★★★ Olive Oil 5.7 PG

A Red Rocks Classic!

Approach: from Pine Creek parking lot, follow the main trail just past an old home foundation. Take a left here on the Oak Creek trail. This trail eventually forks right after about 15 minutes. Take a right on a faint trail heading to Juniper Canyon. Head for the Rose Tower, a rounded top pink formation by going into the second of two gullies. The first gully is the descent. The climb starts bout 250 yards up this gully after going over some boulders and a small creek, at a small clear beneath a left-facing, left-leaning chimney in a corner.

1. 90ft (5.7R) Climb the slab on the left side of the corner, passing a bulge (crux) and head diagonally right to a small sandy alcove,

2. 120ft (5.7) Climb the corner then move right into a splitter crack (fingers an hands) to a small ledge (semi-hanging gear belay)

3. 100ft (5.7) Continue up the crack, over a bulge and then move left into the corner. Climb the corner and belay with gear at a good ledge on the arete.

4. 140ft (5.7) Traverse right and then up a runout easy face, trending right towards a huge left facing corner. Follow the corner to a big flat area atop the column. Don’t go into the corner too soon. You can use some stoppers for your anchors here and save some cams for the long pitch ahead.

5. 195ft (5.7) The money pitch! Head up and right to the beautiful corner as long as the rope will get you. A 60m barely reaches a small ledge at the top of the corner. Save somesmall to medium size gear (.75 camalot) for the belay.

6. 50ft (4th class) Head right and up, then right and up again to the big flat top of the Rose Tower. Sign the logbook

Descent: Head north off the Rose Tower (the other side of where you came from) with 1 short exposed down-climb, then hike south down the gully (gully east of Rose Tower).