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Spearhead, East Prow (5.9+/10b, 6p)

The Spearhead

Route:

East Prow

5.9+/10b, 6p

The second of two climbs on a two-night, two-day weekend in the spectacular Upper Glacier Gorge.

Region: Colorado

Elev: 12,575 ft

Rock type: Granite

Type:

Date(s): July 10, 2022 (Sun)

Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

Related trip reports:

The Spearhead, Age Axe (5.10b, 6p)

The Spearhead, All Two Obvious (5.11d, 8p)

The Spearhead, The Barb (5.10, 9p)

The Spearhead, The Kingfisher (5.11, 7p)

The Spearhead, North Ridge (5.6-5.8, 6-8p)

The Spearhead, Scimitar + Stone Monkey (5.12a, 5p)

The Spearhead, Spear Me the Details (5.11d, 9p)

The Spearhead, Sykes' Sickle (5.9+, 7p)

The Spearhead, South Ridge (3rd) to SE Ramp (4th) on "Glacier Gorge 5-2+1 Traverse" (Arrowhead to Spearhead) (4 summits, rock up to 4th)

Route Overlay

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Intro

Summer was in full swing, with a splitter forecast and temperatures in the mid-80's in Estes Park and mid-90's in Boulder. So it was time to head to the alpine for the weekend. I secured a bivy permit for Upper Glacier Gorge (need to be climbing a route that is at least four pitches to qualify for a bivy permit), and Nate and I bivied up there for two nights (Friday and Saturday nights) at our favorite bivy location below The Spearhead. On Saturday we climbed Refugium (5.10a, 5p) on Arrowhead and on Sunday we climbed East Prow (5.9+/10b, 6p) on The Spearhead. We also enjoyed a couple of sunny afternoons hanging out in this spectacular area. The sun was out, the wildflowers were peaking, and the elk were grazing.

This page gives a trip report for our climb of East Prow on The Spearhead. The route climbs the beautiful rounded arete at the junction between the southeast and northeast faces of The Spearhead. This is a somewhat obscure route, so we were surprised when we hiked up to the base to discover another party on the East Prow. It was a popular day on The Spearhead, with about 10 parties climbing various routes (namely: Sykes' Sickle, The Barb, The Kingfisher). We decided to just wait an hour and then climb the East Prow as planned. It was worth the wait.

The following page gives an overlay and pitch-by-pitch photos of the climb, and below that a photo smorgasbord from our weekend of hanging out in Upper Glacier Gorge. Enjoy!

Time Stats

Glacier Gorge Trailhead to bivy below Spearhead (overnight packs): 2 hours 50 minutes
Bivy to base of route: 20 minutes
Climb route: 2 hours 40 minutes
Descend to bivy: 30 minutes
Hike back to trailhead: 2 hours 30 minutes

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

2nd

Hike Glacier Gorge trail to Black Lake and continue up into basin below base of Spearhead. The route starts on the east side of spearhead on the prow between the southeast and northeast faces.

(The approach is short enough that the route can easily be done car to car, but the basin below Spearhead is a beautiful spot and there are some awesome bivy caves, so it is worth an overnight if you have the time.) Head to below the junction between the southeast and northeast faces of Spearhead. The route begins to the left of the prow in a right-facing corner.

(no photos - see other trip reports for The Spearhead)

Pitch 1

5.8, 120'

Work up the dihedral, then exit left to a grassy ledge.

Pitch 2

5.8, 150'

Climb straight up along right-facing flakes, work up and left through a roof, and belay at a stance at the bottom of a left-facing dihedral.

Pitch 3

5.7, 75'

Follow the dihedral to the highest ledge below a long, horizontal fault line where the rock changes color.

Pitch 4

5.8, 100'

Jam the hand and fist crack to a rubble-strewn ledge with two bolts. This is Pitch 4 of Age Axe.

Pitch 5

5.4, 90'

From the right end of the lede, climb easy cracks and corners up and right to a long grassy ledge. This is Pitch 5 of Age Axe. This pitch seems more lie 5.6 than the 5.4 given to it in the guidebook.

Pitch 6

5.9+, 130' or 5.10b, 100'

Climb the last pitch of Obviously Four Believers or Age Axe.

Obviously Four Believers: Climb a slot to a hand crack. Go left around a roof and continue t the walk-off ledge. Age Axe: From the left end of the ledge, climb a steep crack and right-facing corner to a ledge at the top of the wall.

Top

The route ends at the walk-off ledge. Scramble to the top of Spearhead, or begin the descent.

Descent

3rd/4th

There are three descent options I know of: (1) Rappel back to the base in 5 raps with double ropes, starting at the anchor at the top of the final pitch of All Two Obvious. (2) Descend the E/SE side (3rd-4th) back down to the NE Side of Spearhead. (3) Scramble down 3rd class slopes on the SW side. We chose to descend the E/SE side, which seemed the quickest way back around to the base of the route and our bivy location below.

Other Photos

We had secured a bivy permit for Upper Glacier Gorge (need to be climbing a route that is at least four pitches to qualify for a bivy permit), and we bivied up there for two nights (Friday and Saturday nights) at our favorite bivy location below The Spearhead. What a marvelous place to hang out for the weekend!

Our bivy

Upper Glacier Gorge has some of the best bivy locations in RMNP. We stayed at one of our favorites, which we have stayed at a few times before. It is sheltered enough to keep one dry in a storm and has a nice flat area for sleeping.