The Ironclads

A couple of comments: (1) while I made it up once in my passenger car, most times you will need a high-clearance vehicle to make it much past the Bunce School. There is a large pulloff about 1/4 mile up the road which is a convenient spot to hop in your friends' pickups; (2) free camping can be had in the immediate Punk Rock/Mt. Boner vicinity. There are several fire rings, but no amenities. Be prepared to be awakened to the sound of 2-stroke engines.

This area has become quite trashed over the years as every high school it seems has a party every weekend along the Bunce School Road. Do not expect a wilderness experience. I could show you a good camping spot away from it all, but then I'd have to kill you. ;-). Let's just say that a 4X4 will get you away from the low-riders....

Actually, you see quite a few "town cars" up there. I used to drive mine all the way up quite a bit but ended up damaging my radiator. The road has become a bit washed out recently, also.

This area gets serious traffic on week-ends. Punk Rock is a good definition of grid-bolting. Also, there are many ORVs and motor bikes using the area, and one often climbs to the steady accompaniment of gun-fire. I have been nearly run over by a bike, and a stray bullet hit the rock once while a friend of mine was climbing on Punk Rock.

That said, the routes offer nice granite edge climbing, and I've made several visits.

There is good bouldering right off Bunce school road. Go past the sandflats and the little parking loop on the right. The hillside has a nice roof with exits to the left and right. They go at v blah-blah. Then continue down the road and turn the corner to the rocky oil pan killing rocks. Look up to your right you'll see a big boulder with a crack and a piton in the top of it. The boulders offers a lot of variations, most have been done. The two overhanging walls to the north and west also offer a lot. Check it out and be nice to environment; it's one of the few places the 2 strokers don't go into. Please help by picking up glass and trash, we don't want to see this place closed.

All I can say is that I have not been to the Ironclads since 1995 when I spent many fine weekends with a couple of friends who were putting up new routes.....and to read that the place is crawling with 2-strokes, gunfire, trash and a higher degree of human traffic is a bit depressing.So, to those of you that enjoy the Ironclads as much as I once did.....please respect the land so that you can continue enjoying access.....Aloha Y'all.

This place turns into an Urban Assault Area on weekends, thanks to it's inclusion in a popular Front Range Topropes book. Go mid-week if you can.

I wish the Urban Toprope [Assault] was the problem here. . . Really it's the urban lead and mud slingers. There are some nice pitches, no doubt, but the area has been torn up a bit by partiers, off-roaders and not-so-sharp-shooters. Fortunately they haven't tracked into the crags up above (where all the good climbing is). I haven't personally had a problem with anyone or thing on my trips, but I can see how one might. The views from atop the climbs are great, and midweek climbing is exceptional (very peaceful). (many new lines are still available for FA's, but don't bolt the trad lines (refering to the climbs in the Ironclads proper). . . . much thanks).

I've been here a couple of times and enjoyed it -- all the bullets seemed to be aimed away from the crag, which was nice. There were a couple moments where the guys with the ATVs and guns looked at us and wondered why we'd waste a day climbing up rocks, and we wondered why they'd waste a day shooting guns into the side of a mountain. There was quite a bit of broken glass scattered on the ground around Punk Rock, but all in all, it was fun.

If anyone knows of the bouldering in this area, and its v scale, could you be so kind to post a note on here...thanks