After a rather wet summer, September had arrived with a splitter forecast—warmer and sunnier than it had been for weeks. For Labor Day weekend, Nate and I snatched this late-season opportunity to spend a few days in the alpine. I secured a bivy permit for Upper Glacier Gorge (need to be climbing a route that is at least four pitches to qualify for a bivy permit), and Nate and I bivied up there for three nights (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights) below The Spearhead. (As a sidenote, after this Labor Day weekend trip, I realized that Nate and I had spent a total of 20 nights bivying in RMNP in Summer 2022.) Nate and I climbed three routes: Bequeathed (5.10d, 6p) on Arrowhead, The Kingfisher (5.11, 7p) on The Spearhead, and The Barb (5.10b, 10p) on The Spearhead. We also enjoyed a couple of sunny afternoons hanging out in this spectacular area.

This page gives a trip report for Bequeathed on Arrowhead, the first of three climbs during our Labor Day weekend in Upper Glacier Gorge. At this point, Nate and I had climbed most of the routes on the south face of Arrowhead. They had all been worthy adventures. We had not yet climbed Bequeathed, a 6-pitch route which ascends the indistinct prow to the right of Warhead; the crux is a 10d flaring corner. Above the initial difficulties lies surprisingly excellent, moderate crack climbing on stellar rock. This route was named in honor of Andy Donson who told first ascentionists Don Bushey and Patrick Clark about the line and suggested they "have a go". (Andy "bequeathed" the route to Don and Patrick.) Interestingly, Don Bushey posted this route on mountainproject in 2001 shortly after their first ascent, and there are no reports of anyone climbing this route since. So—even though it seems unlikely—it is possible that Nate and I made the second ascent of this route, just over 20 years after it was put up.

As usual, despite the sunny high-quality alpine granite of Arrowhead, we had the entire wall to ourselves. Another worthy route on Arrowhead!

The following page gives an overlay and pitch-by-pitch photos of Bequeathed, and below that a photo smorgasbord from our three-day, three-night Labor Day weekend hanging out in Upper Glacier Gorge. Enjoy!

Bivy below Spearhead to base of route: 1 hour
Climb route: 3 hours 23 minutes
Descent (rappel) and hike back to bivy: 1 hour 28 minutes
Total camp-to-camp (includes breaks): 6 hours 10 minutes

It was Labor Day weekend and the forecast was for splitter weather, so Nate and I snatched the opportunity to spend three days and three nights in the spectacular Upper Glacier Gorge. We had secured a bivy permit for Upper Glacier Gorge (need to be climbing a route that is at least 4 pitches to qualify for a bivy permit), and we bivied up there for three nights (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights) below The Spearhead. What a spectacular place to hang out for the long weekend.

Upper Glacier Gorge has some of the best bivy locations in RMNP. We stayed at what I decided to call the "Under the Dome" bivy, which is a roomy cavern under a giant boulder. This is one of the coolest spots to bivy in the area, but it is usually filled with snow or ice until late in the summer. Earlier in the summer, Nate and I had made a note to try to return to Glacier Gorge in the late summer and stay at this bivy once the snow inside had melted. We were glad we got the opportunity to do so!

Upper Glacier Gorge is a picturesque place.

Early September is usually when the mountains start to display the transition between summer and fall. We enjoyed late-summer wildflowers and early fall colors.

I've always been fascinated by rocks (my undergraduate degree is in geology, in fact). Nate took several rock photos too. 

I've always been fascinated by rocks (my undergraduate degree is in geology, in fact). Nate took several rock photos too.