Sword in the Stone

New as of 2018: this route on this face of the formation is closed to climbing due to wildlife concerns. The impact on brown bats, great horned owls, red tail hawks, and Cooper's hawks have resulted the West face of Kindergarten Rock (aka Grey Rock), Keyhole Rock (aka Sleeping Giant), and the area between to be closed for all human uses including hiking and climbing.

This information was from Bret Tennis, Garden of the Gods Park Operations Administrator.

First: the name is via Bob's book (I think I've seen others floating around).

SitS is located on the west side of Kindergarten Rock. Find the black, scarred outcropping containing

Scarecrow

and

Monster Crack

, then move 30 feet or so right of the right edge. Be looking up for an obvious line of pins heading straight up the rock (that's

Footloose and Fancy Free

). The ramp to your left (heading up the outcropping) is

Lance

. If you take a broad look at the face of the rock up and left, you'll note it's got a lot of green stuff on it. I'm no biologist, but I believe that's lichen. Get an idea of the overall size/shape, because you'll be traversing above it.

Climb the first 3 to 4 bolts of

FaFF

. If you clip the fourth bolt (not a bad option) use a double runner, at least. I prefer a runner long enough to make the fourth bolt redundant to clipping the 3rd. At this point, look left and perhaps slightly up. There are 2-3 pins between you and the rock outcropping WAAAY over there. Fortunately the climbing is fairly light. Sadly, there is some rotten rock along the way. Feel free to sink cams in between the pins. They (most likely) will be lobe down, so plan accordingly.

Once you hit the outcropping, head up (the easy and obvious route being between the outcropping and the rock proper). If you're using a 50m rope, you can climb onto the outcropping and see the anchors for

Scarecrow

. Unfortunately you'll probably end 20 feet shy. Climb back down into the gully and set an anchor (so bring some extra gear!). Your second can lead the last 20 feet.

Not a great route, but if you're intent on topping the outcropping w/o getting a pump on

Monster Crack

this is a decent option (

Lance

, below you, is a bit of a stinker). Positive holds make this a lot of fun, but the sketch factor of the loose rock on the traverse hold it back.

At a minimum bring a rack of draws, a few long slings, and some large gear (to protect the balance of

Lance

). Optionally it may be wise to bring some small to medium cams to protect the traverse.

Per

Bill Olszewski

: 4 pins up and 2 on the traverse.