This is a beautiful area of alpine rock with minimal approaches where you can climb stellar, alpine, granite climbs up to 1400 ft and be done in time for lunch or launch into a full adventure with aid climbing at 12000+ft. Some of the best quality alpine granite in the Front Range lies here. Free routes in the area like Jabba the Hut, Cheap Date, 2nd apron, 3rd apron, Road Warrior, Good Evans see little traffic. There is room for much more. There may even be lines to do off Guanella Pass ascending to the Sawtooth Traverse. Routes have been put up on Mt. Warren. Aid routes on the overhanging sections of the Black Wall see rare repeats. There are also routes "down valley" from the Black Wall on Mt. Spaulding. Descents can be as demanding as sticking a thumb out as the tourist drive by. Beware of the usual summer lightning storms.
Getting There
I-70 W of Denver to Idaho Springs. Exit 240 up the Mt Evans road brings you to Echo Lake. Follow the summit road to Summit Lake about 12,500 ft. Note you may be coerced to pay a toll fee (fee demonstration program) now that has increased to $10 or have a Parks Pass ($80) with the $15 hologram add on to make it a Golden Eagle Pass. They are staffing the toll collection site by 7:45am! Black Wall and Summit aprons are accessed by parking at the Summit Lake parking area.
There may be a way to insist on a pass without use of the Forest Service facilities for a fee-less visit to Mt. Evans.
This is a really fun gem. I just heard about it this year. The crux is the steep roll before everything starts to funnel down into the choke (going down). It's probly at least 15 feet wide at the choke, and once through there is a group of rocks that split the line in the middle. I took the skinny line on lookers left at the bottom. Steepness, this line clocks in at 50*, and the roll over at the top is usually near vertical if not a overhangin...[more]
Mt Evans has some sweet gneiss routes that span from 50 to hundreds of feet. Go to the Chicago Lakes and on the trail you will be able to see the cliffs. There is awsome bouldering also in the area. Before you go besure to fully research.
I've done a few routes from the Chicago Lakes basin. The rock is okay, and sometimes fantastic, but the logistics leave a little to be desired. At the lower lake, look East to Mt. Warren. This is "Windy City Wall" and the center buttress is "Sears Tower".
Can anyone give directions to the bouldering at Mt Evans? much thanks CL
By Leo Paik Administrator From: Westminster, Colorado Apr 30, 2007
From the Rocky Mt News (4/29/7):
State chops down feds' fee for motoring up Mt. Evans.
by Steve Lipsher
The views along the Mount Evans Highway have been described as priceless, but for the past nine years the U.S. Forest Service has managed to nick as much as $10 from virtually every vehicle heading up the highest paved road in the country.
That practice will come to an abrupt end this summer. The Colorado Department of Transportation insists the federal government cannot charge for use of a state highway built and maintained with state tax dollars.
"We didn't know that they were charging everyone," said CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman. "...It's illegal under state law."
The Forest Service began charging travelers at its Echo Lake entrance station in 1997 under the controversial federal fee-demonstration program, which has generated as much as $300,000 annually for upkeep of restrooms, picnic areas and safety patrols on the mountain.
Few visitors have understood that the fees don't apply to those traveling to and from the 14,126-foot summit parking lot who don't use Forest Service picnic areas and restrooms. In fact, a sign posted at the bottom of the winding, 28-mile road reads: "A pass is required for traveling beyond this point."
"They have been misrepresenting things. The average person would think that he had to pay," said Robert Funkhouser, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, an organization battling the federal government over fees for the use of public lands.
Forest officials dispute that characterization insisting the "pass" could be obtained free of charge. They acknowledge many people didn't discern the difference between acquiring a pass and paying a fee.
Drivers had to ask specifically about the pass or they would be charged the use fees.
Completed in 1927, the summer-only dead-end highway each year attracts an estimated 130,000 visitors.
This past winter, when the state and federal authorities began revisiting their agreement on the operation of Colorado 5, state officials learned every vehicle was being charged.
State officials demanded that the renewed agreement include signs indicating "No charge for travel on State Highway 5" and "USFS fees are not used to maintain State Highway 5."
The Forest Service balked, not wanting to pay for the signs.
"They're thinking "How are we going to get people to pay if they don't have to pay?" Funkhouser said.
The state intends to install signs with or without federal approval, according to e-mails obtained from Jay Kramer, a manager with CDOT.
With the traditional opening about a month away, forest supervisors haven't decided how the road will be managed, but possibilities include abandoning the entrance station and establishing permanent fee-collection stations at facilities maintained by the agency, said John Bustos, spokesman for the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests.
The Forest Service also hasn't hazarded a guess on how much its budget will be cut if far fewer people pay.
Staff write Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-51309495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
John, there's a photo of a new route on Evans in one of my photo albums if you click on my name and navigate down to the bottom of the page. I can fill you in on more details if you'd like sometime.
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