This towering highball attracts a lot of attention due to its prominent position at the entrance of Area A. It also demands a great deal of respect. The grade is a bit misleading, as this is not your typical V0. The crux comes right at the top, with extremely insecure moves on slopers and lichen-covered ripples. Fortunately the lower half of the problem is pretty trivial, so if smearing ropeless 20' off the deck is not your idea of fun, it's quite possible to downclimb before entering the guaranteed-paralysis-if-you-fall zone.

Begin on the right end of the SW-facing slab, with easy moves to gain the slab. Continue easily to a tricky step left to a good horn. This is the turn-around point for reasonable folks. For the rest, mantel onto the horn, and grope desperately up the featureless shoot to a huge jug ~18' back from the lip of the slab.

Descend easily to the South, crossing over to the adjacent boulder.

Timeline

Last of the Ohitians

Kansas City Shuffle

The Alpenfrau

Ohitians Arete

Ben's Roof

Think Mauve

Dark Crystal

The Quill

Ludders Pinch Low

Canvas

Digging for Diamonds

Traverse

Red Rum

Black Streak

[Redacted]

Ludders' Pinch

Pink Fink

Bierstadt Loh

The Gallery

Red Rum SDS

Bierstadt Corridor Arete

Maker's Mark

Maker's Mark Low

The Sober Stoner

Zorro

Snow White

Topher's Problem

Caressing Lovely Lumps

The Ladder

Prehistoric Bird

Love in an Elevator

Ground Control

A Different Ben's Arete

Rule #11 - Neck of My Skin

Molli

The Rapier

Country Roads

The Last Drag

Peasants Into Leaders

Banksy

And So It Goes

Bierstadt

Milk Is For Babies

Ben's Highball

Ben's Arete

Left of Bierstadt Arete

Ludders Pinch SDS

Thing Across From Bierstadt

Zorro Arete

Crossfire

Public Execution

V4 Left of Maker's Mark

Cross Fire sit

Tickfest

Zorro Warmup

Jenny Craig

Jiggle

Sacred Stones

Eleventh Hour

If burly moves on big slopers isnt your idea of a warmup, this excellent thin slab is the perfect remedy.  This line faces northeast, and is secluded from the hoards lined up to climb the Ladder.  The landing is perfect, and the line is long enough to keep you interested but nowhere near highball.  Follow the line of brushed crimps to an easy mantle at the top of the wall.

Sit start with two crimps that are angles toward each other. Move toward a big flat edge by using some sloping crimps, then top out straight up. This has 8-9 fun moves and is a great warm-up.

The Alpenfrau tacks 8 feet of steep climbing with DAB potential onto the start for

Think Mauve

. Begin matched on a large shelf essentially on the other side of the roof and climb under the roof towards the start of the aforementioned problem. You will encounter some thin holds and a tough move or two before arriving at the start for

Think Mauve

. From there, go up to the lip and topout with

Snow White

.

I've been told this rig has cool moves, so if you like the steepness, go for it. I'm not a big fan of bouldering in tight spaces with DAB potential everywhere, so I've only given it one star.

Begin from a stand start on obvious holds on the rounded arete and ascend edges and slopers up and, IIRC, slightly right to the top.

NOTE: Although this problem was never named by the developers, I've named it after the neighboring slab problem around the corner. If Ben, Jason, David or Jeremy read this, feel free to chime in ...

Ben's Roof ascends an obvious northwest-facing roof/bulge (the side of the boulder away from the talus hillside). Begin from a low start in the obvious place and ascend this bulging and very cool feature. Interesting, fun and, in spite of its small stature, everybody likes this problem. If it were a little taller, I would give it 3 stars.

Begin from a sds 7 feet left of

Pink Fink

sort of atop a some round little boulders. Ascend edges and seams to the lip and topout with

Snow White

.

Dark Crystal climbs the northwest face of a vertical tooth with ~8 feet of slab guarding the very top. Begin from a stand start on obvious holds, move up to an obvious rail and make a long left hand reach to the namesake hold.  Keep it together getting your feet up, negotiate the slab, and it's all over.  This one borders on 4 stars for its purity, obvious features, consistent difficulty, and setting all by itself in the trees.

This problem stars on two underclingings in the middle of the roof. Make a powerful move out to the lip, and then work your way to the top out. Although the problem is pretty short, the moves are fun and worth doing.

Begin

Ludders Pinch

from a lower start matched on the obvious starting jug for

Bierstadt

. Make a big move out the 45 degree overhang to join

Ludders Pinch

for the finish.

