Upper Great Face

The Upper Great Face.

Description 

This is the highest of the commonly climbed rocks of the Crags lying on the W slopes of Twin Sisters just S of Estes Park. It is easily visible from many points in EP. A walk around Lily Lake or a drive on Hwy 7 draws your eye. This W-facing crag is a wide swath of rock of varying quality divided by a protruding pillar of stone. The routes here range from 300 to nearly 600 feet in length. The routes are generally trad but there is a new bolted line. Routes here include: Over Thirty Club, Old & Forgotten, High Clutch, A Few Moments of Pleasure, Sky King, Tom's Travesty, The Big Steep, Kor-Northcutt, Erac's Crack, Right Buttress, Southwest Face, Middle Buttress, Indian Peaks Arete, Gone So Long, Funky Island Traverse, & Hindenberg.

Getting There 

There are 2 approaches to this crag. Neither is a trail. Expect an hour at least to approach. Get your bearings before heading into the trees. Both will require some reorientation once you clear the trees. The first starts from the Twin Sister's Trailhead off Hwy 7, past the Lily Lake Visitor Center, S of Estes Park, just across from Lily Lake. Hike along the trail for perhaps a half mile to the third switchback, then head up the hill. Not very specific but that is what it is. The other approach is signed as private property just past the Baldpate Inn, off Hwy 7, across from Lily Lake. There is a chained-off dirt road that indicates you can hike private property lines the road. At some point a short distance down the road, you can break off uphill from the dirt road, go up through the forest, and reorient when you clear the trees.

Featured Route For Upper Great Face

The Big Steep 5.10  CO : Estes Park Valley : CO Hwy 7 & Tributaries

A three pitch line up the middle of the left side of Upper Great Face. Good position and climbing, a mix of sport and trad, and the potential for big bonus points by doing both the 3rd pitch of this climb and the 2nd of Golden Monkey. Kimball calls this route "the crown jewel of the area."P1: Follow 10 or 11 bolts diagonaling right up non-slabby face climbing. The crux is at a roof/bulge midway where the bolts happily get closer together. Bel...[more]

Add Photo Photos of Upper Great Face

UGF as seen from Castaway Crag.