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Rock On: Your guide to climbing in NC |
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Written by Zach Jacobson
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Wednesday, 14 June 2006 |
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Page 6 of 7
PATH FINDER
northern colorado rock routes
 1. Arthur’s Rock. A small bouldering area west of Fort Collins in Lory State Park.
A 25-minute uphill approach guards problems that usually involve sharp granite crimpers and can shred the finger tips. Most of the problems are V4 and up.
Directions: Take U.S. 287 north through Laporte, then turn left at the Bellvue Exit onto Larimer County Road 23N. Turn left again, then take a right on Larimer 25G. Go to the entrance and fee area.
In the park, hike up the Arthur’s Rock Trail about 25 minutes. There is a junction with a sign “Alternate Arthur’s Rock Trail,” take this to the left. There are trees after about 100 yards. The main Vice/Godzilla areas are below the trail while Childbirth/Snake are above.
2. Big Thompson Canyon. Impressive, with a variety of climbing, mostly traditional and sport routes. The rock ranges from good to horrific, so be careful and wear a helmet.
Directions: Climbs are along U.S. 34 between Loveland and Estes Park. All climbs are approached from the road.
3. Carter Lake. A vast bouldering area containing many classic problems. Many problems above V5, some of the better hard problems of the state.
Directions: Take U.S. 34 through Loveland, the Carter Lake turnoff is a mile or so west of the city. Follow signs to the lake.
4. The Monastery. Superb granite sport climbing for all abilities. A moderately arduous approach keeps crowds away.
Directions: Take U.S. 34 west to Drake. Take a right on Devils Gulch Road. Take the next road to the right. Follow about 5 miles, staying to the left at all intersections. Park at the campsites a few hundred yards down from the switchback. Follow the trail down into the gulley and then back over the ridge.
5. Cedar Park Slab. This is a granite slab visible to the north on the drive to the Monastery. It offers nice slab climbing on fine-grained granite. There are only a few established routes.
Directions: Follow directions to the Monastery, but at the last left head right instead, directly towards the rock. Park at the ‘T’ intersection. The rock is on public land, but approaches cross private land.
6. Lumpy Ridge. Some of the most incredible trad climbing in the U.S. The cracks are sometimes weird and flaring, and deceptively hard.
There are 31 climbs, all of varying difficulty.
Directions: In Estes Park, turn onto MacGregor Avenue. Head into MacGregor Ranch when the road curves left. Park at the Twin Owls parking lot.
7. Rocky Mountain National Park. Among the many destinations in the park, Fern Canyon is not well-known or well-traveled, but it has some of the best and hardest traditional climbs in the park. There are also a handful of excellent bolted routes.
Notable climbs include the area classic 3-pitch Days Of Heaven, and the Wasp, a thin but continuous finger crack that overhangs slightly for nearly 100 feet.
Directions: Use the Beaver Meadows entrance. Turn on Bear Lake Road, then right at Moraine Park Drive. Follow this to the Fern Lake trailhead and walk in.
8. Poudre Canyon. The area north of Fort Collins is full of sport routes and gear routes on granite. Must-do routes include the Greatest Route at Greyrock, The Odyssey and East of Eden.
More than 125 routes, with a great selection of beginner and moderate slab and crack pitches.
Greyrock is a granite peak. The hour hike to the crag makes this a great remote area for climbers who don’t like crowds. It’s a mostly traditional climbing area, but there are numerous bolted slab lines.
Poudre 420 Boulders. The 420s are granite boulders nestled in the pines in the canyon. There are only a handful of moderates; most are harder.
The Bog is another good area reached via a river crossing a bit down the canyon from the 420s.
Directions: North on U.S. 287 from Fort Collins, then left on U.S.14 at Ted’s Place. For the 420s, continue up the canyon 40 miles, past Roaring Creek trailhead. About 1/2 mile on the right, there is an open gate with a “Day Use Only” sign. Walk about 10 minutes down this jeep trail to the boulders.
9.-10. Horsetooth Reservoir. One of the best bouldering areas in Colorado. Expect most of the problems to be high and hard to protect with a crash pad.
The bouldering area is multiple small areas. The best and most well-known is Rotary Park, with about 60 problems.
Directions: To get to Rotary, from Overland Trail, drive west on Larimer 42C past Dixon Reservoir. Continue up a steep hill. At the top of the hill there are two different pullouts on the west side of the road. The boulders are below and to the west.
For Piano Boulders and Duncan’s Ridge, drive the same route past Dixon Reservoir but turn left on Larimer 23. Drive to the end of the road above Spring Canyon Dam. Hike either uphill to Piano Boulders or across the road and out the trail to Duncan’s Ridge.
SKILL LEVELS
Bouldering leads to top roping, to sport climbing, to trad (traditional) climbing
A route up a rock is frequently called a “problem.” Though there are many rating systems, problems are usually rated on the Yosemite Decimal System in the U.S.
The first number designates the class of the climb (1-5) and the second number defines the difficulty (0-13).
Classes are: 1: hiking or bike paths; 2: cross-country, using hands for balance; 3: scrambling on rocks, using hands and feet; 4: climbing on steep terrain that requires rope belay; 5: technical climbing with hardware to protect you in case of fall.
Bouldering has its own rating system, called the V-grade. Here, problems range from V0 (easy), to V14 (extremely difficult).
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