Near its crest, Nebel Horn Ridge rises as a series of stunning buttresses, like colorful sharks fins.  Just below the apex, a clean, sharp buttress leans out from the ridge and is characterized by a beautiful green and red south face.  Rainbow Bridge follows the arete above and left of the south face, bridging over the colorful face to the blue sky.  Work past four bolts on the face via horizontal cracks, pebbles, and edges.  It is one of the most picturesque climbs in Boulder.

Belay at a flat rock at the base of a corner below the face.  The corner has a tree at the top.  Work up the crack on the right for a little challenge (stoppers), or up the easy corner to a broad ledge.  The overhang above the ledge to the first bolt is the crux.  Pull down on the obvious jug and clip the bolt, pulling past it via powerful moves to more jugs.  Good stopper placements in slanting cracks can be found above the first bolt from a good stance, otherwise risk a ledge fall clipping the second bolt.  Really fun climbing continues just left of the arete past two more bolts to a two bolt anchor with rap rings.  A 60m will reach the flat rock, barely.

It can be VERY windy on this route because it faces southwest and is at the ridge crest.  Be very careful not to get blown over the overhanging south face when rappelling.

Rainbow Bridge

Quackie

Grand Theft Auto

Death Block Chimney

Queen’s Highway

Scarecrow

One In The Chamber

A Quickie

Nebel Via

"Space Invaders" to "Shot"

Jennifer's Crack

Earache My Eye

Over The Rainbow

Quirkie

Shot

False Gods, Real Men

Violator

Nebel End

Rads For Rookies

Ruby Slipper

This route lies 20 feet to the north of the anchors atop Rainbow Bridge. Climb the obvious open corner, starting with a wide fingers, small hands crack that opens up to a 4 inch offwidth for 25 feet. Once you are standing on the decent ledge, look straight up to a small finger-sized crack. Make a committing move (crux) above a slot that takes a number three camalot, then continue on to the summit of the Nebel Horn.

This is the dihedral to the left of

A Quickie

. We climbed it so we could set up a toprope on

A Quickie

. Others have probably done the same. It is a good little pitch.

This is an interesting route that was better than it looked at first. I believe it has probably seen prior ascents, at least in part as an escape or alternate option to parts of 'Earache My Eye.'

Climb up a mellow corner for perhaps 40 feet to a large, incut ledge, then stand up on a horn of rock and pull over junky-looking, but solid bulge on slopers (crux) to reach jugs and a bomber 2" cam placement. Continue up the second half of the route, a second, left-facing corner past stoppers, cams, locks and jams to reach the top. A good thread up top makes for a good belay point on the right-hand wall.

Descend via a heads-up but mellow scramble off- down to the base of

Ruby Slipper

, and then below.

This climb perhaps would be better with a fixed tie-off and a ring at the top.

Begin 100 feet right (downhill) of '

Rads For Rookies

' beneath an imposing, flared chimney. Meander through 40 feet of

poor quality choss

, placing gear in

unconsolidated, crumbly rock

. Be careful not to dislodge the

death-block

as you pull crux moves into the flared chimney. Avoid the temptation to place protection behind this block as this will make the climb

R-rated for your belayer

.

Squirm, grind, and stem

up the surprisingly fun but

largely unprotectable

chimney for 40 feet to an enormous ledge.

Descend an easy ramp system to the right.

This route is the direct start to

Jennifer’s Crack

. From a big Douglas fir, climb a low-angled intermittent crack/weakness (5.7) to an overhanging band of fragile rock. In the overhang, avoid loose rocks, some of which I dislodged when following, and work hard for protection that may not hold a fall. Higher in the overhang, a #0.75, placed downward behind a fragile horizontal flake, supported a sling to stand in. Reaching this big incut would require a big free move that may be at least 5.11. A #2 Stopper was yarded on, instead. It remains

in situ

.

From the 0.75, another big move, then feeling around for the best grip, attains the westward-ascending first half of the

Jennifer’s Crack

route. Hump westward about four feet to the start of the vertical offwidth. David placed a #4 down in the lowest reachable extent of the crack and extended it. Because that was the biggest piece that he brought, he ran the 5.7 OW to the top. A medium Stopper placement may be possible near the top.  Bring #5s and a 6 if you want pro.

To descend, scramble easily about 50 feet west, to the bolted anchor atop

Rainbow Bridge

. Rappel.

On the ledge at the top of the route Rainbow Bridge, walk N/NE perhaps 10 meters, Passing the Routes "One In The Chamber" and "Over The Rainbow", perhaps by 4 meters to reach an left-leaning low angle crack going up the W/NW Facing wall. There is a single small tree about 1/2 way up this.  Climb up the crack protecting as you see fit to reach to top of the rock. Near the top attention must be given to rock quality, as protection will be as good as you make it. This may not be the best lead for a [newbie] leader, but CAN be protected just fine with some wisdom/good judgement.

