Dates I've climbed this route:
- Date: September 21, 2019 (Sat); Partner: Natalie Huey
- Date: May 19, 2021 (Wed); Partner: Michael Underwood
Route Overlay
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Intro
The Scenic Cruise is one of the most popular routes in the Black and one of the best routes of its grade in Colorado. The pitches are long and sustained, and the climbing is awesome and the rock great throughout. The Scenic Cruise is actually a 4-pitch variation to The Cruise, while the other 6 pitches on the route are shared with The Cruise. But most people just mean the full 10-pitch route when they mention "Scenic Cruise".
September 2019: The Scenic Cruise had been on my list for quite awhile. My Washington friend Doug and I had tried to climb when we passed through the Black in July 2019 on a cooler/cloudier streak of summer weather, but we had bailed at the top of the first pitch when it started to sprinkle rain. So Scenic Cruise was high on my list for the Fall, once temperatures began to cool off. So in late September after a couple of chilly weekends on the Diamond, I proposed the idea of climbing Scenic Cruise to my new climbing friend Natalie, and she was game. We made the 5 hour drive from Boulder to the Black on Friday evening, climbed the route on Saturday, and drove back to Boulder Saturday night, arriving back just after midnight. It would have been nice to stay for two days, but I had to split my weekend between climbing and homework. It was great to tick off this route at the beginning of the season and before it got crowded. I hope to make time to return to the Black for some more routes this fall.
May 2020: A year and a half later, in the Spring, I climbed the Scenic Cruise again with my friend Michael. Daytime high was 73°, so temperatures were reasonable on the route. The route was even better the second time, and went a bit quicker than my first time, although it was still just as challenging. I'll be back again I'm sure!
May 2022: I climbed The Cruise with Nate. The Cruise shares 7 pitches with the Scenic Cruise. See The Cruise trip report for details.
Pitch-by-Pitch Photos
Approach
Descend Cruise Gully (scrambling + 2 fixed raps) until about 500 feet above the river. Start in the prominent, right-facing corner system. Approach: ~ 1 hour.
Pitch 1
5.8
Shares w/ The Cruise
Climb the dihedral to the terrace.
Pitch 2
5.9+
Move up a handcrack and then right across a face and then climb up through a .9+ roof bulge. Belay in the "v-notch" above.
Pitch 3
5.10+
Prepare for a pretty awesome 60m pitch of climbing. This pitch is the first of the two most physically-demanding pitches on the route, but the gear is great so its not the mental crux of the route. Conserve your gear though. Start off by stemming through a short section of .9+ and then launch into a section of .10+ fingers/laybacking followed by a lengthy .10 hand crack. Belay at a stance in the peg band.
Pitch 4
5.9+ (R)
For me, this pitch was the mental crux of the route. Climb up and left along the peg band up to a horn. It's a pretty good horn, but the next few moves will be taking you left and then above the horn, so I used a tip from my friend Dow and clipped my water bottle and shoes to give me a bit more reassurance it would hold in place. The next part was the crux and took me some time to mentally commit to it. You have to move up a slippery pegmatite hand rail with no pro facing a pretty unpleasant and possibly a bit dangerous fall/swing. The moves are probably 5.9 or so. Envisioning rapping off the horn and the walk of shame up the Cruise Gully was enough to get me to go for it. After this, it was pretty easy climbing up and then left to the base of the corner system that is back on The Cruise route. The second time I climbed this route, Michael led this pitch, and I took Pitch 5 instead.
Pitch 5
5.10+
Shares w/ The Cruise
Prepare for another awesome pitch of climbing (well they are all awesome, but this one particularly so). This pitch is the second of the two most physically-demanding pitches on the route, but again the gear is great so I would have much preferred to lead this pitch than the previous. Climb up the corner, through the steep 5.10+ crux, eventually moving right under the roof to a 5.9 hand crack. A short section of offwidth leads to a narrow ledge. This ledge was in the shade and an awesome place to belay. Save a big cam (#4 is better than #3) for the final wide stretch.
Pitch 6
5.8
Shares w/ The Cruise
Climb the hand crack above the ledge, eventually exiting onto easy slabs. Move left and belay at any number of stances beneath the massive flake feature above. Although the topo mentions you can possibly link Pitches 6+7 with a 70m rope, it also notes the potential for rope drag if you do so. The rope drag is real, even with my minimal and thoughtful gear placements. But linking the first half of Pitch 7 into Pitch 6 seemed to work well and had a comfortable shady belay spot. This straightforward and moderate pitch is a nice break from the sustained pitches leading up to it.
Pitch 7
5.8
Shares w/ The Cruise
Continue moving up along the left side of a pillar, around a horn, and chimney behind a large flake. Belay at the only bolted anchor on the route. This was a short pitch for us since I had linked the first half into Pitch 6.
Pitch 8
5.9+
Shares w/ The Cruise
This pitch has the second mental crux of the route, but we didn't think it was as heady or possibly consequential as the mental crux of Pitch 4. Traverse hard right along a ledge system, and then move up and right through face moves (two bolts, with a few 5.9 moves above the bolts). Continue up and right to a stance below a corner/bulge.
Pitch 9
5.9+
Shares w/ The Cruise
Climb through the bulge and up the corner (the topo has this as the end of the previous pitch). Make an airy traverse hard left on flakes to gain a corner/crack system. Climb up as far as you can, ideally to a sloping stance below a final steep section.
Pitch 10
5.9
Shares w/ The Cruise
Climb up the steep section, then follow easier cracks above to easier terrain. I climbed all the way to the terrace and belayed at an obvious tree.
Top out
Walk left along the terrace and scramble out of a weakness (3rd) to the top. Pop out at the scenic overlook on the canyon rim. Hike the nature/overlook trail back to the campground.
Previous and Next Adventures
Trip Report 1
Trip Report 2
