Black Canyon of the Gunnison ClimbinG
Main gully Area (North Rim)
Dates: see main page for all days I've climbed in the Black CanyonPartners: see main page for all people I have climbed with in the Black CanyonTrip Report #s: see main page for all trip report numbers corresponding to reports for the Black Canyon
2 Trip Reports
MAIN GULLY AREA (NORTH RIM):
Lauren's Arête (5.8, 7p)
Casually Off Route (5.9, 5p)
This page is trip reports for Main Gully Area in the Black Canyon. Go to Black Canyon main page to access trip reports on other formations in the Black Canyon.
Table of Contents for this page
Trip reports
Lauren's Arête (5.8, 7p, ~800')
MAIN GULLY AREA / THE ARETES (NORTH RIM: SOB GULLY AREA)- Date: May 28, 2022 (Sat) Partner: Nate Arganbright
Lauren's Arête climbs the massive rib of rock on the west side of SOB. It is described as the easiest full-length route in the canyon, spectacular, airy, and well worth climbing.
This was our fourth day climbing in the Black (over the previous three days we had climbed The Cruise, Russian Arête, A Midsummer Night’s Dream). So a moderate climb like Lauren’s Arête sounded like a good adventure from the day. Although the climbing was pretty easy, we enjoyed the position of this route and had a fun day out. The route took half a day, so we enjoyed the remainder of the day relaxing at the North Rim Campground, which is a nice place to hang out. I also drove briefly out to the BLM land to check emails and do a bit of website work. We drove back home the following day after another great trip to the Black.
Route Overlay #1
Route Overlay #2
Pitch-by-Pitch Photos
Approach:
Descend SOB Gully. Below Comic Relief Buttress, scramble out of SOB Gully onto a ledge and follow ledge left to a narrower gully on the opposite side of the formation. Hike up this drainage for a few hundred feet to locate a ramp/weakness leading up and right. Follow weakness to a ledge at the base of the route.
Pitch 1:
5.8. Face climb up and right, where easier terrain leads to a section of cracks. Belay in a notch between towers.
Pitch 2:
5.8. A few moves along a small undercling leads to a crack on the left edge of the wall. Continue up the exposed ridgeline, belaying nearly a full ropelength up.
Pitch 3:
5.8/5.9. Stick to the right edge of the formation. At an airy gap between the walls, make some exposed moves onto the face then climb a short section of sparsely protected rock to a stance. Continue up a steep crack with a fixed pin. Belay on a ledge.
Pitch 4:
5.8. Continue up the right side of the buttress, aiming for a hand crack near an obvious bush on the face. Above the crack, move up and left on the face and belay above.
Pitch 5:
5.easy. Traverse the knife-edge ridge, climbing over a prominent tower, then down easy 5th class terrain to a ledge. Belay at a tree below the base of the headwall. We simulclimbed a bit to avoid breaking this up into two pitches.
Pitch 6:
5.8. Climb a crack between two trees on the left edge of the wall. Belay at a good unroping spot above.
Exit pitch and Exit:
4th to 5.6. Stay high along the ridge, walking uphill to the exposed exit traverse. Some climbers rope up for this exposed 5.6 section (although it seemed more like 4th to us, but still a good idea to rope up due to the moderate looseness and consequence of a fall). Continue hiking out of the side gully, following it to the upper portion of SOB Gully. Hike back to campground or head back down SOB Gully and do another route!
Other photos:
This was our fourth day in a row climbing in the Black Canyon (The Cruise, Russian Arête, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lauren’s Arête). We planned to drive back home the next day. So we enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon relaxing at camp. The North Rim Campground is a nice place to hang out.
Casually Off Route (5.9, 5p, ~700')
MAIN GULLY AREA (NORTH RIM: SOB GULLY)- Date: May 20, 2021 (Thu) Partner: Michael Underwood
Casually Off Route climbs well-protected splitter cracks on the main wall on the east side of SOB Gully, and generally thought of as one of the better 5.9s in the Black. We felt that the route did not quite live up to that expectation, but it was still a good half-day adventure with two great pitches of 5.9 climbing (and the rest mediocre).
Michael and I climbed this route as part of a two-day spring trip to the Black. The other climb we did was Scenic Cruise.
Route Overlay
Pitch-by-Pitch Photos
Approach:
Descend the SOB Gully to the base of the Main Wall. Start on a bushy ramp system below the buttress. Rope up near a semi-dead juniper tree at the beginning-to-middle portion of the ramp. A short approach by Black standards.
Pitch 1:
5.8. Climb up and left into a short corner. Continue up nondescript terrain to a stance below a right-facing finger crack. Belay or link with Pitch 2.
Pitch 2:
5.8. Climb the corner that is shared with the Casual Route, then trend up and left to reach a prominent ledge with a juniper. Pitches 1 and 2 can be linked with a 70.
Pitch 3:
5.9. Pull a mantel move to gain a narrow ledge. Walk left along the ledge to the obvious splitter. Climb this hand-fist crack, moving left through the first bulge, then back right into a wide flake. At a second bulge, trend right into a corner and belay above. Rope drag can sometimes be an issue on this long, stellar pitch.
Pitch 4:
5.8/5.9. Climb the undercling directly above, eventually gaining a right-facing corner that leads to a slab. Belay at the top of a sloping ledge/slab at a tree above a steep slot. The route joins the Casual Route here.
Pitch 5:
5.8. Wander up and right on easy terrain to a large ledge. We took this opportunity to move the belay. Continue up a short finger/layback crack to the terrace above. This pitch is also the final pitch of the Casual Route.
Top out:
Slog out the exit gully, or climb direct pitches to the rim. This pops out near the campground. Although I usually prefer a direct finish, we chose to exit via the gully since this would be quicker (and probably safer from the looks of the direct finish) and we had a 6-hour drive ahead of us back to Boulder.