To descend, rap W/NW from the fixed anchor atop the Nebel Horn Summit, then again as for Rainbow Bridge.  The webbing is new, but please consider backing this up with additional webbing and a rapid link, as it is presently a single set of webbing and single biner.  It will require a total of ~8 meters to reach both threading points.

This route is on the East face of the third piece of the Nebel Horn ridge and leads you to the summit of the Nebel Horn proper. This ridge has from South to North: Pellea, Onoclea, and the Nebel Horn.

Unlike the other two segments of this expansive East face, the third segment (where the Nebel Via is) is crisscrossed with gullies and ledges, making the climb more of a mountaineering experience than an actual rock climb.

Hike up the Fern Canyon trail as for Pellea and Onoclea. Hike past the first two sections and start at a gully on the bottom of the face.

Follow the gully/ledge system up the face. When you reach the final summit block, avoid the overhanging section by traversing North and climbing its 3rd class North/West side.

Descend West onto hiking territory and hike South to the saddle on the Fern Canyon trail.

It might be a little hard to say exactly where this route is, as Shot, Space Invaders, and one other route are a little confused in the Rossiter guidebook. The topo and the photo are in disagreement, and neither correlates well to the text. As well, the first pitch of Violator appears to be a retro-bolted line of one the other trad lines, if anything makes sense at all.

But this will correspond to the ascent I made. If anyone has other info, please chime in.

This route would get more stars if it were more solid rock and gear, but unfortunately, both the rock and the gear go bad at once, in an area of very high potential consequence.

The route starts with a shallow left-facing corner with a very thin crack, goes to a ledge, then up further in an even thinner crack to a small Knifeblade (spook!) and then left over some flakes and onto a low a angle section, then left through a very thin and brittle flake (2.5" cams will go deep enough to hold) and then up left into a right-facing corner to the roof JUST RIGHT of P2 of Violator.  Pull up through the roof protected by a #4 Camalot (new or old style OK) and finish on a few less scary moves.

This route is pretty dangerous and has some loose rock.  Best left to stonemasters and not for everyday use.

If you were to continue DIRECTLY up past the pin a and not pull left, you would end up at a thin left-facing corner at the roof (Small ball-nuts or RPs?) after  a runout through bad rock. There is a single open spot below the roof, maybe 5" wide, but this fails to meet the description in the book of "A fist crack through a roof."

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?

Begin 20 feet left of '

Ruby Slipper

' on the same ledge system. Climb up 10 feet into a horizontal-ish, shallow chimney.

Grovel

leftwards along the

diminishing squeeze chimney

with

sparse protection

until a

dramatically gymnastic

move allows you to enter a

pleasant but wider-than-fists

crack. Slip in and out of the

disappointingly wide crack

for a short time to an

anti-climatic finish

at a large ledge system. It is worth doing once.

Descend as for '

Ruby Slipper

'.

Tape up for this stout route. This is the 3rd of the three area routes rated 5.10c, **. Each of these is similar in some respects, those being the thuggishness of the cruxes, the roughness of the rock, and the hand-size dependence of the grades. For this route, large hands probably have the advantage, as there is a gap in the wide-hand to fist section of the crank where it gets wider and is difficult if you rattle around in it. For that reason, some folks may find it difficult for 5.10c.

Start off in the crack just right of a shallow, right-facing corner, and climb up next to a 4' pine. Place a bit of gear, and head up and left over the pine into the corner. Place another piece of gear, and head up and into cracks above, sometimes to the right of the corner still.

A good rest comes just before the crux section. Stem up and into an overhang, placing some small cams up overhead, and then lean out and left into shallow thin-hands jams. On the last ascent, I removed a wobbling chockstone that made room for much better hands and a 2.5" piece. Continue up a steepening crack that goes to 3" and then fists to rattly fists, then back to 3". For most, this will be the true crux of the climb. Fight your way into a squeeze chimney in what has become a left-facing corner. A #6 Camalot can be placed at the back of this overhead before stepping out and right onto the face with shallow pockets and crimps, but it is probably not worth taking in retrospect. The climbing here is not so hard, the squeeze section has a great rest, and other gear is available soon thereafter.

Continue up on good stems and holds/jams to the top, placing a medium stopper in a crack on the right side wall before topping out to avoid sharp or loose rocks on the edge.

A large boulder up top is easy to sling with a long cordalette.

To descend, scramble left 10 meters out to left and over to find the 2x bolts at the top of

Violator

, and rap 31meters to the ground. A 70m rope makes this with ease, and a 60m would probably reach, or be close enough to be safe, I think.

From the top of the route Rainbow Bridge, look up at the continued Arete - climb it on the left side, with the crux being getting up onto it until about 10' up at some good jugs.  No pro until that point at which time the hardest moves are over, and cams or tricams could be fired into the semi-horizontal cracks.  Continue up the arete and reach a pocketed bulge with a few potential cam placements, pull [the] bulge and reach a ledge from which one finishes with the crux of "One In The Chamber" which is well protected 5.8.