Timelines big brother, Canvas offers more scrote-shriveling slab smearing, with a slightly harder &  much longer crux section.

Begin about ten feet left of Timeline, with a fun few moves to get established on the undercut face.  Easy moves lead to diminishing holds, and a virtually blank section, ~5 feet below the top.  Rock onto a good left foot, and grope up to the diagonal rail on the left.  Work up the rail to good holds at the lip.  Descend as for Timeline.

Digging for Diamonds is located on the boulder just right of

Tickfest

. Start from a sit on two opposing slopers. Make use of a right heel hook at the start to work up a juggy compression climb topping out up and right.

Start on a jug in the middle of the overhang, and traverse from left to right. It is given V5 in the guidebook, but it feels closer to V4.

Start on two side by side, flat holds left of the corner of the boulder using a big foot down in the cave.  Move right to the sloper or make a big move to a good hold near the arete and reposition yourself to throw to the sloping edge to the right of the arete at the lip.  From here, there is a good crimp above the roof for the left hand and the final move to a great hold near the top.  A very good warm up route with nice movement.

Black Streak is a nice highball line charging up the center of the Peasants Boulder.  The start is powerful, but soon gives way to balancey moves up the slab.  Many of the feet are in the mossy black streak, making some of the moves feel that much more dicey.  The psychological crux comes halfway up the face, with a tenuous reach to good incuts, gaining the obvious horizontal crack ~8 feet from the lip.

Begin with a stand start with hands in the horizontal break ~ 6 feet off the deck.  Paste your feet on and slap up & right for the diagonal rail.  Move out right, mantel onto the ledge, then follow the diminishing rail to a long reach to good holds.  Lieback up the bottoming dihedral & topout easily.

Start standing on slopey jugs and smears for feet. Go straight up and mantel. This is good for those seeking to practice topping/manteling, as it is low to the ground and the landing is flat.

Dave's original line begins on the steep wall matched on the head high and obvious jug.  Slide left to a dreamy sloper (some do it via a crossover), throw a heel, and avoid tweaking your knee as you rock over onto the side of your foot for all its worth and reach for the sloping lip, eventually arriving in the awkward and slabbby dihedral above.  From there, head up and left to get down.  Another sequence avoids the knee-ligament tweakyness, but involves a frustrating dyno to the finicky sloping lip.

The Mt. Evans boulders are blessed with some unusual features, including the occasional dike of beautiful pink quartzite.  This quartzite looks very featured, and generally lines that climb this rock look pretty trivial from the ground.  Beware: this stuff has marble texture, and after a few hours sloping your way up the highly textured granite, these holds will feel awfully slick.

Stand start directly below a prominent v-notch in the lip, on a pair of opposing gastons (some may use a cheater block to reach these).  Its possible to avoid the cheater block by using a rounded pink hold for the RH about 12 below the sharp gaston.  Move straight up on heinous, glassy slopers.  The feet are extremely polished and it requires a lot of body tension to keep the feet on.  Holds get much bigger near the top.

A low sit start to 4-star

Bierstadt

that begins below the jug on poor starting holds and moves into the regular line, adding a couple extra moves to a problem that doesn't really need them.

Bierstadt

is a better problem, since it begins matched on an OBVIOUS starting jug, but the low sit start can be worth doing if you're in the area with nothing better to do and it's in your price range.

Since Greg Loh did not name this problem and people have been calling it lots of things (Bierstadt Low, Bierstadt SDS, Bierstadt Sit, etc.), in an effort to eliminate confusion I thought Bierstadt Loh was an appropriate and respectful moniker.

Another great problem put up in the infancy of Mt. Evans bouldering. Begin from a sit start matched on a RH gaston down low in a talus hole with a crappy left foot to start. After a few moves, you can exit right for V6 ... OR ... for the true line and full points ascend the steep overhang up and left over an arete.

Start down in the cave with two big crimps--the right one being the starting foothold for the stand start to this problem.  From here make a huge left hand throw to a good sloper (this is the point where core keeps you from dabbing) and then move the right up (optional intermediate) to a sloper.  From here move left to the two side by side, flat holds that are the start of the stand start to this problem and finish with that problem.

This problem would definitely garner another star if it weren't for the boulder behind you at the first move which makes dabbing a problem, but don't let this deter you as the movement is top notch and a great warm up for Pink Fink or Peasants into Leaders.

With some rock removal, a lower start even than this, would be possible.

Start on head high edges next to the arete and make a couple moves to the flat-but-sloping lip. There's pretty much nothing up top to bear down on after the lip, setting the stage for an array of stylish manteling and entertaining armyman topout maneuvers, depending on the climber's skill set and familiarity with the problem.

