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stevematthys
Jul 19, 2002, 5:29 AM
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me and sparky are going to do our first high peak in rocky mountain national park next week (Hallet's Peak to be exact). you guys have any tips for such a trip.
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wildtrail
Jul 19, 2002, 6:11 AM
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Well, I've climbed tons of mountains. It all depends on what you are planning to do.
PM me with some questions and I'll do my best to answer.
Steve
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fitz
Jul 19, 2002, 1:09 PM
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First, if you are new to alpine, I'd suggest starting well under your limit in terms of grade. Altitude, backpacks, etc. can really increase the difficulty, especially when you aren't used to them.
Second, thin the rack. I'm not saying run things out beyond where you are comfortable, but often, the approach and descent are the real crux on alpine routes.
Third, move briskly. Don't rush, but try to be efficient, especially at belay setup/tear down and turnover.
Last, wear a helmet.
Good Luck,
-jjf
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atg200
Jul 19, 2002, 2:48 PM
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what are you doing on hallets? unless it is one of the really easy routes on the first buttress, i'd suggest something like n ridge of spearhead instead. hallets routes are typically very runout. 5.8 in the high country is in a totally different league than 5.8 in eldo.
is your route finding dialed in? are you fast? those are the main considerations. one of the most frightening things in the world is being pinned down by a lightning storm 800 feet up a route with one pitch of runout slab climbing to go with water pouring down it. start very early, move fast, and try to be off the summit before the afternoon thunderstorms set in.
consider double ropes. being able to make double rope raps will make bailing easier if you must, especially if you have to leave gear for rap anchors. lots of alpine routes wander, so they are nice for that as well. 60 meter ropes are the only way to go.
good luck - alpine routes are really rewarding.
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polarwid
Jul 19, 2002, 4:20 PM
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Try reading this thread, it will answer a lot of your questions.
[ This Message was edited by: polarwid on 2002-07-19 09:21 ]
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tim
Jul 19, 2002, 4:52 PM
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Watch out on Hallett's, if you're doing the Jackson-Johnson (great route!) and are not comfortable with 5.9+ runout climbing at altitude, you will be screwed. The Culp-Bossier fell off a few years ago so that's right out. I hired Chris Kalous (extremely cool guy, fixed my aid problems up while ropegunning the whole thing -- very well worth the stack of bills I handed CMS) when I did one of my cross-country cannonball runs a few years back, and we climbed the Jackson-Johnson (he led all the pitches, obviously, as this was a guided climb). I remember a few things about Hallett's:
1) the approach is pretty harsh. Start around 2am with a nice bright headlamp and be prepared to get a little turned around.
2) the upper pitches on Hallett's Peak are very airy. There was one overhanging bit near the top that was protected by a partially-driven WOOD SCREW in a Rawl collar. That was an eye opener -- like someone else said, this ain't Eldo!!! Bring Screamers
3) The descent is very unpleasant. However, the climb makes up for it. Great route.
That said, if you're not very solid at 5.9+ or above, I would certainly consider choosing another route. I think the Jackson-Johnson is one of the easiest routes on Hallett's but it was no walk in the park, and I was already doing okay leading 9's by that time. There is no way I would have wanted to lead that!
I would probably go back and lead it, or something like it, but I'm pretty solid on 5.9+/10- now, and much more comfortable with runouts and high-altitude routes. I'm quite sure that there are parts which would still be "exhilarating" for me even on my best day.
Have fun,
--tim
ps. Like the other posters said, if you're going to try it anyways, be FAST. Get your belay transitions dialed in, use a sling for racking (easier to hand off), get your signals down pat, and don't be afraid to pull on gear if you have to, to go fast. You do NOT want to be caught in an electrical storm up there -- you could very easily die.
[ This Message was edited by: jabbeaux on 2002-07-19 09:55 ]
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atg200
Jul 19, 2002, 5:16 PM
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a few corrections to jabbeaux's post. the culp-bossier is still there, and is probably the easiest route. the northcutt-carter fell down, which was previously the easiest route.
the approach is casual by rmnp standards - its about half the distance as going to spearhead or the cathedral spires. 2 AM is too early - leaving the trailhead at 4 AM is good enough.
if you carry you stuff up and over, descending the flattop mountain trail is trivial.
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stevematthys
Jul 20, 2002, 2:16 AM
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we are doing the love route (5.7 A1). our plans are to camp at emarld lake and get an early start on the climb.
