For Lent, Pete, Ryan and I decided to give up long approaches, alpine starts, frozen fingers and ranked summits. Instead, we chose a visit to Castlewood Canyon, a place none of us had ever visited, because the weather forecast looked good there and I read the cliffs were out of the wind.
A short detour to the visitors center to buy a guidebook and we were back in the west side of the park and found the short trail leading up to the Grocery Store Wall. Already it was sunny and warm and looking like a very pleasant day. I racked up and warmed up with a lead of Zucchini (5.4) which was a little tricky for good pro. Unfortunately, there weren’t any anchors on the top, so I built a solid directional, then walked 8 feet over to the bolts at the top of Peaches and Scream. Both Pete and Ryan took a turn on the route with a top rope.
We next each top-roped Peaches and Scream (5.6).
Doing it on top rope allowed me to verify that there was adequate pro to lead the route, which I did when my turn came up again. Just as I was cleaning the anchors another group came up and we headed further right to give them these routes.
Ryan hadn’t been out much lately and was feeling a little pumped, so we toned it down a notch on Caramel Corner (5.5), which I again led, and Caramel Corner Layback (5.5) which we top-roped from the same anchor and a directional.
Wanting more of a challenge, I had Ryan move the anchor over Licorice Stick (5.9-) and managed to climb the route without hanging on top-rope. Ryan and Pete both struggled on the lower, crux, section. While belaying them I talked with a lady walking her dog who had just gotten back into rock climbing (at a gym) after a 5 year hiatus. Between Pete’s shoes and harness and my helmet we got her equipped to give the route a try and while Susan didn’t finish the climb, she seemed to have fun.
With not much time left before we needed to head home we decided to finish up with an easy climb – Banana Split Chimney (5.4) that I was able to rig a top rope for by stepping across to the free-standing tower from the main cliff.
The route was easily accomplished without requiring any hand or arm strength and so was great for a end-of-day climb.
Then we packed up and headed home, pleasantly surprised at our day at Castlewood Canyon. I’d heard horror stories of rattlesnakes (must not have been out yet) and rednecks (didn’t see any). The climbs were short (65 feet or less), but it reminded me a bit of Red River Gorge with some bouldery starts and pockets that ate tricams. I’d originally intended to donate the guidebook to the AAC library, but I might hold on to it a while longer for when I need a pretty low-key, uncrowded rock climbing day.
Looks like you had great weather!
Yup, the location was an excellent choice. I know a few people who had mini-epics up in the mountains dealing with high winds and lots of snow. I half felt like a wimp for our easy day.