Distance

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Elevation

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Vertical

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Time

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Holy S***! This "hike" was quite the ordeal. I did as much research as I could on this one, and all I found was vague descriptions that it could be summited via the Eldorado Canyon trailhead (the one I took), or the Mesa South trailhead "without technical climbing". Well maybe not class 5, but I didn't see a route via the Eldorado Canyon side that was lower than class 4. My friend Kyle and I first attempted a summit by cutting up through the boulder field to the lowest part of the ridge between Shirttail and South Boulder Peak, then cutting south along the ridge until we hit a wall. It was awesome, and made for some great pics, but without a rope and gear it would have been stupid to try moving further. We then hiked back down to the trail running under the Rincon Wall, and tried summiting again by cutting up farther south, where the ladder has been installed. When the trail died out, we picked our best route, heading northeast up the gully below the ridge line, then literally climbed up the narrowest part of the crag to the ridgeline. This was the most difficult section of the trip. From here it was a relatively straightforward traverse over to the summit- and on the way over a couple of confused rock climbers looked at me and expressed their concern for where I was and how I'd gotten there. We hit the summit just as the sun was setting, and made the sketchy trip back down how we came up.

Obstacles

routefinding, bushwhacking, blowdowns, rockfall/loose rock

Key gear

mountaineering boots, GPS device