PRINT: Rock Climb Burning Down the House, Lyons

Burning Down the House

5.11a, Trad, 125 ft (38 m),

Avg: 3 from 3 votes
FA: Gillett and Barndthouse
Colorado > Lyons > St Vrain Canyons > S Fork of St Vr… > Wailing Wall

Access Issue: MM 23-29.5 - now ended daily CO 7 highway closure/delays Details

Per Kai Bouwman: the daily CO 7 highway closure/delay access issue is no longer a problem according to CDOT the construction finished as of Nov. 11, 2022.

From CDOT: Colorado Highway 7 is closed daily from MP 23-29.5. Motorists can only travel through the area between 6-8 am and 4-7 pm. During these timeframes, pilot cars will lead alternating one-way travel. Drivers should plan for delays, and this schedule will remain in place through Memorial Day 2022.

During the closure, motorists need to take US 36 to CO 7.

codot.gov/projects/co7-lyon…

Description

This enjoyable and substantial pitch begins with a stout roof problem followed by sustained and funky 5.10 face climbing and then several finishing options. This mildly lichenous (climb it, folks) route starts from the middle of the cave-ledge bisecting the cliff. Set a bomber belay here after one of the approach pitches (we climbed Intermezzo).

We finished via the upper 10a corner with the old bong in it.

Excellent position and spectacular views from Auduban around to the NE plains.

Location

This has obvious roof moves out the right side of the nose of the wall, from the cave-ledge in the middle of the cliff.

Note: when adding this climb, I graded it the same as the guidebook/FA graded it.

Protection

Standard rack to #4 Camalot. Offset mastercams were nice. Perhaps bring an extra #1?

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Rick Vermeil
Erie, CO

5.11

This is a nice line, but I would not expect it to feel like 11a except for maybe a tall climber who can reach through to better jams before leaving the ledge. The crux is immediately off the belay with a not-so-great finger jam and a close-to-worthless undercling to crank yourself up on a real high foot that is way up under the overhang. You then have to lever all your body weight up off the jam and throw for a much better finger lock. Make a few more hard moves to get your feet up and standing upright. I have never climbed an 11- with such a powerful sequence. The route finding is tricky above the initial crack and the topo in Gillett's book is tough to decipher. I went left into a thin lieback move after the initial crack stopped then had to traverse across a horizontal to avoid a totally blank face above, but I think you are supposed to go right out of the first crack. Rack: bring doubles of #1 through 0.2 Camalots with a good set of nuts and a bunch of long runners. May 23, 2016