Nick Duttle sends Sarchasm (5.14b at 12,000+ feet)

After a nearly summer long battle, Nick Duttle has dispatched his project, Sarchasm (5.14b) in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park.  There are a few routes in the world where a number grade does little to reflect on the true difficulty.  Sarchasm is certainly one of them.  It sits below the 14,000 foot Longs Peak and glares menacingly over Chasm Lake.  The hike to the route from the parking lot is over four miles (with all the secret short cuts) and gains over 3000 feet of elevation.  That’s like hiking to the top of El Cap before you even start trying to climb 5.14.  In addition you have to deal with the thin air which makes your arms pump out even faster.  Not to mention the alpine weather conditions that could bring instantly soaking rainstorms or even snow in the middle of the summer.  And finally, you’ve got to find someone to hike up there with you and give you a belay.  Since Sarchasm is one of very few routes in the vicinity, and climbers capable of sending 5.14 at 12,000+ feet are rare, you’ll be needing a steady stream of dedicated belayers to fulfill the task.

Nick points out Sarchasm.  The line follows the light arete near the right edge of the picture, just down and left of the lens flare.  All photos courtesy of Tiffany Hensley.  

I’ll give you one guess as to who the first ascentionist of such a monstrosity is…yup, Tommy Caldwell.  According to the book “Climb: The History of Rock Climbing in Colorado,” the line was first spied by Pat Adams and Jim Redo after they established the nearby Baloney Poney (5.12d).  Adams (a 5.13+ climber) declared it impossible while Redo thought it would go.  They bet a dinner on it at a fancy restaurant in Boulder and Redo called in Tommy Caldwell to give it a shot.   The next summer, 1999, Tommy hand-drilled and sent the route.  Redo feasted on Filet Mignon and fine wine.

In 2003, Beth Rodden claimed the second ascent of the route, then in 2007 Jonathan Siegrist claimed the third ascent.  Remarkably, it was Jonathan’s first 5.14!  Nick and Jonathan have both remarked on the legacy of hard sport routes that Tommy left in the Front Range.  Siegrist wrote about it on his DPM blog here.  Earlier this summer, Nick set out to repeat one of Tommy’s other hard sport routes and after a lengthy effort, succeeded on Grand Ol’ Opry (5.14b)at the Monastery.  The logical next step was Sarchasm and with that complete, Nick plans to attack a third one; Vogue (5.14b/c).

Shoeing up for Sarchasm in cold conditions.  

It should be noted that Caldwell originally graded the line 5.14a which was confirmed by Rodden and Siegrist.  After breaking a few holds during his efforts at what he calls, “the first fat guy ascent,” Nick felt the line warranted the 5.14b grade.  He also noted that it took him longer to figure out the crux on Sarchasm  than it did for him to figure out some V14 boulder problems.  He stated, “I did the move on Jade (V15) faster than the crux move of Sarchasm.”  With two severe sections of difficult climbing and a double digit crux, Nick felt the route warranted an upgrade.  In early August, Red River climber Adam Taylor joined Nick on the route and casually mentioned that it was harder than Lucifer (5.14c) at the Red, which Taylor has been repeating in 90 degree temps for training.  Nick’s final thought on the grade; “Even at 5.14b it is still a sandbag.  At 5.14a it would redefine the grading of routes all over the country.  It is probably the hardest route I’ve done.”  With over 80 miles of hiking invested into the route and the fourth ascent finally complete, Duttle celebrated by jumping into Chasm Lake then returning home to party on his dog’s 15^th birthday!  Nice job Nick!

Nick is sponsored by Scarpa, Gramicci, Bob’s Red Mill, and Petzl.