Shelf Road

Grace and I went down south (2.5 hr) to check out Shelf Road for the first time on Monday. I think this is our new favorite winter cragging area: miles of 30m limestone cliffs line a system of shallow canyons, overgrown with lush pine and prickly cacti. There are over 1000 bolted routes in the area, with lots of cracks to satisfy your need for trad lines. A nice BLM campground (The Bank, $4/night) sits right at the trail head. Best of all, temperatures often reach 60+ degrees in the middle of winter, and sunshine is plentiful.

On the way down on Sunday we stopped off at Garden of the Gods to try an aid line, but quickly decided we didn't have enough time, or much interest in climbing the incredibly soft sandstone. The easy free pitch up to the beginning of the aid line was attention getting. I wore boots, and there was melting snow on the sloping ledges. The first cam I placed in a pocket cut 1/4" deep grooves in the "stone" as I wiggled it into a "secure" position. Ultimately, half my gear fell out while I was leading. The first "bolt" proved to be a rusty old angle pin driven into a drilled hole. From this I had to lower. Not fun. Ultimately we just practiced a few improvised jugging techniques near the ground, packed up, and continued south.

Bonfire roasted brats and beer rounded out the evening.

In the morning we headed out to the fully south facing Cactus Cliff, and got in some really fun climbing. At first it was windy and we kept our jackets on, but by the end of the day we were down to t-shirts, basking in the sun. Grace led a beautiful 5.7+ hand crack, Crynoid Corner. She led it on trad gear, but it was bolted every six feet - something we saw all to often. We then wandered past a mile or more of 5.hard climbs before reaching a more moderate section. I got 4 clips up something that looked "doable" from the ground, but backed off. Down climbing to retrieve my draws. Our neighbor told us it was 10b. Maybe next time, when I feel more like accepting a whipper or two. After that I led a very fun 5.9, and Grace led something easy that let us top rope some very hard cracks and face lines.

We'll have to pickup a guide book so we can be more efficient next time!