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| Romeo's Escape   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Virginia, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 38.99510°N / 77.2524°W Route Type: Scrambling Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter Time Required: Less than two hours Rock Difficulty: 5.2 (YDS)
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| Page By: Bob Sihler Created/Edited: May 10, 2007 / May 25, 2007 Object ID: 292094 Hits: 939 Loading... Page Score: 86.45% - 2 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview
"Romeo's Escape" is my name for this route, as I have not found a name for it in either Great Falls-related guidebook I own. The route is the corner just right of the popular 5.7 Romeo's Ladder climb, and some climbers use the lower half of Romeo's escape as a part of their descent to the Romeo's Ladder base. Romeo's Escape is one of the few reasonable offerings that the Romeo's Ladder crag has for unroped climbers, in whose interests I submit this route.
Getting There
Just past the entrance station, turn right and park in the climbers parking area. Hike toward the river. In a minute or two, head right on the River Trail. After maybe 10 minutes of hiking, you go down some wooden steps, make a bridged stream crossing, and then climb a set of wooden steps. At the top of the climb, the trail splits in three, with the River Trail heading right. Follow the River Trail across some wooden planks. Shortly after them, you will come to an eroded area that has a nice view of the upstream end of Seclusion (with the Seclusion route). It’s about 40 more yards to the top of that crag. Continue hiking until you see the Romeo's Ladder route on an upstream-facing wall (see primary image). Romeo's Escape is the corner just right of Romeo's Ladder. Find some ledges that offer Class 4/low 5 downclimb options, one of which actually uses the lower half of Romeo's Escape. You can also hike a bit further downstream to much easier Class 3 access to the downstream end of the crag and then hike back upstream.
It should take less than 30 minutes to get here.
Route Information
The route is quite simple to follow, and the pictures on this page pretty much say what needs to be said. The climb is about 40 feet in all, and the lower part follows an easy crack that shouldn't give any trouble to anyone who has free soloed Class 5 routes before. The upper part gets steeper and harder, and the uppermost portion may also be a little dirty, but it's still not too taxing to manage it. Still, if that upper part should prove undesirable for any reason, look for a narrow, low-angle ledge near it leading right (just below the short horizontal crack in the photo to the right). I often use this ledge to descend to the lower part of the route in order to access the Seclusion and Romeo's Ladder crags, but it is a good ascent variation in itself.
Gear
Helmet and rock shoes, though lightweight hiking boots with good grip will suffice.
In my opinion, this route is too easy to justify setting up a rope and other protection, but remember that your safety is paramount and you must do what is right for you. That said, this route can be done via toprope and probably can be led.
Images
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