My Late Partner Made Me a Deadhead. So We Made the Ultimate Climbing Tick List.
My late partner Marc Horan turned me into a full-fledged Deadhead. During those first flickers of connection, I asked him—with the eager curiosity that comes with new love—about his deepest adult insecurity. His response: “More importantly, how do you feel about the Grateful Dead?” Caught off guard, I rummaged through my photo gallery for proof that, yes, I had dipped my toes into the vibrant ocean of the Grateful Dead’s music.
Marc filled every corner of our lives with his magnetic passion for the Dead. He had a special place in his heart for late keyboardist and singer-songwriter Brent Mydland. We would chuckle at the warbling notes of former member Donna Godchaux. And we’d often ponder how the struggle of addiction birthed such beautiful lyrics.
When it came to the most romantic Dead songs, we had in-depth debates. Marc chose “The Stranger,” while I settled on “If I Had the World to Give.” Those songs became echoes of us, scattered across playlists and memory. In 2024, we found ourselves at the Sphere—not once, but twice—to see Dead & Company perform. I teased him relentlessly about John Mayer having a “prettier” voice than Jerry Garcia, and he’d fire back with a grin.
One day, as Marc recounted climbing Ramblin’ Rose (5.10, Wigwam Dome, South Platte in Colorado), a passion project was born. We began with the easy routes, ticking them off one by one. Guidebooks, Mountain Project, and local lore became our map, pointing us toward our next adventure.
The climbing community happens to be full of Deadheads. Community, camaraderie, freedom, adventure—both worlds celebrate the art of living untethered to the material. Climbers and Deadheads alike pursue full immersion in the moment—poetry in motion, one might say.
The song “Box of Rain,” written by the late Robert Hunter in memory of his father, encompassed that feeling perfectly: “Feel your way like the day before, maybe you’ll find direction, around some corner where it’s been waiting to meet you.” We felt our way through every hold on Box of Rain (5.8 Canal Zone, Clear Creek Canyon, CO). The intertwining of music and climbing has always been a part of the counterculture’s spirit.
Even now, I hear the echoes of Marc’s laughter in the strains of those beloved songs. I carry his dream, his passion, and the joy he found in both climbing and the Dead. Whenever I hear “The Wheel” lyrics, “Every time that wheel turn ‘round, bound to cover just a little more ground,” I’m reminded that the journey truly is the destination.
There are many routes out there named in honor of the Grateful Dead, from Terrapin (5.6) at Yosemite’s Stately Pleasure Dome, to Touch of Grey (5.10d) at the Red River Gorge Great Wall, and international climbs, too. We ran out of time compiling our list when Marc passed, but the pursuit of Grateful Dead tributes routes is definitely an international adventure.
These were some of the highly rated Grateful Dead-inspired climbing routes Marc and I did—plus a few more that were on our list. I hope you can enjoy them as much as we did during our time climbing together.
Grateful Dead Climbing Routes We Climbed
Marc and I managed to tick off the following Grateful Dead-inspired routes in Colorado.
Box of Rain (5.8)
Canal Zone, Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado
“Maybe you’ll find direction around some corner where it’s been waiting to meet you.”
We found the way after pulling the bulge and climbing the delicate slab moves above.
Ripple (5.8)
Canal Zone, Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado
“You who choose to lead must follow”
When there are several ways to choose, but that first move requires you to follow the path before. A fun romp with a tough start and a thoughtful exit.
Bertha (5.12a)
East Quarry North Table Mountain, Colorado
“Had a feeling I was falling, falling, falling.”
The lyrics to “Bertha” were apropos, as all I did was fall on this delicate slab. Over a mile approach for this 30-foot route—it’s a wonder we got up it.
More Grateful Dead Routes
These are the Dead-themed routes that were still on our list to cover.
Touch of Grey (5.8)
Touch of Grey Slabs, Upper Dream Canyon, Colorado
“Every silver lining’s got a touch of grey.”
Shakedown Street (5.12c)
Surprising Crag, Boulder Canyon, Colorado
“Maybe you had too much too fast.”
Terrapin Station (5.11c/d R)
Poe Buttress, South Platte, Colorado
“Since the end is never told, we pay the teller off in gold
In hopes he will come back, but he cannot be bought or sold”
Dark Star (5.11a)
Rim Routes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado
“Shall we go, you and I, while we can?”
Franklin’s Tower (5.5)
West Wall, Mt Hull, Washington
“May the four winds blow you home again.”
Sugar Magnolia (5.11d)
Le Dent Pinnacle, Tahquitz, California
“Sunshine daydream,
Walkin’ in the tall trees,
Goin’ where the wind goes”
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