Chossinator

The southwest ridge of Dallas is an adventurous way to climb this Colorado San Juan Centennial. You will encounter much of the same characteristic annoying scree & talus before roping up for a chossy headwall that leads to some great scrambling and then finishes along its west ridge towers. If this route gets some traffic and cleans up, it could be an interesting and more substantial alternative to Dallas' standard

East Face

route.

Approach

: depart the Sneffels Highline trail at 11,400’ and 2.5 miles. Head north then west popping out of tree line at 12,200', and skirt west around the Dallas Peak massif toe. The next 500 feet are up unpleasant 30-degree scree; this section ends at the SW edge of the headwall at 12800'. From here, contour up and right along more scree; boulder hop and climb low-angle, short chimneys to eventually get to the base of a scruffy, lichen-covered, V-shaped inset that is right of center on the headwall. You will see an obvious, right-facing dihedral, and the Chossinator is 50 yards to its right.  At the base of the climb, scramble up and left 15 feet on easy 5th Class to gain a flat ledge that will protect the belayer from rockfall. There is a nice crack here to build a belay.

Pitch 1 - 5.6 R, 80

'

From the belay, scramble back down to the start of the pitch. Face climb 5 feet of hard to protect 5.4 - this section could be protected with a knifeblade piton. Place a #2 yellow Metolius in a flaring crack then move up delicately 6 feet for a good, small hand-size cam placement. 4 feet above this placement is a nice small ledge to take a break and plan the next moves. There is a short chimney with loose chockstones and a nice crack to the left of your waist. Place another small hand-sized cam here with a runner then move right 5 feet. The next 5-foot section is 5.6 R with a shallow, grungy crack and loose rock all around. I placed a #3 Metolius cam here and committed to the move up and right that gets you to the low angle beehive-shaped dome. Once there, the climbing eases; however, there is no feasible gear. Continue up and right on the beehive as the angle eases with loose rock aplenty. You will reach a good wide ledge with large boulders and many places to build a safe belay.

Pitch 2 - Class 3 scrambling

The next 500 feet to gain the west ridge is enjoyable Class 3 scampering on dinner plate rock chips, heading towards a formidable, left-facing corner. The scrambling up to and in the corner is super fun as the holds present themselves. Finally, you top out on Dallas’ west ridge and stare at four towers.

Pitches 3-4 - 5.4 R

The southwest ridge merges with the west ridge direct that was pioneered by Mike Silvestro in winter who explains it

here

.

There are four towers to climb along the way. The entire west ridge is 200 feet long.  The first tower goes easy free at a 5.4 downclimb to the left. Stay left, and top the second tower. Getting off the second tower may require a short rope and small finger-size pieces. The final two towers are easier scrambling but have bigger looser rocks however with a 50m rope confidence ensues. We found relatively comfortable safe cubby holes to short rope and hip belay for towers two, three and four.

After a summit celebration, rappel the East Face route for a sublime, round-robin Dallas Peak adventure. A 50-meter rope will require 4 rappels.

Gear we used: a 50m/8mm rope and a single rack of Metolius Ultralight cams #2-5, one gold Omega Pacific link cam, 2 small nuts, small tricams, 5’ of webbing, 4 alpine draws, and one knifeblade piton that was removed off Tower 2.