Starlight

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How to preserve the future of Colo-RADNESS


Here in Colorado, and across the West, hard sport routes are as common as crag dogs at Indian Creek. You can go crank, crimp, jug-haul, dyno, spray, and clip bolts to your hearts content at crags like Boulder Canyon, the Flatirons, Industrial Wall, Shelf Road, Clear Creek, Devil's Head, the Monastery, the Fortress, Rifle...

Hard traditional route are definitely a rarer breed. This is partially because more climbers are attracted to the convenience and low cost-of-entry of sport climbing, and also due to the nature of the routes themselves.
Most difficult bolt-less lines tend to be either scary run-out face climbs or burly (often painful) crack climbs, either way rarely traveled.

Do YOU bolt cracks?
Garrett Grove Photo

There are, however, a few stellar, steep traditional pitches around the Front Range, that protect well, and feature a more face-climbing style. These offer an amazing creative experience combining the gymnastic movement of sport climbing and the mental challenge of placing protection. The ultimate preparation for trying to free futuristic big routes around the world...

It is a shame, then, that one route with potential to be a mega-classic, 5.12 trad pitch was fully bolted.

Thunder Ridge, an amazingly unique granite crag in Colorado's South Platte region, is supposedly a trad bastion, with mixed routes, sometimes run-out face climbs, and ground-up FAs. One of the most compelling walls at T-Ridge is the "Wild Overhang" or "Gaston Rebuffat" wall. (Rebuffat was a badass French alpinist, climbing innovator, and author of "Starlight and Storm").

Garrett Grove Photo

This sweep of overhanging rock would dominate any climbers dreams, with it's gorgeous, plated face. Right up the middle, there's a line of discontinuous cracks and jugs, culminating with a blank section. Luckily, a mysteriously solid flake levitates in the middle of the blank stretch, linking you to another juggy overhang. Starlight is an improbable and challenging line, and one that miraculously has bomber gear placements the entire way! Unfortunately, a little over ten years ago, it was entirely bolted, with bolts sometimes inches from textbook stopper placements. 

Garrett Grove Photo

The good thing about bolts, though, is that they're easy to avoid. 

I wasn't the first one to notice the trad potential of the route, but even still, when I first tried it I clipped the bolts. Once I saw first-hand how solid the protection would be, though, I started working it on gear. Multiple whippers tested various placements, as I hung from the relentless overhang and tried to find the correct stoppers to slot in the bottle-neck placements. Once in, though, every placement is indestructible! 

Going for the ride after pumping out, trying to place, and then clip, the next stopper.
Garrett Grove Photo

Once I placed everything, the pre-crux "Life Station" was better than many belays I've built!

This past Monday, on my first burn of the day, fifth attempt overall, I sent the route, clipping no bolts (including the anchors). I climbed to the top of the dome (still with great pro: slung chicken-heads!), and then down-climbed to the huge sling anchor atop the steep section.

The crux sequence:
Establish on tiny footholds, Lunge for the "Manta-Ray" flake, and then move past to some giant jugs (and a rock-solid cam!).
Garrett Grove Photos.

Now someone needs to improve on my style and establish a real "traditional" route by entirely shunning the bolts and working it ground up on gear.

Dreaming of the Send.
Garrett Grove Photo

The rack.

In order to preserve our limited rock resources here in Colorado, and elsewhere in the heavily climbed West, I think we need to appreciate potential future trad climbs. Regardless of difficulty, we need to recognize that if the gear is there, someone strong and motivated enough will eventually find the route and send it in good style. There is no need to bolt a line simply because the would-be first ascentionists think that they need to hang-dog up it and want the convenience of low-commitment sport climbing. By doing so, they are denying themselves and others the mental and physical challenge of a gear-protected masterpiece.
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Thunder Ridge Beta:
Thunder is a fantastic and unique collection of granite crags in Colorado's South Platte region. While you won't find massive vertical relief (nothing over a single pitch), you will find amazing features, including chicken-heads, "gator-skin", jugs, cracks, overhangs, roofs, slabs, and much more!

Blake climbing "Is This For Real!?!"
Garrett Grove Photo

Here's how to get there from Boulder, including a key shortcut not listed elsewhere:

Head south out of Boulder on Broadway (93)
Follow 93 through Golden, and then follow signs for 470 South (towards Colorado Springs)
Take 470 South to 285 South (towards Fairplay)

(the shortcut):
~14 miles after joining 285, find Foxton rd. You exit on the right hand side, and then turn left (going under 285) to follow Foxton Rd. South.

