oldfart

Having graduated from U Colo Boulder in '75 and having done the Yellow Spur then, and Outer Space relatively recently, I can rate these two. Yellow Spur in Eldorado Canyon is MUCH MORE difficult and lead out, dangerous and commiting than the trade route on the Snow Creek Wall (Yellow Spur involves some serious wide crack climbing above protection, all of it's pitches are long and real; whilst Outer Space is one of the "Fifty Crowded Classics" for a reason... most of it is hiking). However, I can recommend highly: Yellow Spur, T-2, Bastille Crack, Green Spur, and numerous easier routes (solo) such as the Redgard Route. The climbing in Eldorado Canyon is some of the best in the world! The setting, rock quality and general ambiance are not to be missed. Any trip anywhere near this area has to include climbing in Eldo, the Front Range and of course Boulder canyon granite (some of the best anywhere).

Castleton Tower in Utah is being threatened with development. This classic and historic tower on everyone's road trip list is possibly headed toward housing developments and general "upgrading". Check out the site of concerned people and climbers at: www.CastleRockCollaboration.org If you haven't been lucky enough to have already climbed this classic, be concerned for the future when you will want to climb it.

Have many relics from the days when we changed over from pitons to "clean climbing". Having devoured every copy of Mountain magazine and embracing the clean ethic coming out of England, we bought anything that even remotely resembled a nut (so named for the railroad connectors they picked up on the way to Cloggy). Bill Forrest made T-tons that were fairly advanced, and we used the original copperheads that were really only a swage on a cable. Before that we bought Clog wired nuts (a knurled barrel that you had to grind down to taper the ends to make it work). If I really want to break out the old pioneer gear, I still have a PARDA I-beam device that is simply a length of extruded aluminum I-beam with two angled ends cut on it. It actually works well two ways (in perfect cracks) If anyone knows the history of that one I would like to hear it. When all is said and done, it's the ability of the climber to use his gear and not the newness of the latest cutting edge device that matters. One sunny day on the Hogsback at Lover's Leap, a friend and I were climbing way led out with standard Hexes etc. when we overheard from the neighboring party on an easy dihedral climb with many many cracks, the leader calling out in distress that she couldn't find anywhere to put in a Friend. Remember, "If today wasn't the best day of your life, then what the hell happened?!!"