#81. Shirttail Peak New Route

Information from Applicant

Application Type

New fixed hardware for a new route.



Location

The new route is located on Shirttail Peak, left of the second pitch of the Tiger Balm Arete route. The new route will start with the first bolt on the second pitch of Tiger Balm and head up and left instead of traversing right into the shallow right facing corner on Tiger Balm. The new route will stay 6 to 10 feet from the arete and remains independent of Tiger Balm to the belay. The length of the new route is 100 feet with 85 feet of climbing independent of Tiger Balm.



Fixed Gear

The placement of 4 new protection bolts is included in the new route. The locations of the proposed new bolts are marked on the attached topo and also with white athletic tape insitu on the rock. An additional lower piece of tape marks a location where a bolt was considered, but is no longer part of this application.



Additional Information

This line uses one traditional gear placement. The following 4 protection bolts are the minimum necessary to make this route somewhat safe and will be in keeping with the style of other challengingr pitches in the Canyon. The new route diverges from Tiger Balm after the 1st bolt and is independent thereafter. It would require climbing well off route from Tiger Balm to clip the bolts on the new route.

Information from FHRC

Factors in Favor



Independent Line- The proposed route diverges from Tiger Balm Arete after the first 15 feet of climbing. The first new bolt is about 12 feet from Tiger Balm Arete. After the first new bolt, the new route stays 10 to 20 feet away from the climbing in Tiger Balm Arete, and appears pretty independent from it.



Direct Line- After the first new bolt, the proposed route climbs fairly directly up to the ledge and tree.



Good Rock- The proposed new route has very good quality rock.



Interesting combination of moves- The proposed route has an interesting variety of face climbing moves. After departing Tiger Balm Arete, the route has a sustained section of 5.9/5.10 climbing, followed by a 5.11a crux at the third bolt.



Safety- The proposed route is as safe as a lead of Tiger Balm Arete. The moves up to the first bolt on Tiger Balm Arete are about 5.9 and unprotected. After leaving the 5.11b moves past the existing bolt on Tiger Balm Arete, there is a gear placement about a body-length up and left. This takes a blue TCU or similar, and a nut. This appears to be an OK placement, not marginal, but not bombproof. This then protects the couple of 5.9+/5.10- moves up to the first bolt. Bolted this way, the route is relatively safe for an Eldorado climber competent to lead Tiger Balm Arete (with its mix of well-protected 5.11b crux, followed by hard-to-protect 5.9/5.10- climbing).

This route is not bolted safely for a modern 5.11- sport climber accustomed to the modern bolting in Boulder Canyon or Clear Creek or Table Mountain. Falling from below the first proposed bolt could involve getting badly hurt, if the gear placement failed.



NOTE: The original application called for a fifth, lower bolt, just below, and left of the gear placement (this proposed bolt is marked on the rock by white tape). This bolt has been withdrawn from the application, because of its perceived impact on leading Tiger Balm Arete. It is intended that bolt be applied for in the fall of 2001, if public opinion indicates that any negative impact it may have on Tiger Balm Arete is outweighed by its positive impact on the new route.



Location- The proposed route is located on Shirttail Peak, a less heavily used area of Eldorado.



Aesthetic Position- The proposed route climbs a flat wall near an arete.







Factors Against



Altered Routes- The proposed route has not been chipped or chiseled.



Distance from an existing route- The proposed route diverges from Tiger Balm Arete after the first 15 feet of climbing. The first new bolt is about 10 feet from Tiger Balm Arete. After this bolt, the new route stays 10 to 20 feet away from the climbing on the existing Tiger Balm Arete.





Rock Quality- The proposed new route has very good quality rock.



Protection Reachable from Neighboring Routes- The current first bolt on the proposed route would be visible from Tiger Balm Arete, but would be far enough away from the climbing on that route, that clipping it would involve a lot of extra climbing. The opinion of the FHRC is that this bolt_and this applies also to the higher ones_has no significant impact on Tiger Balm Arete.



