I climb mainly for adventure. Small adventures, mind you, but adventures nevertheless. To me this means doing climbs that I have not done before. I rarely repeat a route. Not because it wouldn't be fun, it most certainly would, but because I'd rather to an entirely new route. To explore. This attitude has seen me climb all of the moderate (5.10- and under) classics in Eldorado Springs Canyon. And most of the recommended routes. And many of the grungy routes. In order to continuing doing new routes I have to either up my climbing ability or do even more obscure routes. I'm working on the former, but in the meantime I'm turning to the latter.

On January 2^nd, Johnny Bo Bo and I headed to Eldorado to do the recommended Body Tremors (5.8) on the upper section of the Redgarden Wall. There are quite a few recommended routes starting on the Upper Ramp of the Redgarden Wall that I haven't done. The problem is that I have done most everything that leads to the Upper Ramp. The solution was to try some variations.

We started with the 5.8 variation to the first pitch of Touch 'N Go. This variation is described in Rossiter's Boulder Climbs South. I found this short pitch to be thought provoking and technical with reasonable protection. It ends on the ramp (not the Upper or the Lower Ramp) that cuts across the face. Johnny, a relative newcomer to climbing, was impressive following this pitch clean.

Next we did a pitch on the Ramp Route up and left. This ends at the two bolt belay at the top of the first pitch of T2. I had previously toproped the vicious 5.11 first pitch of T2 and am not ready to lead this dangerous pitch, but I had never done the second pitch of T2. I had done the second pitch of Jules Verne, just left of T2, and it is another good way of reaching the Upper Ramp at a moderate grade.

I led up the second pitch of T2 and, despite the guidebook's disappointing description, found this pitch to be quite good. The start is very steep, but quite easy. Above there are interesting chimney moves up to and over a bulge. This pitch is rated 5.8 and it very long. It took every inch of our 165' rope to reach the Upper Ramp. Johnny followed without incident and we simul-climbed our way up the easy (5.0?) Upper Ramp to its very top.

We were now below Body Tremors. This route is rated "5.8 s", meaning that it has severe fall potential. This is because the route goes up a vertical, pocketed wall with no fixed protection and few chances for natural gear. This pitch felt very much like a gym climb to me: steep and big holds. The difference with gym climbing, as Johnny found out, was that this pitch was 155 feet long. Johnny pumped out and had to hang a couple of times to rest his forearms. This was one of the first times Johnny had to complete trust the rope and it was in a very exposed situation. He wasn't completing comfortable hanging from the rope.

I was sitting in the sun and quite comfortable, so when Johnny came off I didn't bother him about what was going on. Clearly, he was just resting. But after a very long time, I got a bit concerned. I started to count backwards from 30. When I got to zero I would call down and see how things were going. 26, 25, 24... 15, 14, 13… 4, 3, 2. "Bill?" Johnny yells up just before I am to call down. "How's it going, Johnny Bo Bo?" I ask. "I don't think I can do it," he yells back. Wrong answer, I think. It would be a real pain to retreat. No fixed anchors at this belay. I could get down with only leaving a sling and we could rappel from the Upper Ramp, but that isn't what we wanted to do. I yell down some encouragement, "You can do it! I'll keep the rope real tight."

I've frequently been in this position and have been in Johnny's situation more times than I care to admit. I was very versed in the power belay techniques. For the next twenty feet I kept constant tension on John's harness, hoping that it would coax him upwards. It worked and soon Johnny was sitting next to me on the ledge. I had tried to haul up a pack when I finished my lead but it had jammed under a big roof and I had simply tied it off. Now I rappelled back down to the Upper Ramp, freeing the pack on my way down, and got to climb back up the Chockstone Chimney (5.6) route. This is another fun, rarely climbed pitch.

After a lunch break, we headed down the east slabs of the Redgarden Wall. Some icy spots kept us on our toes, but we were soon hiking down the trail back to the car. Our linkup was a great way to get off the beaten path and away from the crowds. Of course, crowds aren't normally a problem in early January, but others might be interested in this route when everything is queued up in warmer weather.