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Notchtop Mountain, Optimismus (5.9, 3-4p) + Mornin’ (5.7, 2p) & Instant Clarification (5.9+, 3-4p)

Notchtop Mountain: Two 5.9 Hidden Gems

Routes:

- Optimismus (5.9, 3-4p) + Mornin' (5.7, 2p)
- Instant Clarification (5.9+, 3-4p)

Two hidden gems on Notchtop.

Region: Colorado

Elev: 12,129 ft

Rock type: Gneiss & Biotite Schist

Type:

Date(s): July 14-16, 2023 (Fri-Sun)

Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

Related trip reports:

Notchtop Mountain, South Ridge (5.9, 5-8p)

Route Overlays

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Intro

There are ten "Wilderness Technical Climbing Bivouac Zones" in Rocky Mountain National Park. These are bivy zones reserved for those who want to bivy closer to their climbing route; the route must be at least four pitches in length to qualify. Nate and I had stayed in five of the ten bivy zones at this point, and we decided it would be a fun goal to stay in all ten. So for this July weekend, we decided to tick off the Notchtop bivy zone, and climb a couple of routes on Notchtop.

Nate and I had already climbed the classic South Ridge (5.9, 5-8p) in June 2021. So for this trip we decided to climb two 5.9 routes: Optimismus (5.9, 3-4p) —a steep route ascending directly up the east face of Notchtop and easily linked with Mornin' (5.7, 2p) to the true summit—and Instant Clarification (5.9, 3-4p)—another steep route ascending the southwest face of Notchtop and also used as a rappel route. Both are rarely climbed, but looked like they had the potential to be quite good or quite adventurous, or both. We were pleasantly surprised to find that both routes had solid rock, engaging and sustained climbing, and excellent position.

The following page gives overlays and pitch-by-pitch photos of each of the climbs, as well as photos from our weekend hanging out in this beautiful area. This is my favorite way to spend a summer weekend with my favorite partner.

Climbs We Did

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Route Overlay

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Time Stats

Bear Lake Trailhead to bivy below Notchtop: 1 hour 55 minutes
Bivy to base of route: 19 minutes
Climb route: 3 hours 57 minutes
Descend via rap route and bivy below Notchtop: 1 hour 55 minutes
Total camp-to-camp (includes a nice summit break): 6 hours 40 minutes

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

3rd

Begin at Bear Lake Trailhead and hike the Fern/Odessa Trail to Lake Helene, and from there follow a path up to Notchtop. The route Optimismus begins in line with the black water streaks, beneath a groove in the east face. To get there, scramble left and then right up an exposed ramp system.

Pitch 1

5.9, 130'

Optimismus

Climb a sustained crack and chimney in a left-facing dihedral, go past a roof (crux), and continue to the top of the corner. Step right under another roof and belay at the bottom of a right-facing dihedral.

Pitches 2&3

5.8, 200'

Optimismus

Pitch 2: Follow a right-leaning dihedral/chimney to a large chockstone, then climb a right-facing dihedral on the left and belay on a ledge. This is a short pitch so you can easily continue onward and link with Pitch 3 (as we did).

Pitch 3: Wiggle straight up a narrow cimney and continue in a right-facing dihedral to belay on a big ledge.

Move the belay up and right to the bottom of a large, reddish, left-facing dihedral.

Pitch 4

5.7, 130'

Optimismus

Climb the dihedral for about 100 feet, then work up and left to the Spiral Route.

East Meadow

4th

Scramble through the grassy ledges of the East Meadow to get from the top of Optimismus to the start of Mornin'. We initially planned to climb the East Buttress (5.9) to the top of Notch Spire, so we took a bit of an unconventional route through East Meadows, and stayed roped up for it.

Pitch 5

5.7

Mornin'

The route starts at the base of a steep wall with a right-facing dihedral. Climb the dihedral to a good ledge and belay.

Pitch 6

5.7ish

Mornin'

Climb upwards for a long pitch, eventually ending on the summit.

Top

The route tops out on the summit ridge. If you want to tag the true summit, scamble carefully along an exposed ridge.

Descent

West Gully (4th) or Rappel Instant Clarification w/ 2 ropes

There are two options for descent: (1) Scramble along the summit ledges to the West Gully and descend the West Gully (4th). (2) Rappel the bolted anchors on Instant Clarification (two ropes needed). The top rappel anchor is near the top of Notch Spire, but from the true summit of Notchtop you can access a lower top anchor by descending a ramp that heads down from the notch between Notch Spire and the summit. We chose to rappel Instant Clarification.

Route Overlays

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Time Stats

Bivy to base of route: 25 minutes
Climb route: 1 hour 58 minutes
Descend via rap route and back to base of route: 30 minutes
Base of route to our bivy: 19 minutes
Total camp-to-camp (includes small breaks): 3 hours 45 minutes

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

3rd-4th

Ascend the lower West Gully to a grassy ledge below the steep southwest face of Notchtop. The route is left of Raven's Song and the South Ridge.

Pitch 1

5.9+

Climb up to a bolt and traverse left into a dihedral with a pin (5.9). Traverse back right to a another, right-facing dihedral. Finish at a ledge wtih a bolted anchor.

Pitch 2

5.8

The second pitch is fairly straight forward up a right facing flake/corner. This pitch also ends at a bolted anchor.

Pitch 3

5.9

This pitch winds around a lot. Use double ropes or many slings. Head right and climb to the right of some roof features, and then cut back left to some bolted anchors. It is also possible to continue up a steep corner (5.8 or so) to a higher rap anchor (a few pitons), but there may be a 20 feet or so of simulclimbing.

Pitch 4

5.easy

It is possible to finish up easy climbing to the top of Notch Spire. Nate and I had both been to the top of Notch Spire when we climbed the South Ridge (5.9, 5-8p) in 2021, so we decided not to do this final easy pitch.

(no photos - see South Ridge (5.9, 5-8p) trip report)

Descent

Rappel Instant Clarification w/ 2 ropes

The best option is to rappel from the anchors on Instant Clarification (two ropes needed). We had rappelled this the previous day after our climb of Optimismus. See photos of the rappels from the descent section for that climb. See the topo for rappel locations.

Other Photos

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If you are climbing a route that is at least four pitches, you can get a bivy permit to camp up high in the park. Although Notchtop can be easily climbed car-to-car, it is always nice to nab an opportunity to sleep up high in the mountains. The bivy zone for climbing Notchtop is the Notchtop bivy zone. We found a nice bivy below the base of Notchtop, with bushes for wind shelter, a large boulder for hanging packs during the day, and water nearby. We enjoyed a couple of evenings and mornings in this beautiful mountian home.