NOTE: The first proposed bolt (not included in the current application) on the proposed route was to be located 7 feet from Tiger Balm Arete and could probably be clipped by anyone leading Tiger Balm Arete. It would be off-route for Tiger Balm Arete, which heads up and right, but the temptation to clip it would be considerable, because the gear in the upper dihedral of Tiger Balm Arete is not easy to place. Falling from Tiger Balm Arete onto this bolt would involve a swinging and possibly dangerous fall, but is likely to be perceived as better than falling from the same location without having this bolt clipped.



Natural Protection Possibilities- There is natural protection about 6 feet lower than the first bolt. It consists of a (blue) TCU and a smallish nut in a shallow crack. The placement would be somewhere between marginal and good in security. Some climbers might feel that relying on this natural placement to protect the moves up to the first bolt would make the route dangerous.





Neutral Factors



Distance from an existing route- The proposed route diverges from Tiger Balm Arete after the first 15 feet of climbing. The first new bolt is 10 feet from Tiger Balm Arete. After the second new bolt, the new route stays 10 to 20 feet away from the climbing on the existing Tiger Balm Arete.



Difficulty- The proposed route appears to be 5.11a, and the crux of the pitch is passing the initial Tiger Balm Arete bolt, which is about 5.11b



Ability to toprope- The proposed route could be toproped with a 65 meter rope off the large tree atop the ledge above the face. The use of a directional on a smaller tree about twenty feet down and left is recommended.



Results

FHRC:recommended Park:approved Action: placed

Comments Received From the Climbing Community

12 In Favor, 4 Opposed
This is potentially a great line except for the withdrawn 2d bolt. If the 2d bolt was placed far enough to the left not to impact TBA, I'd whole heartedly support the route. If the 2d bolt cant be placed w/o impacting TBA, I would not be in favor of the route. W/o the 2d bolt, I don't believe the route would be safe or popular and the FHRC process has already turned out too many routes that noone does because of their runout nature to warrant yet another. As proposed, w/o the 2d bolt I have to vote against the route, but if the bolt was added left of TBA I would vote in favor of it. BTW, someone should replace the pins on TBA
I've visited this area with the applicant and two of the committee members to view the route location. I support the addition of this route and all the bolts, even the withdrawn first bolt. Anyone climbing Tiger Balm Arete would know that that bolt is off route. many other fixed pieces in Eldo are visible from other routes, so that alone is not sufficient arguement against the first bolt. neither is the fact that the bolt is clippable from Tiger Balm. The same situation exists in many places in Eldo, and it is left to the climber's discretion to clip off route gear or not. If Tiger Balm is that dangerous, put the fixed pins back in IT!
Would be nice to know who the applicant is and if any "cleaning" has been done
Looks like a nice route
this would be an excellent addition to the area.
I see only positives associated with this new proposed route.
I support this route, but I want to know: Has the bolt on TB Arete been replaced, and, if not, shouldn't it be replaced as part of this process? That is, if new bolts are allowed for this new route, why not replace the old bolt at the same time. Maybe already done, so a moot point.
Sounds like a good route. Too bad it shares the start with Tiger Balm Arete, but it is hard to find completely independent new lines in Eldo nowadays. I think it would be a nice addition to the climbing on Shirt Tail Peak.
I think this proposed route (on Shirt Tail Peak) is very worthy, offering good, varied climbing (overhang to slab of continuous difficulty) and excellent position in a remote, less-developed area of the park. I have toproped the line and I am certain that it will not detract from the Tiger Balm Arete route - each route is clearly a distinct line from which straying would be very contrived. With the elimination of the (originally proposed) first bolt, this is in NO WAY a squeeze job and would be a definite addition to Eldorado climbing.
Agree with FHRC review & recommendations
Great addition
At first sight, this route seems to verge on being a variation of Tiger Balm Arete, but on closer inspection has sufficient separation I think. Withdrawing the first bolt and relying on the gear placement is a good idea otherwise the line would impinge on TBA because the bolts would be visible from this line.

This looks like a great new addition to Eldo. climbing. I see no reason to oppose this new line.
Tiger Balm Arete is a proud line. Firing in a bunch of bolts next to it, even if it's 10 feet away, is not acceptable. Let's leave it for a toprope for a bold climber to put up on the lead. Sure, not many folks do Tiger Balm, but that's what is cool about it and the many other routes like it in Eldo.