This rig is similar to the

Thing Across From Bierstadt

, in that neither is spectacular and yet they get climbed and warmed up on regularly since they're just a few feet from

Bierstadt

.

Another excellent line in the Bierstadt Area, Maker's Mark climbs the hanging arete/scoop just north of Ben's Arete.

Begin with a stand start on your choice of ~4 water-sculpted flakes & dishes.  Swing your feet onto the belly of the prow, and move right to a sweet, sculpted pinch.  From here, work up & slightly left, into the shallow right-facing dihedral.  Mantle up on insecure slopers, eventually reaching a sinker hueco.

Begin awkwardly from a hanging start down low and left from the normal start. Your arms will be spanned wide utilizing a LH/LF match on an edge and RH on a low sidepull undercling at the very bottom of the roof features. Do a few powerful moves up into the regular start for

Maker's Mark

. Originally thought to be V9ish, V8 may be more appropriate.

Begin from a low sit start matched under the roof in the obvious place, make 2-3 moves on decent edges, then sort out the tricky crux toss/throw to either a faraway jug or a somewhat closer but poor sloping crimp out left. A good problem, but its only 10 feet to the lip and it really only has one "hard" move ... that move is a doozy though.

Begin from a sit start on the pedestal in the middle of the small overhang, starting on edges that are annoyingly low. Pull on, slide left across fussy edges, then go to the lip that trends right to the apex of the overhang.

I'm giving this 1-star, as it has an annoying start and is about 8 feet tall.

Snow White starts with

Pink Fink

. Position your hands when you arrive at the second set of holds so that you can veer directly left past a good crimp to a sloper rail of doom that most end up matching after some careful footwork. From there, use an intermediate to reach left for the lip or just go to the incut lip with the quickness.  This problem, along with

Pink Fink

, maybe got a tad harder in 2008 when the juggy second hold on

Pink Fink

that you move left off of shattered ... leaving a flat sloper, although the crux for both problems is higher up.

Begin up on a slab, about 10 feet right of

Ben's Arete

on the far side of the roof that resides under that problem. Ascend the upvalley-facing west face up good crimps and sloping edges, while a slab and talus blocks jut out underneath you making for a less-then-desirable landing.

Start with a left hand sidepull on the obvious, left-facing flake with feet on the ledge near the ground.  Crank up to underneath the roof and get your feet established on the generous slab.  Follow the leftward-trending crack under the roof using the well-spaced crimps and locks until you crack pinches off. From here you enter the tricky crux by establishing your foot on the small edge on the now-much-steeper-slab and get a right hand in the last opening in the crack and move the left hand to the first of the lovely lumps (rounded ridges) near the lip with the furthest right (and farthest back over the lip) lump having the best traction.  Balancy movement and a good foot way out left once you are established on the lumps will get you to the top.

The Ladder, aka Indian Ladder, is an excellent warmup in the Bierstadt Area.  This southeast-facing  problem is extremely popular, featuring big moves on huge holds.  The problem is a bit harder than it looks, but once you figure out which part of each hold to grab, this line will feel much easier.  Begin with a sit start in the bottom of the pit, with hands matched on the big sloper.  Pop up to the first rail, and so on towards the top.  The holds get much more positive after the long reach at mid-height, and the topout is relatively moderate.

There are numerous eliminates involving the small crimps on this wall.  A stand start to this problem drops the grade to V0.

Prehistoric Bird ascends the middle of the downvalley-facing East face from a stand start below the incipient seam above.  Begin with frustrating hands and feet and sort out a starting sequence that works for you.  Gain a thin slopey 3-finger ripple 9 feet up, adjust your feet and bear down on the thin ripple to gain a right hand intermediate in the seam or go again via a double clutch move to snatch the lip and pull over.  A good problem to work all by yourself, as one pad will do.

With only one pad underneath you, jump start up to a sidepull pinch and a sloping edge. Jumping from further back helps get to the holds but creates a swing you must control. Campus to a good hold and finish up the tight groove to the top.

Appropriately named ... due to its small stature and since the crux is avoiding hitting the ground or your pads. Begin from a sds matched on the left corner of the sloper rail under the low roof. Heel-toe cam on the sloper rail with your right foot, make a move with your left hand then bust directly out the roof to a good hold at the lip and surmount the bulge up onto the face. The crux is catching the lip, holding it and not invalidating your ascent by dragging your ass or feet on your pad. Be careful with the heel-toe cam, as it is powerful and a perfect way to tear your LCL.

