 5.11 TR or lead option. You can also combine this zone with routes at Fortress Wall to chase either sun or shade depending on time of year. Dec 1, 2024