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Cathedral Park


Cathedral Park

Submitted By: Stich on Jun 29, 2008
Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac

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The view looking back as you pass the main area. P...


Description 

An unusual collection of spires, ridges, and chunky domes stands out of the area as you drive to Cripple Creek along Gold Camp Road. The nature and number of ascents in this obscure area is surely lost in memory or neatly written down somewhere out of sight. Harvey Carter is rumored to have put up routes here.


Getting There 

From where the paved road turns to dirt on Old Stage Road, set your odometer. Around Sugarloaf mountain and before St. Peter's Dome, the road connects with Gold Camp Road. At 12 miles you will pass Rosemont Reservoir. A small sign will reveal the town of Clyde, which is just before the tunnel at mile 20. Seven Lakes Road turns to the right before you cross a creek. At this junction you are still on NF land. The area is on the right just after the tunnel.



Photos of Cathedral Park Slideshow Add Photo
Bison Creek runs along the Western border of the rock. The creek itself is on private land, but the property line is somewhere within the rocks.

Bison Creek runs along the Western border of the r...

Eastern border of the area taken from the gate of Cathedral Park Ranch. NF land touches the road at this point, but a better bet is to stay on the other side of the tunnel.

Eastern border of the area taken from the gate of ...

Unusual dripped sandcastle formations.

Unusual dripped sandcastle formations.

Close up.

Close up.

More close ups.

More close ups.

Private land is in brown and generally South of the road. NF land is in green.

Private land is in brown and generally South of th...


Comments on Cathedral Park Add Comment
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By Stewart M. Green
Jul 15, 2008

It looks great from the road, but the granite is generally Pikes Peak choss. I climbed a dozen routes here in the early '70s with Doug Snively and Billy Westbay. The granite is very crystalline and granular so jamming is painful. Plus much of the rock crumbles when you step on it. Lastly...the approach is on private property. Good luck on it but there's lots of better rock to climb on then Cathedral Park.

By Pete Gallagher
From: Manitou Springs, CO
Jul 16, 2008

I certainly have to agree with Stewart on this one. As the old saying goes, these crags "look good from afar, but they are far from good".

The domes accross Bison Creek to the south west are not any better. For the most part, you will find shallow flaring grooves that look like cracks from a distance, but are not really appealing when you are trying to climb them. Bob D'Antonio and I did one kind-of OK short route on the dome closest to the road, following a relatively decent hand crack through a roof , but even this was pretty mediocre compared to the other stuff that is nearby.

By Stich
From: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Jul 20, 2008

Thanks for the info, guys. Knowing what rock aint so good is sometimes just as useful as knowing what rock is good. I'll move on to other stuff.