Are there any "easier", shorter class 4 hikes to try?

[Lardtazium]

I've been looking at doing some of the peaks near Aspen this summer. There's quite a bit of class 4 terrain out there, and I've never done anything of the sort before. I've done class 3, and I'm no stranger to scrambling.

I just want to know what I'm in for before I drive 2 hours to a trailhead, camp, and find that I can't make it up this mountain at 6am the next day.

So are there any shorter or easier class 4 hikes to try? I know it's not fair to say easy, since easier C4 would just be C3. I just want maybe a short stretch of class 4 to see what it's about, if that makes sense.

Also I'm new here so please don't crucify me.


EDIT: To avoid making a new thread for a simple question, what are these willows you run through when you go do Evans from Guanella? I did the Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Evans combo starting at guanella and I don't remember walking through a swamp. There was a nice boardwalk going out of the trailhead, and I followed the couloir down from Evans.

[jomagam]

You can do it ! I assume you weren't totally sketched out on a class 3, so one step up won't be that bad.

[Vincopotamus]

Not sure where you're located, but the Weenie Route on Greyrock Mountain just west of Fort Collins is a nice, short class 4 route. I've done it once in October, and there were a few wet, seepy spots that made things spicier than I was anticipating, so you might run into a bit of ice this time of year. But overall, the whole route is about 7 miles round trip, low elevation and easy access from Fort Collins. Also, you can descend the class 2 standard route back down to avoid class 4 down climbing if you're not interested in that.

[Jay521]

EDIT: To avoid making a new thread for a simple question, what are these willows you run through when you go do Evans from Guanella? I did the Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Evans combo starting at guanella and I don't remember walking through a swamp. There was a nice boardwalk going out of the trailhead, and I followed the couloir down from Evans.

Back in the day (a long time ago) the boardwalk wasn't there. Then, the toughest part of the Bierstadt hike was getting through the willows and the surrounding swamp. I have heard that several small children were lost there back in the 70's and came back to become lurkers on this site...

Seriously - the willows and the swamp were a real pain before the boardwalk. I'm almost ticked that they put in the boardwalk and fixed the G Pass road. That makes for the hordes of people that are there on any given summer weekend. That did not used to be the case.

[SoCool]

N Maroon has just one short class 4 crux.

[Lardtazium]

EDIT: To avoid making a new thread for a simple question, what are these willows you run through when you go do Evans from Guanella? I did the Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Evans combo starting at guanella and I don't remember walking through a swamp. There was a nice boardwalk going out of the trailhead, and I followed the couloir down from Evans.

Back in the day (a long time ago) the boardwalk wasn't there. Then, the toughest part of the Bierstadt hike was getting through the willows and the surrounding swamp. I have heard that several small children were lost there back in the 70's and came back to become lurkers on this site...

Seriously - the willows and the swamp were a real pain before the boardwalk. I'm almost ticked that they put in the boardwalk and fixed the G Pass road. That makes for the hordes of people that are there on any given summer weekend. That did not used to be the case.

Well, that explains why I never remember walking through any swamps.

[Lardtazium]

Not sure where you're located, but the Weenie Route on Greyrock Mountain just west of Fort Collins is a nice, short class 4 route. I've done it once in October, and there were a few wet, seepy spots that made things spicier than I was anticipating, so you might run into a bit of ice this time of year. But overall, the whole route is about 7 miles round trip, low elevation and easy access from Fort Collins. Also, you can descend the class 2 standard route back down to avoid class 4 down climbing if you're not interested in that.

This looks like something I could do! What kind of footwear is best? When it really comes down to it I'll be wearing my boots, but would running shoes or climbing shoes be better for the trial run?

I'm in Boulder.

[TallGrass]

N Maroon has just one short class 4 crux.

+1 And if you're fine with that, do Pyramid. NM is just the chimney (if you can pull yourself up onto a big mantle, you got it), which some say can be bypassed in class 3 fashion, though I prefer avoiding that rock. If you're in/near Aspen, just do the approaches as day hikes to get familiar, and ease some of the route finding as a 3 or 4am start should get you off the summit and out of the gulleys before any weather rolls in. You can even start for Pyramid from the parking lot at 11am and be back to class 2 stuff before dark, DAMHIK.

[cordisimo]

The "Freeway" route on the 2nd Flatiron in Boulder has a a few 5.0 moves at the beginning but mellows out after about 40ft. Mostly 3rd and 4th after that. Roach ranks the whole thing as 4th. Its about 2.5 miles RT and 1,200ft of gain starting from Chautauqua.

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/freeway/105752023" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[polar]

Just keep in mind that even though technically all class 4 should be the same level of difficulty, scrambling a well traveled low angle slab with solid rock in the front range is going to be very different than scrambling a rotten vertical wall with challenging route finding at 13,000+ feet. Not saying you shouldn't do the flatiron scrambling, just remember that one does not necessarily prepare you for the other.

In terms of footwear, I definitely wouldn't do any scrambling in my boots if I can help it. I want good range of motion in my feet when I'm scrambling, so it's either low top hiking shoes or approach shoes for me. Climbing shoes would most likely be overkill. On dirty and loose routes, climbing shoes are actually more slippery due to the lack of tread on the soles. The exception would be the flatirons, the rock is slabby and really solid, were the friction from climbing shoes make a difference.

[GeezerClimber]

Personally, I'd say if you've climbed some harder class 3s, like Crestone Needle for instance, then you are ready for any 14er. I would rate Pyramid as borderline class 4. I only faced in for one short pitch while descending. We even found a way to bypass most of the green wall descending using a 2+ gully instead. Route finding and taking care on loose rock are bigger issues here. I will say it is one steep but very cool mountain.

Dave

[justiner]

What personally (emphasis) for me WAS climbing Freeway again, and again, and again, and again, while also logging major time in both the bouldering and climbing gyms - especially taking whole sessions downclimbing without rocks shoes on, with a weighted backpack. My goal is a little different than most intensity-wise, granted.

You don't necessarily WANT to practice "Class 4" on chossy stuff, as it's just not very sustainable to the area (you'll just cause erosion) and you're liable to hurt yourself, in minor ways w/dings + scratches - it's not the best feedback.

That's why doing Freeway (or something similar) has its advantages - you get experience with a lot of the more mental aspects of the problem: exposure, route finding, length of the route, etc - there's also ways to bail of the route if you're not feeling it.

What you WON'T get on a flatiron slab climb is technical experience - slab'ing is going to be a different skill than what you need for say, the Maroon Bells Traverse. What you need to understand there is how to deal with rotten rock, that can (and will move on you). The lessons of testing rocks, pushing on, rather than pulling out holds, not being in the line of fire, etc can be learned as conceptual ideas BEFORE you go out and you can practice them whenever you're on a Class 3/4 route. You can do this all on The Sawtooth, or the Keyhole route if you wanted to, no matter how silly it seems.

What you want to do is built up the habit on how to approach the problem, and have it all automatic. For many, all of this is way overthinking the whole thing: they see a cliff, they climb up: that's totally fine to. Some people have reserves about it - if so, that's where you may want to figure out what it is exactly you're not 100% comfortable with, and address it. A lot of it has to do with exposure, or not trusting your feet/not knowing what your abilities really are. Discover those and you'll do great - that's what practice is all about.