One look at the Cynical Pinnacle and I knew I had to join Matt on Saturday to climb it. The formation attracts climbers from all around and the Center Route has been called the best 5.9 in Colorado. With a reputation like that, who could say no?
The awesome Cynical Pinnacle
Matt and I got an alpine start, arriving at the trailhead a little after 11 a.m. These cragging adventures are nice, getting up at 3 a.m. gets old sometimes. There are 3 parking areas near the Cynical Pinnacle and Matt and I made the logical decision that the largest parking area would have the best trail. This logic seemed sound but the trail kept taking us in the opposite direction of the Cynical Pinnacle. After about 10 minutes or so Matt and I concluded that the trail we were on led to The Dome so we began to bushwhack cross-country in the general direction of the Cynical Pinnacle. After traversing the steep, loose hillside and navigating through and around large boulders we finally found a trail as we neared the base of the formation.
Matt slogging up to the climb
There was some minor scrambling to reach the base of the formation and one last surprise in store for us. A gully full of thorny bushes and plants with all kinds of pokey nastiness.
Gully of thorny nastiness
It probably took us an hour to reach the base of the climb. The weather was superb and the climbing looked fantastic as we taped and geared up. Matt headed off on the stellar first pitch, a hand and finger crack. The jams on the first pitch were solid all the way. Once Matt reached the belay I headed off, trailing our 2nd rope behind me. P1 was fantastic and I quickly joined Matt at the belay with a smile on my face.
Matt leading P1 of the Center Route
The 2nd pitch of the Center Route is the crux and it is fairly long and pretty sustained 5.9. Just above the belay is a chimney section and the first of several bulges has to be surmounted. Following up P2 I was glad I went to Rocktober 2007 to get an education in crack climbing at Indian Creek, it was really helping out.
Matt leading P2 of the Center Route
The jams on the 2nd pitch are pretty bomber most of the way with a couple of tricky bulges to get over. The sustained nature of the climbing soon had me sweating but my crack climbing technique is coming along fairly well and I joined Matt at the very cozy pod for the 2nd belay. This belay is very cramped but we managed. It was easier to have Matt trail the 2nd rope for the last pitch to get it out of the way and make sure it didn’t get hung up in a crack at the belay.
Matt leading P3 of the Center Route
The 3rd pitch is a bit awkward since it widens up, requiring some chimneying and some offwidth techniques. When P3 narrows back to a crack it was too large for good hand and foot jams so I resorted to using some small edges on the face with my right foot. It worked well enough and I joined Matt at the top of the route to soak in the views and enjoy the phenomenal weather. Unfortunately there won’t be too many days like this left this year.
Topping out on the Center Route
2 double-rope rappels got us to the ground
We packed up and began the loose, tedious descent back to the car. Loose rock on top of hardpan was the theme of the descent but we managed to get down with only a few spills just as the sun dipped below the horizon. All in all it was a fantastic day on a fantastic formation. The Center Route didn’t disappoint and the climbing was well worth the arduous approach. Another fine day in the Vertical Sanctuary.
The Cathedral Spires and Cynical Pinnacle
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