Cleft Palate

Gillett's book describes this route as audacious. Climbing it proved to be quite serious and rewarding. Challenging climbing, runouts, and loads of dung add up to two stellar, type 2 fun, pitches. Plus one more relatively easy pitch to finish.

P1 - There are a few ways to do this pitch. Aim for the arching crack before the large and obvious, right-trending chimney/roof feature. This thin crack is a spicy traverse right to gain the namesake feature of the route. This is very poorly protected 5.7 to 5.8 climbing on knobs to the thin 5.10 traverse. Belay after the arching crack where there is a good stance and the chimney opens up.

P2- Grovel your way across the flaring chimney and try not to breath too hard. You might catch the La Junta virus from all the different poop deposited by several varieties of aerial creatures. With a good bath, this thing would be a Front Range classic. This pitch has good gear but is a burlfest. Belay at a stance where the difficulties end.

P3 - Find your way to the top on relatively easier ground.

This is right of

Root Canal

.

Small gear for pitch one (RPs, Wired Bliss TCUs, Aliens). Small cams up to a #3 Camalot protects the sidewidthing on pitch two well.