North America, United States, Colorado—Five New Routes in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Publication Year: 1963.

Five New Routes in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Layton Kor made a series of new routes, all of extreme difficulty and calling for much direct aid, on the 2000-foot walls of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. On the Painted Wall route, Kor and Jim Disney attacked a vertical and often overhanging arête and had to bivouac before completing the climb. Kor describes the Porcelain Arête, also on the north side of the canyon and just east of the Painted Wall, as the most spectacular arête in the entire canyon. The route, climbed with John Kerr, took 9½ hours. Kor also climbed the Balanced Rock Wall with Kerr, the Russian Arête with Larry Dalke and the Shining Buttress with Huntley Ingalls.

Lone Eagle Peak. Jay Orear and I did a new route on Lone Eagle Peak in July. From Crater Lake the route rose straight up just northwest of the north face until we reached the lower part of the upper buttress. There an exposed, one-rope-length traverse led onto the buttress’s north face, which we climbed several hundred feet to the base of the top pinnacle. A short traverse to the east under the top pinnacle brought us to a series of pitons, indicating that we had joined a normal route, which we followed to the top.

John Sopka