www.StephAbegg.com

Sharkstooth, South Prow (5.7, 7p)

The Sharkstooth

Route:

South Prow

5.7, 7p

A choose-your-own-adventure to the top of The Sharkstooth.

Region: Colorado

Elev: 12,630 ft

Rock type: Gneiss & Biotite Schist

Type:

Date(s): July 5, 2024 (Fri)

Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

Related trip reports:

The Sharkstooth, NE Ridge (5.6, 5-6p)

Route Overlays

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Intro

The South Prow (5.7, 7p) ascents the south prow of The Sharkstooth seven pitches. The route as no clear line other than to climb the prow, and hence this route could be anywhere from 5.7-5.10 depending on your route-finding skills. There is a fair bit of loose rock as well, giving the route a mountaineering vibe. But the route has a nice position and no crowds. The first ascent was by a ~19-year-old Bernard Gillette (one of his numerous first ascents over the years and years before he wrote his numerous guidebooks including the Rocky Mountain National Parks: High Peaks, a Climbers' Guide) and his brother Robert and mom Mary in 1987.

Nate and I had decided to spend the first half of 4th of July long weekend at Sky Pond and climb a couple of routes. We climbed the South Face (5.9, 7p) of The Foil and the South Prow (5.7, 7p) of The Sharkstooth.

A bit of trivia: Sharkstooth is the highest peak in RMNP that does not have a non-technical route to its summit. Nate and I had both been to the summit the previous summer, via the classic NE Ridge (5.6, 5-6p).

The following page provides a trip report for our climb ot the South Prow of The Sharkstooth. Neither Nate nor I will probably climb this route again, but it was worth doing once. Our descent using the Southeast Descent gully made it a nice loop back to Sky Pond. Enjoy!

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

3rd

From the Sky Pond area, scramble up talus to the left of the Petit Grepon and to the base of the south prow. The guidebook says to "begin down and right from the South Face, at its west and shorter of two small buttresses" but the start is a bit inobvious so we just chose a way that worked.

Pitch 1

5.7

We just decided to climb up, genearlly staying close to the south prow and trying to keep the climbing at 5.7. See guidebook for more detail, although this might be the kind of route where following your nose gives the best results.

Pitch 2

5.7

Climb up, generally staying close to the south prow and trying to keep the climbing at 5.7. See guidebook for more detail, although this might be the kind of route where following your nose gives the best results.

Pitch 3

5.7

Pitch 4

5.7

Pitch 5

5.7, 100'

Here we actually followed the guidebook description. Angle right to a prominent notch. Be careful climbing through the fractured section just below the notch.

Pitch 6

5.2, 190'

Traverse right along the ramp into the East Gully and climb up the East Gully (this is the location of the rappel route from The Sharkstooth).

Pitch 7

5.4, 150'

Climb straight up or angle back left to the prow. Follow it to the top.

Top

12,630'

A bit of trivia: Sharkstooth is the highest peak in RMNP that does not have a non-technical route to its summit.

Descent

4 Rappels and scramble down Southeast Descent Gully

Make four rappels down the east side towards the East Col. We used a single 70m rope, which was sufficient with a couple of short easy downclimbs between rappels. The first three rappels were bolted anchors and the last was a sling on a couple of old pitons and nuts. Our rappels are as follows:

Rap 1: Head southeast from the summit and down a little gully to rap rings. Rappel to the end of rope and then scramble down a series of ledges to the next bolted rap station.

Rap 2: Rappel from rap rings directly to the next set of rap rings.

Rap 3: Rappel from rap rings. At the base of the rappel, look for a piton/nut/sling anchor on the wall to climbers' right.

Rap 4: Rappel from a sling on a couple of old pitons and nuts towards the east col. (It looks possible to downclimb low 5th and avoid the rappel, but the rappel is probably quicker/safer.)

After the rappels, we scrambled down a bit towards The Gash, and then cut over right to get to the Southeast Descent Gully, since we needed to get back to Sky Pond where our bivy gear was. This made for a nice loop.

Other Photos

For the first half of 4th of July long weekend, we secured a bivy permit for Sky Pond (need to be climbing a route that is at least 4 pitches to qualify for a bivy permit), and we bivied up there for one night below the towering crags of the Sharkstooth, Petit Grepon, Saber, and Foil. It is always special to spend a night in the mountains.