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Petit Grepon, South Face (5.8, 8p)

Petit Grepon

Route:

South Face

5.8, 8p

This had been my first climb in RMNP. It was fun to return 13 years later and climb it again as part of a two-route link-up on the Petit Grepon. I climbed it for a third time on a glorious fall day in October 2024.

Region: Colorado

Elev: 12,001 ft

Rock type: Gneiss & Biotite Schist

Type:

Trip Report 1:

Date(s): June 25, 2007 (Mon)

Partner(s): Steve

Trip Report 2:

Date(s): June 7, 2020 (Sun)

Partner(s): Will Starks

Trip Report 3:

Date(s): October 2, 2024 (Wed)

Partner(s): Erin Houlihan

Related trip reports:

Petit Grepon, Southwest Corner (5.9, 9p)

Route Overlay

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Trip Reports for Petit Grepon South Face

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Original Trip Report

The following trip report is copied from another page for my 2007 trip to RMNP (my first ever trip to RMNP, before I lived in Colorado). My original 2007 trip report also includes a climb of Notchtop South Ridge.

Intro

If I was to climb only one thing in the Park during my visit, I wanted to climb the South Face of the Petit Grepon, one of Steck and Roper’s Fifty Classics. It is a 8-pitch 5.8 route on a cool spire just 4.5 miles up from the Glacier Gorge trailhead.

(By the way, I think "Petit Grepon" is a reference to a smaller version of a spire-like mountain called Grepon in the French Alps.)

Luckily for me, Lizzy’s roommate’s friend Steve was cool enough to be willing to climb this route with a strange girl from Canada. We met up the evening of June 24 (where Steve cooked the best dinner I had had all month), and the next morning we hiking out of the Glacier Gorge trailhead at 5am. We were at the base of the climb at 7am, and after climbing at a leisurely pace and enjoying the warm weather, had finished and were back at the car by 3pm. All of the pitches were fun and the rock was great and the views were awesome. We had a great time. What a fun climb! Thanks Steve!

Below are some photos of the climb.

Photos

Intro

The South Face of the Petit Grepon is one of the Fifty Crowded Classics. This fun route route ascends chimneys and cracks up the center of the south face then veers right toward the arete. The final pitches go up the steep southeast side of the summit blade and are quite spectacular. Excellent rock and breathtaking exposure along with a moderate grade make this line one of the most coveted routes in RMNP.

I had first climbed this route in 2007, while on a month-long climbing road trip out of British Columbia (which was home at the time). This climb had been my first (of many to come) climb in Rocky Mountain National Park, as well as one of my first multipitch alpine climbs too.

In late spring of 2020, my friend Will and I enjoyed a two-route day on the Petit Grepon. We climbed the Southwest Corner first (perhaps an even better route than the South Face!), rappelled down to the base, and then headed right back up, this time via the South Face. We simulclimbed the South Face until we reached a typical Fifty Crowded Classic traffic jam near the top and had to wait a bit and pitch it out. What a fun day.

The following page gives a trip report for our climb of the South Face. Click here to see the trip report for the Southwest Corner.

Time Stats

Glacier Gorge Trailhead to Sky Pond: 2 hours
Sky Pond to base of route: 15 minutes
Climb Southwest Corner route: 3 hours 45 minutes
Rappel to base: 50 minutes
Climb South Face route: 2 hours (some simul-climbing, and some waiting as well)
Rappel to base: 1 hour 30 minutes (lots of waiting)
Base to Glacier Gorge Trailhead: 2 hours

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

2nd

Hike to Sky Pond. Scramble up to base or route. Begin at the bottom of the south face.

Pitch 1

5.4

Climb either of two corner/chimney systems to reach a broad grassy ledge known as the First Terrace.

Pitch 2

5.5

Climb the huge chimney in the center of the face and belay on a chockstone in the chimney.

Pitch 3

5.7

Climb to the top of the chimney and exit left into a somewhat tricky crack that leads to the Second Terrace.

Pitch 4

5.6

Continue up a chimney. Exit left, then angle right beneath a right-facing dihedral and belay on a sloping shelf at a piton.

Pitch 5

5.8

Work your way towards and then into a steep dihedral, and follow that to a grassy ledge on the east face. The crux comes at a bulge in the dihedral.

Pitch 6

5.7

A long pitch with sparse protection meanders up the east face. There are several options of where to belay at the end of this pitch. For nice exposure, traverse left to a tiny stance (known as the "Pizza Pan Belay") on the corner of the spire.

Pitches 7&8

5.7/5.6

Climb a crack/flake above the belay and work up right on exposed face climbing to a ledge. Continue up jugs to the ridge and go to the summit. With careful rope management and especially if you belayed a bit higher than the Pizza Pan Belay, these pitches can be linked all the way to the rappel anchor on the summit.

We linked Pitches 7&8.

Top

Yay

Descent

6 rappels

6 rappels with double ropes on climbers' right of South Face. See overlay for rappel locations.

Intro

Erin and I snatched this gorgeous midweek fall day to climb the South Face of the Petit Grepon. Erin and I had both climbed this route before, but it sounded like a fun day.The route was even more fun that I had remembered, and it was a beautiful day to be in the mountains. There were three parties on the route—a quiet day on a Fifty Classic (but perhaps a bit unexpected for a weekday in October).

Below are some some pitch-by-pitch photos from the climb. What a blast!

Time Stats

Glacier Gorge Trailhead to base of route: 2 hours
Climb route: 3 hours 20 minutes (waited behind and eventually passed one party, caught up with another party and waited a bit more - par for the course on a Fifty Classic)
Rappel to base: 45 min (no waiting)
Base to Glacier Gorge Trailhead: 1 hour 45 min
Car-to-car: 8 hours 50 min