If this problem were taller and finished with these moves, it would be worthy of more stars and people would fly across oceans to climb it. As it is, it is a lowball 5 foot tall problem with some cool gut-busting moves under a low roof that pulls out onto a slab ... something to try at the end of the day, on a spotty-weather day or while your friends get a few burns in on Bierstadt, etc. It's certainly hard and may be fun, it's just not much to look at and few will be inspired by it.

Sit start matched on a left-facing crimp, then move your right hand up to the arete. Continue to the topout using the arete and crimps on the face.

Jamie Emerson's book calls this Ben's Arete.

Start on a nice crimp at face level. The first move is up right to a smaller diagonal crimp, followed by a left hand move to a diagonal rail. Follow the problem up the lighter colored rock, and top out on a nice horn to the left! This is a classic highball, V2.

Start looking at

Ludders' Pinch

in the Bierstadt corridor; turn right and look at the rock touching the Bierstadt Block-- Molli is the arete that you are staring at. It is tall and a little bit of scamper at the top - but it is fun!

Begin seated on the pedestal in the middle of the small overhang, sharing the the same annoyingly low starting edges with

Zorro

. Move up into the thin matched crimps immediately above, make a powerful stab out right for the slopey arete, establish and finish with the

Zorro Arete

.

Climb the obvious, right-trending rail system, starting on a low and left on a perfect, two hand start - climb 30 feet to the arete and bust up a little dyno to a hairy mantle 20 feet above death talus.

Ten feet right of

Prehistoric Bird

, begin from a sds at the base of the northeast arete (this is the right arete of the face that faces down valley) and ascend decent holds up to a topout crux.  The slopey armyman-crawl topout will have your full and undivided attention and - if you blow it - you could end up somewhere back in the willows.

This is the striking highball line to the left of

Pink Fink

and

Snow White

.

There are two cruxes.  The power crux is the start which features a large move to a sloping hold.  The second crux is a reach from a high step after having established on the crimps in the dominant seam.

Beta:  Underclings to start, left foot on first, jump right foot on.  Long reach with right hand to a sloping crack.  Match.  Cross left hand to a decent hold and get feet up on smears.  Left foot out on a smear (not the higher one), and reach out left of the overlap to a good left facing sidepull crimp at the beginning of the seam.  Walk right foot through to a cup shaped smear (good).  Right hand gets a decent gaston.  High step smear by your shoulder and commit (lift off the good right foot) to a decent left hand sidepull.  Right foot up and grab the ledge (not as good as it looks--features two crimps on the left side).  Left hand up to a knob sidepull undercling and bring your right foot onto the ledge.  Then work the (thankfully good) sidepulls and gastons low in the seam.  Stand up tall and reach around right to crimps around the sloping ledge (the seam continues back on this ledge).  Match the crimps and mantle onto the sloping ledge, stand up and reach the lip.  Easy top out.  Warning:  do not go left upon reaching the crimps on the sloping ledge, there is nothing there but hideously greasy slopers.  One of the 5 best highballs at Evans.

Much like the 4-star problem

Bierstadt

, this is a beta-intensive problem with lots of subtleties. Given V9, it is considered a bit harder than

Bierstadt

, which used to be considered V10. Begin from a stand start just left of

Bierstadt

on a RH pinch and LH crimp right next to it. Surf up and right a few feet into

Bierstadt

and finish.

Sit start on the detached rock with your left hand on the undercling feature and your right hand on the lower sidepull feature. Cool compression moves and trickery lead to a committing top out that's easier than it looks.

Originally considered V10, the variety of different solutions which work have made many suggest V9 is more appropriate. Bierstadt is a beta-intensive problem with lots of sequences and subtleties which for the most part will not be discussed, although it should suffice to say that they are all within a grade of one another.

Begin crouched and match on the bottom of a low and right-facing starting flake and climb up and slightly left via obvious features and heel-hooks to topout just left of the shallow dihedral and mini-arete. Bierstadt stays with you until you are topping it out and unless it is well within your price range, you will have to really work for the send.

Start on crimp and sidepulls followed by cool moves on positive holds. The topout is difficult but cool and awkward to spot.

Twenty feet right of Pink Fink, zig-zag up edges via some long pulls to the apex of the face. One of my favorite moderates in the area, although I only found the courage to do it once. Note that it's not over until you grab the lip.

Inexplicably oft-ignored, this is a great problem, with terrific position and offering ~30 feet of climbing on perfect edges, albeit some of them a little slippery in the more polished pink rock. If the line for this problem stood out a little more, e.g., obvious starting holds, obvious line ... I would give it four stars. If Ben would name this problem, its popularity would skyrocket.

