Hands In The Clouds

Hands In The Clouds is another fine addition to the Eldorado hit list by Mark Tarrant. The climbing in Hands in The Clouds begins either with the

Temporary Like Achilles

slab off the ground or at the double bolt anchor above the

Achilles

roof. The roof itself was freed by Jerry Moffat [

Eds. Ben Moon?

] close to ten years ago at 5.13d and can be done nicely at A0. Logically, the Moffat ascent should constitute the real end of

Achilles

and not the start of Hands. Wander largely leftward up the broad

Psycho

slab for 2 or 3 airy clips and small, tricky feet. This is followed by a cruxy move (5.12a) over a small overhang and more vertical face climbing that moves left again for a bolt. Friends and nuts protect a right facing corner and some spacey climbing to a double bolt anchor. I thought that there were two 5.12 cruxes and a lot of 5.11 style face climbing. The climbing on Hands is typical Eldo: spacey gear, a tad tough to fish it all in, and some "Eldo-weirdo" moves. (NB: Mark has indicated that one additional bolt was added to the face crux since Hands went in 1987) Three stars for great climbing, exposure, and perfect (albeit weird) Eldo sandstone. This is another classic route in the Eldorado pantheon.

Half a dozen QD, several small camming units, and a fist full of stoppers. Double ropes willl touch the ground from the Clouds anchor. Otherwise, two raps with a 60m rope. Just above the

Temporary Like Achilles

roof is a double bolt anchor.