West Eolus dGPS Survey

[Dobsons]

I am so intrigued by this peak! My buddies Luke, Brent, and I climbed West Eulos via Boggy's south face direct route August 20th. It was an amazing climb, and we had a very blessed day on such an amazing peak. When Lidar really cast doubt on if the summit was ranked or not, I was pretty certain I would need to add it to my list of ranked 13ers. It seemed too close for me personally to omit it so I planned on adding it and I knew Luke and Brent (who are great trad climbers) would really enjoy it on one of our yearly San Juan outings. It's amazing you guys with dGPS found it to have 299.931±0.178 feet of prominence and be soft ranked! Close enough in my book to add it to my list and it sure did not disappoint. Thanks for pioneering the route Boggy and Kylie!

I think I am even more intrigued by the history of the peak. From standing up there and climbing it, it sure didn't seem like there was a class 4 route. The right side of the face still looks 5th class but the route Boggy annotated as possibly 4th class in his report seems like the only potential weakness... However, when traversing to the south face direct route we hugged the face pretty closely on the access ramp and man nothing looking upwards seemed safe for non-roped 4th class travel. It's just fascinating that people that have climbed it before have such a fuzzy recollection of what route they did. Climbing that face without a rope (and even more downclimbing it) does not seem like a climb that would be fuzzy in the memory, but I am sure the details fade over time...

Boggy did you see evidence of people on the summit before you guys? Is there a reported FA or any other information on West Eolus's climbing history anywhere? I've tried to find some things with simple searches but can't find anything other than what this website discusses. Such a fascinating peak! I'll be intrigued to one day read of people exploring the right side of the face further and what they find. Ranked or unranked it was a very worthy outing and one I won't forget any time soon and I am glad I added it to my list!
Corey

[Boggy B]

I'm not aware of a recorded history of ascents. Several people had ticked it on 14ers.com and LoJ prior to our climb. The only person who has since produced an account of their ascent is Mike Garratt. This was a prompted response to newer beta and reports, and it was somewhat inconsistent with our experience and that of other recent climbers. I also know a Ridgway local crusher who believes he soloed up/down our route with a bow after he shot a goat off the saddle into NY Basin years ago.

I doubt we got the FA and couldn't care less either way, but I do wish the prior claims existed alongside photos or a credible account (written before 202x) that made sense in context of the route/summit. It's not that hard or notable a climb, but it was certainly memorable for us, and that seems to be the experience of everyone who's been up there since.

[seannunn]

Sorry I don't have anything to add except a question: what is the elevation for West Eolus? I don't see that mentioned anywhere here.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[josephnephi]

Sorry I don't have anything to add except a question: what is the elevation for West Eolus? I don't see that mentioned anywhere here.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

~13733.4-13733.5 NAVD88 depending on post processing method

[Dobsons]

Fascinating Boggy thanks for the info. Maybe something has changed on the face over the past 2-3 decades where there was an easier access point to the right side of the face? I agree I doubt a first ascent of a historically soft ranked peak in Chicago Basin would be in 2019 and it's admirable that you don't really care. Regardless it is just a mysterious peak in terms of its climbing history and its rank!

There are absolutely some crushers out there so I'm sure it's been climbed by people who never even documented it. However, the face and location and summit block seems so unlikely for even a crusher to not take a photo of the summit block or summit ridge looking over New York Basin from the summit! A bow hunter free soloing your route after shooting a goat in the saddle... why would one climb the center of that face to get into New York Basin chasing a wounded goat and not just go through the saddle? I suppose a bow could help aid the offwidth jamming it in there?!? I have little doubt Mike Garratt climbed it, that dude was everywhere! The lack of a patented Mike Garratt summit register up there leads to just a tad bit of doubt however based on his summit registers all over the state!!!

I'd love to read a report or see photos from the summit from someone before Boggy and again I look forward to people one day possibly exploring the right side of the face further!
Corey

[Boggy B]

Fascinating Boggy thanks for the info. Maybe something has changed on the face over the past 2-3 decades where there was an easier access point to the right side of the face? I agree I doubt a first ascent of a historically soft ranked peak in Chicago Basin would be in 2019 and it's admirable that you don't really care. Regardless it is just a mysterious peak in terms of its climbing history and its rank!

There are absolutely some crushers out there so I'm sure it's been climbed by people who never even documented it. However, the face and location and summit block seems so unlikely for even a crusher to not take a photo of the summit block or summit ridge looking over New York Basin from the summit! A bow hunter free soloing your route after shooting a goat in the saddle... why would one climb the center of that face to get into New York Basin chasing a wounded goat and not just go through the saddle? I suppose a bow could help aid the offwidth jamming it in there?!? I have little doubt Mike Garratt climbed it, that dude was everywhere! The lack of a patented Mike Garratt summit register up there leads to just a tad bit of doubt however based on his summit registers all over the state!!!

I'd love to read a report or see photos from the summit from someone before Boggy and again I look forward to people one day possibly exploring the right side of the face further!
Corey

My buddy said he went up there to locate the goat after losing visual. He certainly has the head for it, but the memory sounds fuzzy.
Garratt also claimed to have soloed up/down the same route in 1986, fresh off a bunch of harder climbing in Eldo.
Still, the intersection of peakbaggers v. climbers who would solo down this route must be vanishingly small. Gerry Roach's concept of "soft-ranked" wasn't introduced until the 90's, prior to that there wouldn't have been reason for peakbaggers to go up it, and perhaps by the same token not much reason for someone who did to record any details.