At the base of the arete, begin from obvious holds above your head.  After making a couple moves high-gravity thrutchy moves, reach right onto the face to a hard-to-decipher-without-the-beta right hand undercling crimp just before the topout on thin but perfect crimps.  If this one's at or near your limit, you may want to scramble up top to scope out and dust the finishing edges.  If not for the alternative start (see below), I would give this line 4 stars as it is tall, overhung, interesting, consistent, tricky and a whole lot of fun.

A V7 slightly lower start begins 3 or 4 moves to the left and traverses right into Ben's Arete.  IMHO, this alternative start does nothing but take away from the purity and brilliance of Ben's original line.

Begin from a sit start shared with

Bierstadt Loh

on poor starting holds below the incut starting jug for

Bierstadt

. Move to the jug, then make a big dynamic move out the 45 degree overhang to join

Ludders Pinch

for the finish.

This problem is not particularly aesthetic, but it does offer some moderate fun in the Bierstadt Area.

Begin directly across from Bierstadt, with a stand start, matched on a 2" deep flat edge, which is about 6 feet above the ground.  Paste your feet on uninspiring smears, and dyno up & left for another large flat edge.  Match this, then work more or less straight up to  fairly trivial mantle.

Begin from a stand start at an obvious nodule on a shelf at chest height. Surf the slopey and slightly overhung left-trending arete up and left to the apex of the short overhang where you topout. Get on this sequential and slopey gem early in the day in the warmer months, since it  faces south, catches morning sun and warms up quickly.

This is the best of the 4 problems on this little overhanging face, but each is a far cry from the arguably 4 star quality of the moderates

Canvas

,

Timeline

and

The Ladder

, each of which are no more than 10-15 yards away.

Although this one doesn't look like much, looks can be deceiving.  Begin matched on a rail about shoulder height, slide up and left and clamber straight to the top via a befuddling sequence of moves.  On the FA some 6 years ago, my FA burn involved 3 ridiculous ticky-tacky crossovers, hence the name.  Better beta has been sorted out since, but this one remains much more interesting than it looks for folks looking for lines in this grade range.

An obvious line at the entrance to Area A plucked early by Mr. Litz. Begin on the left side of the incipient seam at a good hold and traverse up and right with the seam, immediately encountering difficulties. The holds improve, but the problem stays with you. When you reach the arete, climb to the top (a ~V2 by itself).

Do a crouched start on a good hold on the left side of the boulder. Trend up and right.

Start sitting down right of

Crossfire

on a decent sloper, and make a long reach left to the start of

Crossfire

. This could be harder if you are short. A lower start is possible.

Tickfest is a cool, little crimp line with some bitey incuts. Start matched on the low, juggy rail to the left. Move up into a right hand gaston, match, and get a high left foot on the starting rail. Make a long lock off to reach the first small crimp, a

nd figure out how to get to the slopey jug on top.

This is given V6 in the guide but is known to be hard for the grade.

Another non-threatening moderate in the Ladder area, this fun shorty climbs good edges to an interesting lip encounter.  Sit start on the left edge of the scoop, and follow good edges just right of the arete.  The arete can be used for hands or feet, but its not necessary.  At the lip, head left, over the arete, for an easy exit, or traverse right over the overhang for a more challenging mantle.

The unrepeated problem Jenny Craig begins on the left side of an 80 degree slab and traverses up and right towards an arete, at which point it steers upwards to the top. The hands are deceivingly poor during the traverse and the feet are downright miserable. As you get higher on the problem, the rock quality gets poorer and has broken during subsequent attempts resulting in at least one sketchy fall. However, I guess that's what you should expect from a hard unrepeated slab.

Considering the inobvious nature of the line, and the lack of additional feedback and ascents, I've given it only one star.

Begin from a sit start matched on a jug on the left side of the short overhang. Climb up and left for three or four moves and you'll be at the lip where it gets interesting (crux) and you'll have to earn your merit badge. Scamper up the thin slab to finish, which is a bit sketchy.

NOTE: A number of folks have used the moniker "Jiggles" over the years when in fact Chuck named it "Jiggle."

Sacred Stones ascends the left arete of the downvalley-facing East face from a stand start. Pull on with small features, make a move up and right to a frustrating hold, position your feet and go for the positive lip with the quickness.

The diminutive Eleventh Hour is short problem on a small boulder. Begin from a sit start on a very thin rail, matched on the rail with a thin heel-hook, make a move to attain a sloping arete. Reset the heel, get a thin crimp, then thrutch for a hold at the lip and pull over. Really short, but it's something to do.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Bierstadt Area