How the west was climbed: Arrowhead

Just got back last night from a kick ass trip to Glacier Gorge in RMNP. This has got to be one of the most beautiful places in all of CO. It also has some of the best climbing in the park. Yeah, Yeah, what about the Diamond on Longs you ask. The Diamond is great, but for shear beauty and solitude, nothing beats Glacier Gorge.

I met my bud Guy Friday over in Estes Park so we could hike in that evening to bivy and get up early Saturday to climb. We arrived at the trailhead about 5pm to sorta sketchy weather but nothing horrible. I actually don't mind this because it makes the long hike in more tolerable with the cooler temps. It usually takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to get up there but the scenery is awesome the entire way.

Just as it was nearing dark a rain storm moved in catching us off guard. We still had a little ways to go before reaching our bivy site so we huddled behind a large rock trying to stay dry. After about 20 minutes we decided to make a break for it because the rain didn't appear to be letting up and we were both soaking wet. We decided to head over to a known bivy cave below Spearhead, a neighboring peak, since we weren't sure about bivy sites around Arrowhead. We found the bivy empty and settled in for the night.

We awoke to a beautiful morning, and after a quick bite, headed over to Arrowhead. Some low clouds early in the morning had us a little uneasy, but it turned out to be a nice day. Our route of choice, called Arrowplane, looked wet on the hike over but dried out by the time we arrived. The first pitch is a spicey 5.8 slab with little protection but not death defying. I found the 2nd pitch a tad wet but luckily there were good holds around. I pushed this pitch into a 220ft lead to save some time. A couple more pitches brought us to the crux pitch which is a spectacular finger hand crack. The crux comes right off the bealy and soon eases to moderate crack climbing. A final 5.9 roof puts us on the summit. After a quick rap we are back at our packs and soon begin the long hike out. I always ask myself why I put in so much effort to come back into here, but time and time again I return. The climbing, combined with the beauty of the area always brings me back.