April 5, 2025

Sandy:

Today was our first day in Red Rocks, and we were in the mood for a moderate romp—not too serious, not too chill, just something to shake off the travel dust and remind our bodies how gravity works. In true veteran climber fashion, we started the day like the pros we are: by sleeping in, sipping overpriced lattes and eventually hitting the trail toward Icebox Canyon at 12:52 p.m.

After some scenic meandering and watching climbers at the Sunnyside crags, we felt the itch to actually climb something. Olive Oil stood out. I’d seen it in 2023 while hiking to Mister Z and always noticed it had a crowd. Naturally, I was curious—what made this five-pitch classic so popular?

We started hiking toward Olive Oil at 1:53 p.m (Link for GPX track for ascent and descent trail at the end of TR) and reached the base by 3:00 p.m. Not exactly alpine-start material, but hey, style points for commitment. At 3:30 p.m., we racked up to start climbing—just as a descending party arrived at the base to retrieve their packs.

They gave us a look—the kind usually reserved for someone showing up to a dinner party just as everyone else is doing the dishes. One of them chuckled and said, “Good luck—we hope you don’t get benighted!” Rick relayed the message, and I just smiled—not because I was underestimating the climb ((Olive Oil, you beautiful five-pitched 5.7 beast), but because we planned to simul-climb most of it.

Rick led and linked the first three pitches, and we simul-climbed with two micro traxions between us for safety and speed. The first piece was a black totem, the second a .4 totem for a surprisingly heady move. This move off the deck felt astonishingly spicy for 5.7. We both gave each other that raised-eyebrow look that says, “Alrighty then—game on.”

I took the lead on pitch 4, which is the only one that breaks from the obvious crack system. Unluckily, my radio had decided to switch channels (my bad for not locking it) and embrace its new solo career, so I missed Rick’s warnings about veering off-route. I happily cruised up the wrong crack thinking, “Wow, what a fun and spicy variation!” When the crack ended, I built an anchor and brought Rick up.

Upon arrival Rick was calm like a mountain goat in yoga class —no frustration, no wasted time. I asked him, I am not sure how to go right from here, it looks unprotected face climb. He said the traverse right was down there. I was so focussed on the crack that I totally missed the chalk marks going right. We quickly figured out how to build a bomber anchor using a couple of single-length slings through a gap between two rocks just below where I was standing. We rappelled down to where the route actually goes right (I have pointed it out in the photos below), and Rick led us up to the comfy flat ledge belay.

Now the light was fading, and we were racing the sunset. The last pitch was exactly 70m with sparse gear at start but easy climbing and one short chimney/OffWidth move. We topped out just before dark and used the remaining light to get to the trail on climber’s right.

---

Enjoy the pitch-wise photo and few beta in captions. The pitch lengths and grade are from guide book.

P1 90 feet, 5.7: Easy romp up and place a black totem in a hole where Rick is standing.

P1 90 feet, 5.7: Spicy second move that protects with a .4 totem.

P2 and P3 total 220 feet, 5.7: Good pro and fun climbing.

Left: P4 start, 160 feet, 5.7. Right: The red rope goes straight up on the crack which is not the way to go. The easy traverse towards the cave like structure on the right, is where you need to go.

P4 remaining: Follow this crack where you see the gear.

This is the top of errorneous P4. We quickly figured out how to build a bomber anchor using a couple of single-length slings through a gap between two rocks just below where I am standing.

Left: Actual top of P4 on flat comfy ledge. Right: As we were climbing P4, I took this picture looking down to show how steep this climb is despite the mellow grade.

P5: 195 feet, 5.7: Left: Rick is approaching the chimney move. Right: Rick is starting up on pitch 5. Sparse pro at the start of the pitch but upper section protects with hand size cams. We used one #4.

Summit shot as the lights dim. From here go up towards the bushes to the top of the formation and you will see the view shown in below picture.

From the top of the formation, it’s an easy scramble down to where Rick is standing. From there, you’ve got two options. Option one—the one I took—is to downclimb left, just below where Rick is, toward the base of the formation marked by two small bushes (you’ll see them in the photo). From there, it’s a simple wrap-around to the right—very straightforward and mellow. Option two – Rick, being the more adventurous soul, continued down past the two bushes and opted to downclimb the face of the formation. That line is definitely trickier and felt a bit too committing for my taste, so I gave it a pass. The key beta here: keep trending climber’s right (as seen in the photo) and you’ll hit a well-worn trail that leads all the way down to the base of Rose Tower.

We started the descent at 7:36 p.m. and made it back to the car by 8:38 p.m. Lost light somewhere along the way, but thankfully it was after we were already cruising on solid trail.

GPX track for ascent trail: https://www.strava.com/activities/14092931381

GPX track for descent trail: https://www.strava.com/activities/14092931775

Takeaways:
Olive Oil may be “moderate” in rating, but she’s got character. The climbing is varied, surprisingly steep and engaging, and if you treat her with the right mix of respect, humor, and micro traxions, she rewards you handsomely. Just… maybe don’t start at 3:30 p.m. unless you enjoy the spicy seasoning of time pressure.

Gear: 70m rope, double rack, one #4, two micro-traxions, 2L water, literally two bars, two double length runner, five single length runner and two GriGri.

Total hike time: 1 hr 52 minutes

Total climb time with off route shenanigans: 4 hrs 35 minutes.