ABSTRACT
The rocks of the Garden of the Gods are composed of soft sandstones and conglomerates of late Paleozoic age. Climbers in the Garden learn to use minute flakes with extreme delicacy, keeping their weight above and downwards, and wherever possible distributing their weight evenly between feet and hands to reduce the chance of a flake breaking off. Garden climbers delight in telling stories of 5.10 expert rock climbers from other areas who have come down pale-faced and shaking at the knees after a first experience with a 5.6 soft sandstone classic. When Carter climbed with Stanley Boucher in 1950, he became aware of the traditions which had been established by Albert Ellingwood, and he adopted similar principles in his own climbing in the Garden of the Gods. During the 1950’s in Colorado Springs, Harvey Carter was successul in maintaining a simple and tradition-based approach to rock climbing in the Garden of the Gods.
