Trezlar

Approach

Follow the directions on the main page to reach the base of Mesa Verde Wall. Trezlar climbs the prominent dihedral on the northwest face of the formation. The first pitch begins directly below the dihedral looming above.

Route Description

Trezlar is a 4-star classic that reaches a high ledge system on the northwest face of Mesa Verde in 2 pitches. The first pitch quality is not great but it's the second pitch that makes this a Smith classic.

Pitch 1: 5.7, 80 feet. Climb the dirty-looking groove or dihedral just left of a clean face (note the bolts near the edge of the face; this is Cosmos). Protection is not great but the going is pretty easy. There's a piton 2/3rds of the way up. Belay on a large ledge at the base of the clean dihedral of pitch 2 (gear).

Variation 1: You can bypass this forgettable pitch by climbing Cosmos - a 5.10a sport pitch that climbs the clean face on the right.
Variation 2: You can also climb the bolted route on the face left of the standard pitch, Massive Luxury Overdose 5.10c and rap down onto belay ledge mentioned above from bolted anchors atop this pitch.

Pitch 2: 5.10a, 90 feet. Climb straight up the stellar dihedral. Going starts easy (5.7-5.8) with a great hand crack in the corner. Crux comes on the upper third of the dihedral as you overcome small bulges. Exit right at top and belay (bolts) on a spacious ledge. The 5.10a rating seemed soft.

Descent: From bolted anchors, rap straight down the face. Either one double rope rap or two single rope raps using the bolted anchors atop Cosmos.

Essential Gear

Set of nuts. Cams from green Alien to #3 Camalot (doubles in red Alien to #2 Camalot useful). Optional #3.5 Camalot for a pocket on pitch 1. Willow correctly points out that the crux eats nuts well and so you might need fewer cams than expected.

Long Range Overview

Images

View Trezlar Image Gallery - 8 Images