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lemon_boy
Mar 12, 2002, 5:10 PM
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Registered: Mar 12, 2002
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anybody climbed cloud tower at red rocks? i was just hoping for some rack beta. it seems like it might take a pretty generous rack to account for the tips crack pitch, hand crack pitch, and OW pitch. also, swain's book mentions some 6om ropestretching raps to reach the anchors on the way down. any advice would be appreciated.
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jer
Mar 12, 2002, 7:32 PM
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I am also researching CT at Red Rocks.
Here's the beta I have recieved that has been MOST helpfull:
-NO gear needed over a #2 Camalot; the "awful offwidth" is actually not that bad and doesn't take big gear anyways- goes at 5.8/9
-look for a tree sticking out of the crack thirty feet up or so. This distinguishes the two routes ; "Clod Tower" and "Cloud Tower"
-The entire route has been "over-rated" and is found to be pretty moderate for the most part. Crux is on the fingers pitch, which has been quoted as "skinny enough for small nuts, but bad for fat fingers" or something like that.
-The genral consensus I am finding is that the crux is 11b-c, then the bulge at the top goes at 11a or so and not 12
Hope this helps; it seems like NOONE has friggin' done this route- it's so HARD findin' beta, ain't it?
When do you plan on doing it?
Jer
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lemon_boy
Mar 13, 2002, 9:31 PM
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thanks for the info jer! i'm headed out at the end of march to spend about 10 days out there. that's weird about the offwidth not taking pro. is it even too big for big bros? a pitch of unprotected OW, even at 5.8 or 5.9 would have me crying like a baby. i'll have to make my partner (mega tough guy) take care of it. it sounds like a really sweet route and hopefully won't have much traffic on it. there might be a brawl at the belay station over who gets the 5.10 handcrack!!!
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jer
Mar 13, 2002, 10:14 PM
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No- not NO PRO in the chimney...just not BIG pro. At least that's the word on the street. I will also be there at the end of march...so maybe the brawl will be to see who gets to start the route first.
PM me your projected date for climbing it and we can try to stay out of eachothers way for the day.
here's some more info I got from rec.climbing:
For a rack I would take
1 #4 cam
2 fist size
3 hand size
nuts(small ones) are real good in the crux dihedral
various other cams
i would maybe think about replacing the belay below
the crux, and the bolt on that pitch. it's about 205
feet to the first big ledge, and then one pitch to the
crux belay.
ummm...On the 10+ OW pitch, if you squyirm through the
tight part to the other side, I would climb down to
the ledge and bealy, not go to the top of the tower(no
anchor).
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crackmd
Mar 31, 2002, 6:47 PM
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Registered: Mar 24, 2002
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I have done this route twice, and it is my favorite at RR and one of my favorites anywhere. The crux is definitely the thin corner pitch which requires some killer stem moves. It protects very well with small wires and TCUs. Bring doubles of the #00, #0 and #1 sizes. That will be more than enough to sew it up. On the OW pitch, I would not recommend climbing it to the top of the tower. It makes more sense to tunnel through (kind of tight, but possible) to a ledge on the other side where the final crack starts. This is much safer and saves you from having to set a belay with the pieces that you need on the final pitch. It also avoids you having to drag up a big cam. The final pitch is a long, sustained handcrack in a dihedral with a cool, well-protected crux at the finish. It would be unrealistic to bring up 6 or 7 #2 Camelots just for this one pitch so be prepared to space them out a little. The book overrates this pitch. I would call it mid 5.11. The rappels go straight down from the final pitch and are a little tedious. There are around 4 raps if I remember correctly.
[ This Message was edited by: crackmd on 2002-03-31 10:48 ]
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