A secret paradise of the Park that is popular with hikers yet sees very little climbing activity. It has a few climbs on par with anything at Lumpy Ridge, and the views from the climbs are serene, peaceful, and beautiful. Days of Heaven (5.10+) is as good as any shorter route I've ever done. Descent: each of the routes will include descent beta.
Getting There
Drive into the Park, get on Bear Lake Road, and turn off right after a mile or so onto Moraine Park Road. Follow signs to the Fern Lake trailhead at the end of the road. The Rock of Ages, identified as an exceptionally clean-looking, 250 foot cliff, laced with a cobweb of faint cracks, is accessed via a scramble up talus to the right from the Arch Rocks Campsite, about a mile down the trail. [Gnome] Dome, the Colossus, and the Moot Point Apron require 1/2 mile more of hiking to a bridge, where one can bushwack up the hill to the right to an assortment of cliffs--check the route descriptions for more details.
Celestial Gate - what a phenomenal route! May even rival Days of Heaven.P1: Do the dodgey original start or, better yet, do P1 of Days of Heaven, but walk the belay to the far left end of the foot ledge to the base of a nice finger crack.P2: The crux pitch, but probably only 5.11. Climb up the steep finger crack with some creativity until you pull into a welcome fist-jam size constriction. This is where Days of Heaven P2 joins with the crack...[more]
Just wanted to know how all enjoyed the steps out of the creek trail and the bridge on the Fern Canyon trail. I helped to build them. It was quite a project.
Fern Canyon Rocks
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