Eldorado Canyon June 2026 with Kishen and Heather

Kenton starts up pitch 2 of The Naked Edge

June 25, 2026

Eldorado Canyon - there was rain overnight with more rain in the forecast, so we were looking for a spot that would stay dry. We ended up on the West Ridge and on the Redgarden Wall and did three climbs, all of which managed to stay completely dry.

Kloof (5.11a) - A boulder problem for the first 10 feet. Then decent holds on very overhung rock until a big reach out left from a layback stance to a jug over a notch. Easier terrain leads back right to the top. Almost felt "gym-like".

Darkness 'til Dawn (5.10a) - Textbook hand and fist jams. A full 35m open book. Some fingers here and there, with lots of stemming. No obvious crux. A truly wonderful climb.

Grandmother's Challenge (5.10c) - An easy crack leads to a fist crack leads to an overhanging wide fist crack. It widens even more near the roof which yields underclings. Above the roof the climbing eases to 5.8 and ends at a tree. Done as one very long pitch.

June 26, 2026

Today I made another attempt at climbing The Naked Edge (5.11b). I led pitches 2 and 4, with Heather leading pitch 1 and Kishen pitches 3 and 5. It was really close this time, closer than I've ever been, with a single foot slip below the bombay chimney denying me the satisfaction of a clean ascent. After that one foot slip, I grunted my way into the chimney and finished the pitch without incident. Key was to get into chimney position sooner rather than later. After the chimney, the next clutch hold is high above the roof and out right. It's a big reach, but I was able to get there with my right hand, then match on it (need to save energy for this, the hold isn't huge!).

Perhaps even more exciting than this lead of pitch 4 was my clean follow of pitch 5! At the boulder-problem start of this pitch, I first tried to follow Kishen's path, a more direct line upwards and slightly to the right. However, I found this challenging, and after coming back to the belay, I instead traversed far right off the belay to the chalked-up larger holds. From here I had an easier time moving back up and left along the rail to the vertical crack. Above this point, I was able to get some solid hand and fist jams, and I gradually worked my way up with these until I could layback the corner. This I did until the climbing eased up. Also key to my success, I believe, was conserving energy for this final pitch.

Of note on pitch 2 - the #1 camalot placed after moving around the corner is key, but there is very little gear to be had above it. There is however a very solid micronut placement maybe 6 feet above the cam which adds some great reassurance.

I will be back again but am very pleased with how the route went this time.