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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

That Crag Named

Leave it to George Bell, one of the most experienced climbers on the Front Range, to identify my mystery crag. Several people correctly placed the photo in Colorado's Indian Peaks, and Bell wrote, "Is that the Fair Glacier in the background? My guess is somewhere near Lone Eagle Peak, maybe that big west-facing buttress on the divide between Pawnee and Shoshone?" Yup, that's the one. As far as I know, the cliff is unnamed; I call it the Apache Wall or the Wall of Tears, after the water streaks that run down its steepest face. It's big: about 800 feet high in the middle. Jeff and George Lowe did a route on it many moons ago, and George and I did a route at about 5.10+ up the right side, with 10 pitches (some wandering). I know that Topher Donahue and Kennan Harvey have done a few scary routes here. The rock is not quite as good as the bombproof stone in Rocky Mountain National Park, just to the north. But this cliff deserves more exploration.

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