Diamond, Komito Freeway: D7 P1&2 (5.10b, 2-3p) + Yellow Wall P4 (5.10a, 1p) + Forrest Finish P1&1.5.5 + Black Dagger P5 (5.10b, 2p)

The Diamond

Route:

Komito Freeway: D7 P1&2 + Yellow Wall P4 + Forrest Finish P1&1.5.5 + Black Dagger P5

5.10b, 2p + 5.10a, 1p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10b, 1p

A nice 5.10b link-up of pitches.

The trip reports on this page represent the 24th and 27th times I have climbed the Diamond.

Region: Colorado
Elev: 14,255 ft (Longs Peak); 13,700 ft (Table Ledge at top of route)
Rock type: Granite
Type: 
Trip Report 1:
Komito Freeway + Diamond Rappel Route
Date(s): July 18, 2024 (Thu)
Partner(s): Nate Arganbright
Trip Report 2:
Komito Freeway + Kiener's to summit
Date(s): July 29, 2024 (Mon)
Partner(s): Alex Weiser

Route Overlay

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Pitch-by-Pitch Trip Reports

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Intro

In 1975, Wayne Goss and Jim Logan made the first free ascent of the Diamond by climbing D7 to Crossover Ledge, taking Yellow Wall for a pitch, climbing a pitch of Forrest Finish, and ending with Black Dagger's final pitch. This link-up of pitches is called "Komito Freeway". This is a great way to climb the Diamond at 5.10b. The route is steep and sustained. Even though it is the second most moderate route on the Diamond, it is quite a big step up from the Casual Route (5.10a, 8p). (Ironically, the first free ascent of the easier Casual Route was in 1978, three years after the first free ascent of the Diamond via the Komito Freeway. The easiest line isn't always the most obvious line.)

I have trip report pages for D7 (5.11c, 5-6p), Yellow Wall to Forrest Finish (5.10d-5.11b, 6p), and Black Dagger (5.11a, 5-6p) (all of which I have climbed more than once), but since "Komito Freeway" (5.10b, 5-6p) is a nice route in itself and the second most moderate way to get to Table Ledge, I made a separate trip report for it.

Nate and I climbed this as our first Diamond route together in 2024. July had been a strong monsoon month, with afternoon thundershowers most days, but we nabbed a midweek "30% thundershowers" day to climb this route. We had a great day on the Diamond. Photos below.

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Pitches 1-2

D7
Pitch 1. 5.9. Climb the left-facing corner to a good ledge, and continue up to a higher ledge. This is a long pitch (~200 feet). There are lots of fixed pins.

Pitch 2. 5.10a. Start in a left-facing corner and then follow thin corners and cracks to Crossover Ledge. You can also belay on a ledge a bit higher. This is another long pitch (~180-190 feet) with lots of fixed pins.

We usually climb these as two pitches, but we ended up doing it as three pitches on this climb. They are deceptively long pitches and there are just so many fixed anchors and places you can stop.

Pitch 3

5.10a/b
Yellow Wall
Climb a left-facing dihedral above the right end of the ledge, and step right into the Black Dagger crack system. Climb a short ways, then move right again into the Forrest Finish crack and a belay beneath an offwidth section. Or climb up the offwidth, which varies from 12-inch chimney to fingers, and belay above that.

Pitch 4

5.10b
Forrest Finish
Continue straight up the crack system. Belay just down and left from the Yellow Wall Bivouac Ledge.

Table Ledge to Summit

3rd-4th
Kiener's Route
This involves traversing to the left side of Table Ledge and then scrambling up the blocky shoulder to the summit.

Intro

For awhile, I'd been trying to get out with Alex, who had reached out to me the previous summer about climbing together. Finally, our schedules aligned for a day and we made plans to do a Diamond ascent. This would be my fifth ascent of the 2024 season, and Alex's first. We decided to climb Komito Freeway. I was psyched to climb it again and lead more of the pitches I had not led (earlier in July I had led the first and last pitches).

It was a warm, stable summer day, perfect for a Diamond ascent. There were about four other parties also enjoying the day (three on Casual Route and one on Pervertical Sanctuary). Alex and I had a fun day climbing together, and we both made it home for our evening obligations (Alex had to work at 5 and I had bootcamp lectures). Our approach and descent times were some of the quickest I have had.

Below are some photos from the day!

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Pitch 1

5.9
D7
 Climb the left-facing corner to a good ledge, and continue up to a higher ledge. This is a long pitch (~200 feet). There are lots of fixed pins.

(on other trip reports on this page we have sometimes climbed Pitches 1-2 in 3 shorter pitches)

Pitch 2

5.10a
D7
Start in a left-facing corner and then follow thin corners and cracks to Crossover Ledge. You can also belay on a ledge a bit higher. This is another long pitch (~180-190 feet) with lots of fixed pins.

(on other trip reports on this page we have sometimes climbed Pitches 1-2 in 3 shorter pitches)

Pitch 3

5.10a/b
Yellow Wall
Climb a left-facing dihedral above the right end of the ledge, and step right into the Black Dagger crack system. Climb a short ways, then move right again into the Forrest Finish crack and a belay beneath an offwidth section. Or climb up the offwidth, which varies from 12-inch chimney to fingers, and belay above that.

Pitch 4

5.10b
Forrest Finish
Continue straight up the crack system. Belay just down and left from the Yellow Wall Bivouac Ledge.

Pitch 5

5.10b
Forrest Finish
Continue up the same crack, which begins wide then tapers to a beautiful hand crack, and gain the top of a smooth wall. Slightly easier climbing leads to Table Ledge.

Table Ledge to Summit

3rd-4th
Kiener's Route
This involves traversing to the left side of Table Ledge and then scrambling up the blocky shoulder to the summit.

Descent

3rd, rappels
Cables Route
We descended via the Cables Route (3rd class scramble and 1-2 single rope rappels) to Chasm View. We regained the trail in the Boulderfield and hiked out.

Time Stats

The following table has time stats for all climbs I have done on the Diamond, including the climbs of Komito Freeway on this page.

Comments Pertaining to this Page / Trip Report

Useful beta. Updated route information. Corrections. Historical notes. Interesting facts. No fluff please.
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