Intending to do so easy crack climbs and practice setting anchors, we head to Eagle Rock outside Estes Park, only to find “NO CLIMBING” signs posted at the access point. This resulted in a change of course to Fin City near Gem Lake, with a long approach, bushwhack, and exceedingly difficult anchor setup. We were a little “disappointed”.
Judging from the discussion at The Mountain Project, Eagle Rock is on public land, but the climbing hasn’t been judged worthy of fighting the local landowners for access to it. Eagle Rock School is one of the landowners.
Giving up on this, we decide to head for Fin City. It’s about a mile and a half hike in, including a substantial bushwhack. I guess I should have known that this “group of tightly packed, 50-foot high fins” would not make the best training ground for Ann to practice building anchors. She perserveres through extreme frustration for an hour to set up a toprope on Coffee Kids 5.8+, a slightly overhanging hand crack. It’s a strenuous climb – the handjams are good but the slight overhang really makes you use them. It would make a dicey lead for me – as it is I strain something in my neck on it.