Bloody Arete Sit

Yesterday Byron and myself went to the pass for a few hours so that I could hopefully finish up the Bloody Arete Sit.  Bloody Arete is an old school Ute Pass line, put up around a decade ago. Dave Marquess made some news when he got the second ascent at the age of 13.  The line was originally called V11, when Colorado Springs locals compared its difficulty to that of Full Service in Hueco. Dave's method involved some heinous small moves including catching one crystal as a mono. Beta has since been refined and the line may be slightly easier.  Despite the sharpness of a few holds, this is the best climb at Ute Pass in my opinion. I had fallen off the end of the stand the day before so I knew I was close.  I was just hoping my skin could hold out for long enough to get to the top.  I dialed in the stand by doing it a few times and then went for the sit.  What turned out to feel like the crux was just grabbing the right hand crystal on the face and actually committing to holding it.  This hold gives the problem its name and had split Tim's finger on Friday.  I got the send after about an hour or so although the moves did not feel as smooth as the day before. Luckily, the top went smoother then previously, although I still did not feel especially secure. The day ended by eyeing some new lines and then attempting a crash pad toboggan.   I tried to jump onto the pad but i just slid over the top of it and landed on my stomach on the ice.  Check Byron's blog for footage of the send and attempted toboggan.  Here are some photos from the fall of 2006  of Nathan Brand and myself working the stand in not so ideal conditions.