Hazel Findlay and Angus Kille Climb Hallucinogen Wall 5.13+R
The big-wall style free route was first freed in 2011 by the late Hansjorg Auer
Hazel Findlay and her partner Angus Kille have climbed the Hallucinogen Wall in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park, Colorado. The 500-metre climb goes at 5.13+R and is considered one of the classic test-piece lines in the state.
The 13 pitch route was established in 1980 by Bryan Becker, Ed Webster, Bruce Lella and Jim Newberry over 17 days with climbing up to A5. In 2004, Jared Ogden and Ryan Nelson climbed the route at 5.13-R, but used ice tools on pitch 13 at D10+. In April 2011, the late Hansjorg Auer made the first free ascent in less than nine hours at 5.13+R, with belayer Ben Pepesant. Hallucinogen Wall has been repeated a handful of times by climbers like Josh Wharton, Hayden Kennedy, Nik Berry and Michal Matyjasik. Madeleine Sorkin climbed it in 2012, swapping leads with the late Brad Gobright, and returned in 2022 to redpoint the full route in a day. Sorkin also replaced the old and damaged hardware, thus making the route safer for future repeats.
About the send, Kille said, “I knew this route had a reputation before I came to the Black, but I didn’t know what it really entailed. The canyon is steep, narrow and rather big. The ‘easier’ 5.10 classics are good-value adventures. When Hazel suggested the H-Wall as an objective, I thought we’d be out of our depth, but once we were on the wall things started to change: unknowns became knowns, intimidating sections became good challenges, and most of all a good bit of psyche unleashed the sort of energy you never use in everyday climbing – you’re willing to push into real fatigue and adrenaline seems to numb the many pains of big walling. Hazel and I topped out on the route a couple of days ago, having freed the 13 or so pitches and spent a night on the wall. The route was more than 500 m, sustained, somehow both traddy and sporty, and deserving of its reputation.”
Hallucinogen Wall
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