When Foxton Rd. reached the South Platte, turn right to follow the river upstream. The road here turns to gravel, but it's well-maintained and easy, and it cuts off a bunch of mileage and a huge hill from the alternative (following 285 to Pine Junction)

Follow the gravel road along the river through the tiny town of Foxton, and under the beautiful Cathedral Spires. The road eventually spits you out at Buffalo Creek, on CO Rd 126 aka Deckers Rd. Take a Left (South) and head towards Deckers.

After passing through Deckers, the road winds uphill. Keep your eye out on the right for signs to WestCreek. You'll first pass Westcreek Rd, you don't want that. Very soon, though, take a right onto Abbey Rd. (there's a sign for Westcreek).

Abbey Rd. winds quickly down into Westcreek, take a left on the main road. Follow it for a few hundred yards, and then take a right on Stump Rd (just before the Fire House).

Follow Stump road past a large dome on your right (the Sheep's Nose). Shortly after passing the Nose, take a right on Road 9J.

There are a few minor roads that branch off of 9J, but stay straight on the main road all the way to it's end (at the arch that says "Rancho Cisneros"). It ends at a gate (that may or may not be closed) clearly marked as private. DO NOT DRIVE PAST THIS GATE. Park here, making sure not to block the gate.

This is where you park. Hike through the (sometimes closed) gate on the left. The crags are visible on the right.

Hike past the gate (not Rancho Cisneros, but the one on the left). From here, the crags are visible on the hillside ahead and to your right. Follow the dirt road until it makes a 90 degree right turn, and then continue straight on a trail. After a few hundred yards, keep your eye out on the right for a stump with a bleached cow skull. This marks the trail.

Now you're actually heading towards the crags, and the trail is easy to follow. It drops down and crosses a small drainage, and then enters an aspen forest shortly before reaching the first crag.

The first rock you encounter will be some SW facing slabs, this is the Quarry wall. Around on the SE aspect of the same rock, you'll find the "For Real" Wall. Continuing East past the entrance to For Real canyon brings you to Wasp Canyon. Heading up Wasp Canyon brings you to the South Facing Brown Wall.

From Boulder, the drive takes ~1.5 hours, and the hike ~30 minutes. The crag is well worth it!

More Thunder Ridge Beta:

Season: Anytime, although mid-summer can be scorching hot, and mid-winter can be snowy (duh). Spring and Fall are perfect. The crags face all different directions, and it's easy to chase the sun or shade depending on what you need. The Wild Overhang Wall (with Starlight) faces East, and gets brief morning sun.

Camping: not totally sure. I don't recommend camping at the trailhead, as there's a big sign telling you not to, and the land-owners drive by fairly often. I do think it's fine to camp at the crags, but I'm not clear on the land management there. Anyone know?

There's also good camping back towards Turkey Rocks. To get there, drive back down Road 9J to Stump rd, and then take a right. Where Stump trends left, continue on another dirt road (FR 51/360). On the way to Turkey Rocks, you'll pass camping on your left, and eventually reach some great spots near the trailhead.

Water: There's a pretty tasty spring up Wasp Canyon, just below the climb "Powder Monkey"

Rack: Bring your full trad arsenal, as well as 12-16 quickdraws. Cams up to 4" and extra passive pro (all sizes, RPs to small hexes) will be essential. A single 60m rope seems to have worked on all of the climbs I've done.

Guidebooks: None currently out. MountainProject is a pretty good source, though. Many of the FAs and developers have posted their routes.

Classics (that I've done, I'm sure there are many more!):
Is This For Real?!, 5.10, trad
Reptile Tears, 5.10, trad
Powder Monkey, 5.11-, trad
Everything on the "Gaston Rebuffat" wall (The steep wall in Wasp Canyon)
  -Scorpions, 12a, Sport
  -Storm, 12b, Sport
  -The G Route, 12, Sport
  -Starlight, 12, TRAD!

Blake (I think?) on "The G-Route". "Powder Monkey" is the Twin Crack system on the left side of the cliff across the canyon.
Garrett Grove Photo

Climb Safe!