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Pillar Talk (5.7)
Location of Climb: Willow Spring
Aspect of Face: Southeast
Time Category: Single Pitch
Intro
Pillar Talk is one of several classic climbs put up by Joe Herbst in the Willow Spring area. Others include Black Track (5.9) and Nadia's Nine (5.10). For those who believe that the YDS ratings on climbs at the Red Rocks are "soft", I invite you to check out any of Joe's routes. He was rating these climbs back in the day, and the ratings on his climbs are comparable to those in Yosemite or the High Sierra.
Park at the first parking area on the left (west) side of the road into the Willow Spring picnic area. Follow the well-trodden Children's Discovery Trail west toward Hidden Falls. Leave the trail and go left (south) along the cliff face before the Hidden Falls alcove. Pillar Talk is the large pillar about 200 yards south of the alcove, identifiable by the large crack running up the center through a prominent roof. Alternatively, if you have a good fix on the location of the climb it is probably easier hiking to just head directly toward it from the parking area, as the "trail" along the cliff south of the alcove is poor.
Climb
Follow the fist-size crack up through a small roof to a hand crack in the dihedral above. Move up to below the large roof and traverse left along a small ledge to the exit. Most folks traverse below the ledge, using it for hands, although it's about the same difficulty to use it for feet and work some flakes under the roof for hands. Either way, you'll want the last piece of gear to be just above the small roof below, or you'll be dealing with rope drag after the traverse. After exiting to the left of the large roof, move up the shallow crack to a belay stance and build an anchor.
The second pitch is relatively short and much easier, though there also isn't a lot in the way of gear placements. Move up the crack until it runs out, then continue up the lower-angle face to the top of the pillar.
Descend by rappelling with two ropes from the large pine tree above the corner just to the north of the pillar.
Gear
Larger (3-4 inch) cams for the lower section of the climb, and some hand-width (1-2) inch cams for the upper sections of crack, including the gear anchor.
