here is a pic from a backcountry FA I did (that's my partner in the pic) this fall. it is a 4 pitch 5.5 R with lots of traversing to the right on pitches 1-2 and lots of routefinding. the mental crux (there is barely a physical crux on 5.5) was about 40 ft up with only one nut in a flare 15 feet below FAing up slabby weirdness. the whole cliff is huge and off the beaten path (NOT anywhere near Arrow Spire, I just couldn't find how to post without linking to a route and section) lots of potential FA's here. if you can find it based on the pic... then you already know about it. Good luck.

Taken from Crystal Lake May 15. I just arrived in CO that morning after driving from WV in a day and a half. This was the first day of wilderness staff training for me at Camp Redcloud!

Vestal probably has the best rock of any peak in the San Juans. Photo: Dave Vuono

Golite Revelation waterproof breathable ultralight rain jacket!! 12oz, NWT, Men's Medium Check out this brand new 12 oz rain jacket from Golite. It comes with all the features that really come in handy - waterproof pit zips, waterproof venting chest pockets (above your climbing harness), velcro adjust wrists, drawcord waist, a great fitting hood, reinforced shoulders (the black fabric is thicker) and even stretch fabric under the arms (the grey fabric is stretchy waterproof breathable). The fabric is Golite's own Alchemy. It retailed for $200. This is a great jacket for backpacking, hiking, thru-hiking, rock climbing (especially long multipitch:-), alpine mountaineering, xc skiing, trail running, ... really just about anything where you are out romping in the rain. Shave your packweight with this high performance jacket and enjoy the outdoors even more!! $90 shipped to lower 48 after I recieve paypal or money order payment.

Also known as the Yellow-bellied Marmot, or by his more common name, Rock Chuck.

On the approach to Uncompahgre, mid August, with some Colorado summer weather coming.

A view from atop the French Slab in Ouray.

Unnamed ice early in the season, location unkown.

Sunset after the storms fizzled in the West. Posting this photo in a different forum.

On the approach to Lizard Head in mid Oct.

A couple from Peoria that i met midway up the wham ridge.

Beautiful spires to the east of the Main Babcock summit. Only one route know, but, many potential lines exist.

What looked like 4th class chimneying turned into 5.7 chimneys coated with snow and ice. Amazing climbing for the adventurous. The line I took went up the North face and intersected the ridge midway up.

Getting ready to start up a solo ascent of the Wham ridge.

From the Summit of Vestal looking south to the Needles Range. The peak on the right side with the large face is the East Face of Pigeon.

Vestal Peak (left) with the amazing Wham Ridge and Arrow Peak (right). The right skyline of Arrow is the Arrow Spire route (5.8). Stellar climbing all around.

Looking up into the valley of Sunlight on our approch to the summit.

After waking up at 3:30AM, we reached the summit of Vestal just in time to catch the sunrise.

A beautiful sunrise after a long night of rain.

Kris convinced me and Mark it would be a good idea to hump big packs fifteen miles into the Weminuche wilderness area, to a rarely-climbed formation. We busted out what I think is the 2nd route on this cool face. Maybe a thousand feet, took two days, topped out in hail, lightning, and a cold heavy downpour. The descent was incredible, steep and wet. The growth in the narrow canyon was lush as a jungle. Kris dubbed it "The Pinkest Taco". *Comments edited to not make it sound like we did the 2nd ascent of original route, but rather a 2nd new route on the formation.

This is Joe on our mid December ascent of Engineer 12,968ft. Good Fun Route.

This is Matt on our mid December ascent of Engineer 12,968ft. Good Fun Route.

This is Matt, Me & Patrick on our mid December ascent of Engineer 12,968ft. Good Fun Route.

This is Me on our mid December ascent of Engineer 12,968ft. Good Fun Route.

My little brother Pete in the crux section of the first pitch on Lizard Head. 5.8ish, but very loose rock make it pretty thought provoking.