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tim
Jul 20, 2002, 4:05 AM
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atg200 -- thanks for the corrections. We were probably overzealous but we hung out at the base of the route and waited for the sun to rise. I think we probably got to the trailhead at around 3AM or 3:30AM -- must have left the CMS hostel thingy around 2AM or 2:30AM. Regardless it was a lot of fun, but I was glad I was not in any danger of being asked to swing leads when I saw the "pro" up top of that thing
The descent was casual but tremendously unpleasant... something like 4000' of scree!
I got the Culp-Bossier and Northcutt-Carter confused. I remember hearing that the Culp-Bossier kind of sucked, which was one factor in doing the Jackson-Johnson (the other was probably that Chris wanted *somewhat* of a day's climbing).
It was fun. I'd do it again.
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atg200
Jul 23, 2002, 9:59 PM
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what guidebook are you using steve? the love route is 5.9 - it hasn't been 5.7 A1 for 30 years. if you feel you have to aid that, you shouldn't be on hallets.
go check out the north ridge of spearhead. it is 5.6, long, casual descent, well protected, and the crux is the last pitch. much smarter first alpine climb then aiding a free route on a fairly intimidating wall.
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wigglestick
Jul 23, 2002, 9:59 PM
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I don't know if you have already left to do this route but I have a few comments. The approach is super easy, save the last few hundred yards of talus scrambling. I attempted Culp Bossier last year and we left the parking lot around 9am. The route finding is extremely difficult. We bailed on the 2nd pitch of what we thought was Culp Bossier. I still don't think we even started in the correct spot. The guidebook didn't help much. At one point I found some pretty good pictures on the net somewhere. If you plan on camping at emerald lake make sure that you are allowed to before you go. You will at least need a backcountry permit and they are really sensitive about where people are camping etc. I left 4 slung hexes and a few shoulder length slings up there. If you find them you are on the wrong route. And I want them back
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bradhill
Jul 23, 2002, 10:32 PM
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Bring solid raingear.
I got caught waiting behind gumbys going up the Spearhead three weeks ago and got the s**t kicked out of me on the last pitch by a electric hail storm. The dihedral I was climbing became a 6" deep river of hail choked icewater, soaking me to the bone even through my raingear and causing mild frostbite on three fingertips in a matter of minutes. Sucked big time. We're lucky as hell we didn't get killed by lightning.
Move quickly and efficiently, and simulclimb when the terrain is easy enough.
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stevematthys
Jul 25, 2002, 5:27 PM
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atg200, we were using the "Climbing Colorado" guide.
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dino
Dec 23, 2002, 12:48 AM
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Hallet climbers, be advised the road to Bear Lake is going to be closed for the next two years for construction. It will be accessable via shuttle only from May to October.
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mountainmonkey
Dec 23, 2002, 2:36 AM
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I climbed the Love Route a couple of months ago. The approach is one of the most casual apporoaches in RMNP. Consider doing the Better Than Love Route 5.9 for the first couple of pitches. The whole route is very runout compared to the other front range crags. Some 200 foot pitches only took about 8 pieces of gear and were sustained 5.7 climbing. There is a lot of loose rock even when compared with Eldo. The crux is 5.9 or A0 meaning that there is enough pins that you can pull on draws through the crux. Route finding is a pain for the whole route except the very start and finish. Why are you camping at Emerald Lake when it is a casual mostly-paved 2mi approach (I was under the impression you can't bivy there)? Are you prepared to do this route in winter?
http://images.climbingboulder.com/...P_with_low_cloud.jpg
Oh, and the route is on the north side. (the one big shadow in the picture)
[ This Message was edited by: mountainmonkey on 2002-12-22 18:38 ]
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sparky
Dec 24, 2002, 1:48 AM
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Wow! Steve ad I went on this trip in the middle of the summer, we've got some pics somewhere (i think they're either still in my glove box or steve took them) Steve, where are the pictures?
And now for an inside joke----> REMEBER THE WETLANDS! WON"T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE WETLANDS!! bYE FAKE RANGER NED!
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poorboy
Dec 24, 2002, 2:01 AM
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Did the Hesse-Ferguson (Love?) route in June. the approach was cake (2hr max), plan for 3-5 hr on the climb, descend to the left (facing) there's a rap station (1 rope OK). the 5.9 traverse pitch is really nice and well protected. We misread our photocopied topo and thought the 5.9 dihedral was supposed to be 5.4, so after that we were both thinking "we better watch out, RMNP grades are stiff!" the upper pitches are easy but runnout.
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