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spacecowboy
Apr 26, 2004, 10:59 PM
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I'm going to be in colorado (probably closer to denver than farther) for the later half of May with a climbing partner of mine and wondering if there are any places anybody woiuld recommend visiting. We climb mostly in the gunks, ~5.10 trad leading/ ~5.12 sport...not too experienced, but not novice either. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
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jratjeff
Apr 26, 2004, 11:17 PM
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For trad you have to go to Eldo! If you are going to be in Denver then you need to go to Golden Cliffs (North Table Mountain) for the sport stuff. When you climb you overlook the Coors plant and when you burn out go down for a tour and some free beer!
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nthusiastj
Apr 26, 2004, 11:20 PM
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I agree with Eldo for trad. Lumpy Ridge is awesome too.
Golden cliffs is kinda weak in my opinion. A better sport crag would be Clear Creek Canyon (still Golden) or Shelf Road for good limestone sport.
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jratjeff
Apr 26, 2004, 11:25 PM
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You're right Clear Creek is better. Shelf is a pretty good drive from Denver. I was lost in a I need beer moment!
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clymber
Apr 26, 2004, 11:54 PM
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if you want to do some bouldering look at Flagstaff also
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climbhigh2005
Apr 27, 2004, 12:08 AM
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ClimbHigh2005 moved this thread from General to US - Mountain States.
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bolder
Apr 27, 2004, 2:35 PM
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Boulder has great trad with Eldo and great sport with Boulder Canyon, but the camping is a ways away. Estes park would be a good option with Lumpy Ridge, Lily mountain, and the monastary. There is more accessible camping in that area. The South platte area is another good option with lots of really good trad and some sport with plenty of camping options.
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calamity_chk
Apr 27, 2004, 2:44 PM
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turkey/south platte. vedauwoo is only a couple of hours north and well worth the drive.
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mother_sheep
Apr 27, 2004, 2:59 PM
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Just go to Eldo. It's mostly trad but once you get a taste of it, you won't want to go anywhere else. There are also some new (within the past cpouple of years) bolted lines over on Rincon in Eldo, pretty hard. But for your ultimate bolt clipping fix, Shelf is the place. Beautiful sharp limestone full of mono, duas and ridges. It takes me about 1.5 hours to get there from S. Denver.
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allarounder
Apr 27, 2004, 3:00 PM
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Some of these folks might be a little slow in the reading comprehension department. Ved is in Wyoming, and is about 2.5-3 hours from Denver depending on where you're located. Estes Park and lumpy are stellar, but again, a bit of a drive (1-1.5 hours) if you are looking to stay local. Same for the South Platte. The Platte is spread out, and diverse. Some places take a while to get to and find.
North Table / Golden Cliffs sucks, dood. While there's plenty of routes, few are memorable. It's hot, barren, smelly (think Coors hoppy smell) and full of gumbies.
For areas closer to Denver - Clear Creek is nice, Boulder Canyon has a good mix of sport and trad, Eldo is Eldo. The South St. Vrain has many hidden gems - beware of ticks, lichen, and the occasional gnarly approach. Flatirons are a lot of fun.
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reno
Apr 27, 2004, 3:05 PM
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Eldo or the Flatirons if you wanna place gear.
Clear Creek if you wanna clip bolts.
Boulder Canyon if you want a mix of both.
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greenspace
Apr 29, 2004, 5:41 PM
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if anyone is around durango or mancos in mid may, I would really like to climb with them. I am on a roadtrip of sorts from the flatlands.
some trad/sport climbing.
pm or reply please.
:D
thanks
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beckerw
Apr 30, 2004, 5:26 AM
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though it has been mentioned (by nearly everyone) eldo is the bomb. climbs are more "facey" than purre crack. you might have some fun clipping bolts in eldo too.
if you can't go far, the sport up boulder and clear creek can be reasonable. neither are world class. shelf road is worthy of a visit for some limestone. it might still be early in the year for rifle (wet spring) it is a hard man's paradise of bolts
as we return to thoughts of splitter cracks, the south platte has many epic jems waiting. lumpy ridge should also be on the visit list.
soo much rock. sooooo little time.
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tim
Apr 30, 2004, 7:04 AM
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casualty route, Long's Peak
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sandbag
Apr 30, 2004, 7:09 AM
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if you want to boulder, you cant pass up Horsetooth Res. Truly world class. Still has some of the toughest problems sent by the baddest boulders.
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killclimbz
Apr 30, 2004, 8:02 AM
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Just go to Boulder. Plenty of everything you want to do around there.
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coclimber26
May 9, 2004, 2:11 AM
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If you are a crack addict hit Turkey rocks...You can never go wrong with eldo though...Such a cool place with a lifetime of routes.
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fireclimber
May 9, 2004, 4:21 AM
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In reply to: If you like the Gunks, you'll like Eldo. Lots of long, multi-pitch, sustained trad. It will get crowded, but stay farther up the canyon and you shouldn't run into too many others. Golden Cliffs is crappy, greasy basalt, and there's much better sport in Boulder Canyon (watch out of the poison oak/ivy or whatever it is in on the lower end!) and up in Clear Creek. Drives are minimal and there are great brewpubs for apres-climb! PS Was at the Gunks for the first time a couple of weeks ago, mostly around Trapps. Superb stuff! I'll have to come back and spend a week!
yes I agree if you climb the gunks you will feel at home in Eldo. but more so Lumpy Ridge. You will not find as many horizontal cracks around although, still bring your tri cams cause I know you have them.
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mike_the_sumo
May 9, 2004, 7:58 AM
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Keep in mind that in mid May, some areas may be closed due to the raptors. There's a list at http://www.climbingboulder.com/resources/closures/, but that may not be all inclusive. From memory, much of the flatirons and boulder canyon are off limits til July.
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flamer
May 9, 2004, 10:20 PM
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In reply to: casualty route, Long's Peak
You're kidding right?
Ever been up in the longs/meeker cirque this time of year??
SNOW and ICE.
josh
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