Cass high up on Tarzan (5.11), "one of the best 5.11s anywhere."
Jetted out to the land of the rich and leisurely for a long weekend climbing at Indpendence Pass with Les and Cass. We’d heard good things (and Cass had climbed here briefly) so we were psyched to check out the granite behind the buzz. Apparently, before the Rifle revolution (read: bolted, glued together choss pile) Independence was the place to head for Colorado hardmen looking for stout sport and trad. This place does not dissapoint, the climbing is STELLAR!
We’ve mostly been wandering around checking out lines that sounded good, and we have done well for ourselves. Everyone in the crew sent Problem Child (5.12b) on Wild Rock, probably one of the best 5.12 pitches I’ve ever climbed. Just down the wall from it, and a beautiful wall it is, we’ve put some work in on Wild Thing (5.12d): incredible line, beautiful setting, stinkin’ HARD. Since I’m a dumbass I said “take” above a bolt today and spiked the wall with my bad ankle, so my weeknd may be over, we’ll see. Even so, there are worse places to be than chillin up in the cool mountain air.
Les styling the first crux of Problem Child (5.12b).
There’s also been a slew of world class 5.11’s go down. No matter the route, they are all positioned on a hillside with breathtaking views of the Aspen mountain country. Does cragging get much better? I think not.
Oh, and if anyone is wondering, the grades out here are NOT soft!
To make it even better, there’s a little place called The Devil’s Punch Bowl which features some nice little cliff jumping, anything from 5 to 50 feet. Some locals showed us up today by throwing gainers and such from the high stuff, sickness.
More media (pictures & video) to come.
