Stairway to Heaven (Silverton, CO)

By: Sam Johnson | Climbers: Sam Johnson, Eric Sullivan |Trip Dates: February, 2003

Photo: Gary Clark

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Heaven Sent: A Simul-solo from Heaven

My friend Eric and I decided we would like to solo the classic route Stairway to Heaven (900+ ft) outside Silverton, Colorado. Stairway is the classic line at Silverton among a host of spectacular and excellent multipitch lines in the area encompassing a wide range of difficulty.

As usual we got a much later start than intended due to bad behavior the previous evening with our friends in Gunnison. We left the parking lot to approach the route at about 10:30 AM. The approach takes about 15-30 minutes for most parties from the small parking lot at Eureka, a ghost mining town north of Silverton. We reached the base of the climb and began motoring up the climb around 11:10 after gearing up, then simul-soloed over several steps. At the base of the crux step (WI 4) we met our friend Bill Leo, owner and proprietor of Ouray Mountain Sports. Bill offered to take a picture of us on the crux step as we passed his climbing partner who was leading the pitch on the right side (WI3+). We took the steeper and longer left edge (WI4) after a good conversation and topped out about five minutes later. 35 minutes after starting we sat down to enjoy the morning, then began the slog back to the car for coffee and sunbathing. Colorado really is plush!

This climb is in a stunning setting, and the other ice climbs in the area are also beautiful and spectacular as well as a lot of fun to climb. However, you must beware of the massive daily afternoon avalanches in late season on the south facing slopes (e.g., 1st and 2nd Gully, Goldrush) and in the enormous afternoon sun-baked bowl above Stairway. In good conditions, Stairway is a fun day for beginners, however climbers have been killed on it. Most parties take from 2.5 to-6 hours. One trick to climbing ice fast is to of course stretch that rope out! This is a truly lovely site, and the alpine mixed climbs really are gems.