Most scenic Front Range crags. . .

I'm headed to Boulder from NC this weekend for a four-day weekend of climbing with a few friends. Two of us climb in the 10/11 range, and two in the 12+ range (sport--not flying in with gear on this trip). I've climbed a little in BoCan, and definitely can cherry-pick some routes of MP, but I'm wondering if anyone could recommend crags in BoCan/CCC/Flatirons that are particularly scenic/magical/exposed/isolated/etc... We get plenty of quality single pitch at the NRG, so i'm more interested in just getting a memorable front-range experience than anything else (though I do have my sights on Snake Watching...). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If a mixture of 10 and 12+ in a serene spot is what you want, I think Dinosaur Rock is one of the best crags in the Boulder area, and it's absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, it isn't particularly quiet, the walk up to Mallory Cave is very popular.

Snake Watching is a in a pretty spot, but I don't think there is much of any 10/11 climbing there.

Vasodilator/Jolt Cola/Young and the Rackless (at Blob rock) are a nice spread of grades in a fairly pretty spot. If you want multi-pitch sport, Rackless covers that, while the other two are great single pitch 12-/13. Unfortunately, you can see the road from the climbing, which may not be what you want.

If the road to Upper Dream is passable, it's an amazing crag, and definitely worth checking out. Multi-pitch sport climbing next to a bubbling creek. It's the closest to "magical" of the four.

Dream Canyon is one of my favorites. Tons of quality bolted routes in the 11 and 12 range.

The Monastery (in between Estes Park and Loveland) has some of the best sport climbs in the area. Though, if your looking for views then you gotta get to Jurassic Park! You can find it on mountainproject by following "Colorado"-"Estes Park Valley"-"CO Hwy 7 & Tributaries"-Jurassic Park. There is a reason that the cover picture of the Rocky Mountain National Park climbing guide book is from there.

In all seriousness, how's your tolerance for snow? The front range saw up to 3 feet in the last week, so some of the higher elevation spots may not have super cushy staging areas, and approaches will likely involve some post holing. The rock should be reasonably dry though depending on whether the area gets some sun. Just a heads up to pack more than flip flops! I second Dream Canyon, although I doubt there will be much melting in there. Maybe the Boulder folks have a better eye on the ground.

I guess at this point I should be asking which crags are the first to melt off/dry out...

+1 for Upper Dream Canyon.

Things dry really quick around here. I bet by the weekend any crags that get at least some sun, which is most of them, will be dry.

Lumpy is gorgeous, but there is not really any sport climbing. Not sure how much snow they have right now either.

Also, depending on how far you want to drive, Shelf Road and Devils Head are both within a couple hours of Boulder with lots of scenic sport climbing.

J mac wrote: Lumpy is gorgeous, but there is not really any sport climbing.

Yeah, MP.com sometimes amazes with the bad beta. OP asks for sport areas, and someone suggests Lumpy...

J mac wrote: Also, depending on how far you want to drive, Shelf Road...within a couple hours of Boulder with lots of scenic sport climbing.

+1 to Shelf. It is a drive from Boulder, but it is usually worth it. The density of climbing is quite good, and the grade spread will keep the 5.10 and 5.12+ climbers in your group happy with good options for both in close proximity. This is hard to find on the Front Range. More importantly, it is almost always warmer and drier than Boulder, and will melt out very quickly after snow. And it is very, very scenic. Camping there is great.

J mac wrote: Devils Head

Devil's Head is very scenic and the climbing is great, but don't go there if it has snowed recently. It is at high elevation, the crags may be snowy, the road may be closed or impassible.

Mark Paulson wrote:I guess at this point I should be asking which crags are the first to melt off/dry out...

Close to Boulder, North Table Mountain. But the climbing blows.

Eldo melts out quickly, but will not offer the bolts you seek.

There are options in BoCan and CCC, but I'll leave that to those with more up-to-the-minute conditions knowledge (since I don't live there anymore).

Shelf is the place to go if fleeing snow.

Upvoting Shelf. Great sport climbing for this time of the year and excellent views of the Sangres.

dude's throne could be an option. higher up, so a little chillier and possibly windy

Dude's Throne is absolutely buried in snow right now. The road is also closed/gated. Even before the big snowfall, the road was still under 1-2 feet of snow. I drove by last week. It's probably closer to 3-4' deep right now. I don't think the road in ever opens before Memorial Day.

As stated above, Dinosaur rock is very scenic and (in my opinion) offers four of the best sport pitches on the Front Range (PF, Shaft, MB, Ultra). The problem is it gets very busy (the two .12s share a few early bolts as do the .13s).

If the climbing at Dinosaur gets 100 points, then the climbing at the Slab gets 90. The Slab is more scenic, more secluded, and there are more routes. Like most Boulder crags it gets busy but not quite to Dinosaur levels.

Snake Watching is a beautiful line at a breathtaking crag (check out a west-facing pic I took this past fall). Please tread lightly on the holds.

In Boulder Canyon, Upper Security Risk is beautiful and now open. It gets afternoon sun and Plan B/Hot Flyer are both tremendous routes in the .12 range. There is good 5.11 climbing here as well - great crag.

Any of the crags on the south facing sides of CCC or BoCan should be dry enough by this weekend, particularly in the lower halves of the canyons.

But yeah, I gotta go with the suggestion of Shelf. I think the climbing is generally better than anything Front Range, it'll probably be warm and dry, the camping is awesome, and the setting and views fantastic.

JCM wrote:Devil's Head is very scenic and the climbing is great, but don't go there if it has snowed recently.

With the recent snow I would not expect Devils Head to be open until June.

Jon H wrote:Dude's Throne is absolutely buried in snow right now. The road is also closed/gated. Even before the big snowfall, the road was still under 1-2 feet of snow. I drove by last week. It's probably closer to 3-4' deep right now. I don't think the road in ever opens before Memorial Day.

noted