The Barb, 5.10, III

Overview/Approach

The Barb is a more benign feature to notice on approach than Sykes' Sickle, 5.10-, III.  But once you are on the wall, it looms large.  It is located not far climbers-right from the Sickle at about the same height as the Sickle chimney. It is a leaning tower of sorts on the northern ridgeline.  The Barb route is graded higher but offers about the same kind of climbing throughout as the Sickle.  However, its main corner system is more sustained.  The crux however is not much more involved than the Sickle’s.  To hike back to the Spearhead to climb one of these routes and not the other, would not make much sense.  They are truly sister routes.

 There are more slung blocks for retreat on the Sickle than on the Barb.  The Barb’s first pitch (reasonably simul-climbed) is very similar to the Sickles, another left facing corner to blockly terrain to the main grassy ledge that runs the width of the NE face.  The second pitch is similar to the Sickle as well, wandering over slab to chase down pro to eventually trend left to the base of its main corner (left facing) which is climbed in two pitches.  There are two interesting horizontal cracks, one leading to the corner (3^rd pitch) and one leading away from it (5^th pitch) (the more interesting of two options leading to the crux) to the crux of the route:  fingers-tips-hands splitter above.  The 5.10 crux is short lived and well protected with a pin in 2022.  The final pitch leads to the summit of the Barb with an interesting downclimb to reach a notch down on the ridge proper.  There is a descent to this route from this point, described below.  One can also climb the North Ridge route to the summit and do the walk-off.

The hike starts at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead which offers a tough parking crux.  What worked for us, barely, mid-week in September, was to arrive at the trailhead at 5:30am.  They check backcountry permits at a kiosk starting at 5am, 9am for general admission into RMNP in 2022, but the earlier time if you head for Glacier Gorge at a smaller ranger stop point.  The hike from Glacier Gorge is simple.  Just follow the signs for Black Lake which is reached in 5 miles.  There is an official campground of some sort above Black Lake.  Continue another 1.5 miles for the right shoulder of Spearhead. Its NE face often comes into view on approach and is easy to spot with the Sickle scar (box chimney, upper right side of the face).  These two popular climbs are approximatly 1000’ in length including quite a bit of traversing.  The hike from the trailhead to the bivy is just shy of 3000’ of gain on good trail with ample water availability.

Route Description

1^st Pitch- 280’-5.6/ To the right of Sykes’ Sickle's left facing corner is another left facing corner featuring many flakes.  That is the first pitch of the Barb. Climb the left facing, somewhat chossy and grassy, corner bypassing a difficult section by climbing out left and returning to the corner atop it.  Continue up to the end of the corner and move right and up better slabby rock.  Continue through blocky terrain until you reach the wide grassy ledge on Spearhead.  Traverse left to below an arch just off of the ledge, small to medium gear belay.  The simul-climbing involved at both ends of this pitch is casual.  It is published in as many as 2-3 pitches.

2^nd Pitch- 230’-5.9/ Start ascending above the left side of the arch and trend left at all obstacles aiming for a short right facing corner.  Climb the corner to its top and belay on gear.

3^rd Pitch- 100’-5.9/ The first of three stellar pitches on this route.  Climb the finger diagonal up and left.  Good fingers and gear the whole way with slab for feet.  Near the end, your feet end up on the finger rail as you land a comfy ledge below an obvious roof with medium gear. 

4^th Pitch- 110’-5.9/ Climb the sustained corner forming the left side of the roof to a sloping stance. 

5^th Pitch- 150’-5.10/ Start up the sustained micro-gear vertical corner.  Mantle a foot rail and do a no hands rightward traverse with no pro to the right side where you find a diagonal hand crack running back left with steep slab for feet.  The horizontal is well protected with medium gear. It intersects a tips to fingers vertical crack through a pin.  You lose the fingers after the pin (crux).  Climb delicate slab for several moves at the grade before the crack opens back up to finger and then hands.  Mantle to the top of the wall onto the low angled summit block of the Barb.  Follow a hand crack up left to a comfortable belay on medium to large gear. 

6^th Pitch- 100'-5.8/ Follow the crack system left until it runs out and there are bolts out left into space.  Ignore those and climb up to the summit of the barb where there is a fixed rap aiming east.  Downclimb with significant exposure (crux) to the significant notch between Spearhead and the Barb. If you have already summited Spearhead via Sykes’ Sickle or another route, you can forgo finishing on the North Ridge route and descend the steep gully via 4^th class downclimbing and three raps to the base of the north face.

Climbing Sequence

Descent

If you have completed other routes on Spearhead and already made the summit, the Barb route actually ends atop the massive “Barb” feature.  An exposed (for the 2^nd) 5.8 downclimb into the notch lands you atop a steep and narrow stone filled gully.  The exposure for the 2^nd can be eliminated by the leader lowering the 2^nd off of the fixed rap atop the Barb down into the notch, untying and pulling the rope through.

Once in the notch, I preferred to don approach shoes.  Start down the steep and narrow gully to the north.  When it steepens, there was a slung block in 2022.  There is a slung horn lower down the gully.  Make two back-to-back 70m rope raps down to a grassy shoulder on the NE edge of Spearhead.  Zig zag grassy ledges to the north, finding the path of least resistance.  There will be several 4^th class exposed downclimbing moves.  If you peer over the edge enough, you will locate a slug boulder.  4^th class it down to this boulder and reach the ground below the north face in one final (3 total) 70m rope rap.

Essential Gear

70m rope.  Single from micro to #3.  Double micro to #.75.  Solid set of wires, off-sets and/or additional micro pieces.  Dozen 60cm slings.  Route gets sun from 8:00 until noon in September.