To descend, rap from the fixed anchor up top.  This should be backed up if frequently used.

This is the fun flake/crack that angles leftish from the start of

Quackie

. It gradually widens to four inches, although a #3 was my biggest piece. Belay on top, and walk off. I led Mike up this on October 5, 2018

This is the second of 3 area climbs rated 5.10c, **, and perhaps the easiest of the 3, but it shares the same rather sharp and feisty character with the others. Tape up!

Start off from the ground clipping the first of several bolts and pulling up onto the wall - the initial crux if you are short. Continue up and right past a few more bolts and then left to a 2-bolt and chain anchor, where you can belay but can better yet can add a long sling and continue on. From there, the route goes onward. Step up and right, clip one last bolt with a long sling, and continue now on gear. At the bulge, sing fists if you have large hands, or improvise if you don't. Head up and left over the bulge and into a rest (good ledge) and then a thin corner that is much more mellow. Head up and over, with the biggest jugs around greeting you to the right side up top. Place a few directionals, then wander back away from the edge to find a gear belay, or scramble out left to the anchors on

Violator

to belay. Lowering from these with the rope in the 'Shot' corner would be rough on the rope, as there are flakes with sharp edges in between.

A 70m rope gets you down with some to spare, and a 60m might be cutting it a bit close but should work with some caution.

Two and a half stars.  Almost stellar, but the scramble up the initial 40 feet to the ledge and then the chimney below the climb are both mediocre.

You can find False Gods...easily enough because it can be identified as the steep, colorful face left of a huge Chockstone in a prominent chimney midway up the upper section of Nebel Horn Ridge.  Find the chockstone by following the faint trail leaving from the Fern Canyon Trail to the Nebel Horn Ridge from behind a season wildlife closure sign well on your way to the ridge crest.

P1:Lead up a crack by stepping over from a rock and scramble past a tree (double length runner) and set up a quick anchor in the back of the chimney.  Bring your second up.

P2:  To reach the bolt climb on the face above, you'll need to run it out up the largely unprotected chimney to the first bolt about 25' off the deck.  It might be possible to fiddle some gear, but it is best to be competent at the grade because it is easy.  Clip the bolt and step over to the face on big jugs.  A quick left traverse along jugs leads to fun yarding up incut holds past 5 more bolts.  Some of the moves are just plain great.  Find a two bolt anchor.  The rap rings and slings need to be replaced.

Violator

is a long way up Fern Canyon and just right of the classic

Ruby Slipper

. Technical arete climbing, great positioning, and hard boulder problems define the route. Solo up the first 25 feet of low-angle 5.0 rock or place nut or two to protect this access. Steep bouldery moves climb out left past the first two bolts. Barn door arete moves climb past the third and fourth bolts. An awkward move takes the climbing onto the right side of the arete past the fifth bolt. Climb over a bulge and onto the upper lower angle headwall past bolts six and seven. Enjoy the view down into Boulder and Denver as you clip the anchors.

Start at the left end of Nebel Horn's west face, 100 feet right (uphill) of '

Rainbow Bridge

'.

Delicately balance

up the arete on good quality rock with

sparse protection

passing a couple of

interesting bulges

on a

mildly exciting journey

to the top. Belay on a ledge system beneath 'Scarecrow'.

As the name implies, this route is pretty radical - even for rookies!

The climb can be found midway up the Nebel Horn Ridge and is identified by a huge chockstone at the top of a prominent chimney.  The faces on both sidest of the chimney sport bolt lines.  The right four bolt line is Rads for Rookies.

Begin atop a group of convenient flat rocks on the talus slope at the base of the Nebel Horn Ridge, found after scrambling uphill from the Fern Canyon trail and honing in on the huge chockstone.  The actual climb begins from a ledge 40' above the talus gained by stepping off a large rock into a crack that angles up and right to the base of the Chockstone chimney.  This initial section can be protected with a #4 in the wide crack on the initial crack and a double length runner around a tree on the left of a short slab.  If you plan on climbing both bolt lines of the chimney you may want to set up an anchor in the back of the chimney on the ledge.  It is easy enough, however, to just climb Rads straight up to the anchors.  The initial moves off the ledge are huge jugs and make clipping the first bolt easy.  The climbing above is sporty, challenging and aesthetic up the face past three more bolts.  A two bolt anchor with aging slings and carabiners awaits on the summit.  Rap back to your pack.

I was tempted to say this would be three stars if it were longer, but it's so action-packed, and unique for the area, that it seems worthy of three stars even though the real climbing is only 40-45 feet. Ruby Slipper is a continuous RP to small-wire crack through a steep slab. Several cruxes, thought-provoking protection  and a great line make this a classic, despite an arduous approach. Leading it requires patience and the ability to hang out on small footholds while fiddling in RPs, and there are a couple of loose flakes to worry about. But there is plenty of gear if you work at it, and the climbing is excellent. Be careful of the mounds of loose rock on the belay ledge at the top.

Description

Protection

Routes in Nebel Horn Ridge