BETA PHOTO: Every once counts lugging your gear up here. Watc...
Description
Greyrock is a 7613-foot granite peak located northwest of Fort Collins. While this crag is relatively obscure to the climbing community, it is far from obscure to the hiking community. The peak lies along a popular hiking trail (Trail #147), and there is a foot trail that travels along the northeast side of the peak that leads to the summit. The peak itself is reached after about an hour's worth of stiff hiking up the trail from the trailhead adjacent to CO Hwy 14. Greyrock and its satellite crags boast well over 100 routes that climb slabs and cracks ranging from fingers to off-widths. The peak's main attraction is the numerous long, moderate routes that scale its flanks. The South Slabs offer a good variety of bolted slab routes from one to three pitches in length (beware of long runouts over easier terrain), while the Southeast Face contains excellent crack and slab routes up to five pitches long. There is also great climbing on the Northwest Slabs and on the numerous satellite crags to the northeast of the peak. One note of caution: do not be caught on the summit during the usual summer thunderstorms!
Climbing Areas: 'South Slabs' 'Southeast Face' 'Northwest Slabs' 'Granite Breakers' 'Granite Sea' Southeast Face: The Southeast Face is a slabby wall laced with numerous cracks. The face contains the highest concentration of long, multi-pitch crack climbs in the area. There are numerous climbs up to 500 feet in length. To get to the Southeast Face, approach Greyrock along the trail until the trail runs along the base, then scramble up through the trees to the base of the wall. To descend from routes that top out on the summit ridge, take the trail that leads down the northeast corner of the peak to the base. Some routes have rappel anchors, but bring two ropes if you plan any rappels.
Getting There
From Denver, head north on I-25 and take exit 269 west into Fort Collins along CO Hwy 14. Once in Fort Collins, turn right on North College Ave (CO 287) and continue another 10 miles. At the turn for CO 14 head west another 8 1/2 miles to the trailhead. Park on the south side of the highway at the Greyrock National Recreation Trail. The trail crosses a footbridge over the river and then climbs up into a dry, rocky draw. At the fork in the trail, keep right and head up through a large, open meadow. Greyrock is at the far side. Plan at least an hour to reach the base of the peak and about 45 minutes to get back to the parking lot. Bring plenty of water.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Greyrock:
'The Greatest Route at Greyrock' is certainly one of nicest lines of the grade. It ascends the right side of the southeast slabs. Approach by the Greyrock summit trail. As it skirts around the southeast face keep hiking (farther than one would expect) until reaching a small aspen grove very near the base of the wall. Now hike back (left, south) along the wall, with a bit of log hopping and boulders. Find a flared crack that ascends up and rig...[more]Browse More Classics in CO
There is a big pool of water on the top of the rock that one can pump water from. Might be scary during a drought year, but in past years I have used this as a water source.
This is a delightful rock! In the late 1960s, when, from time to time, I tired of grappling with new boulder problems at Horsetooth, I would drive up to the trailhead , hike up to the base of Greyrock, and pick a solo scramble up the sunny granite slopes. Most of the time I went up either the center of the photo (above) or over near the right skyline.There's also some bouldering on the large summit area. Occasionally, I would see climbers struggling on thin faces and cracks, while I sailed up the acres of easy to moderate rock. Don't think I ever took a climbing rope along, and yet I have wonderful memories...
Greyrock is a pretty sweet little zone if you don't want to fight crowds. There is a ton of great rock, and lots of really great routes too. Check the Mountain Shop in Fort Collins for Craig Lubben's guidebook if you are looking for more routes than you are finding on this site.
This is one of the neatest moderate multi-pitch gems. The rock is beautiful, the hike in is pretty enjoyable and there wasn't another party on the entire formation, with the exception of the hikers.
Okay, awesome rock! If you own a copy of Rock Climbing Colorado, you can pretty much throw it in the trash.... Sorry, it's an okay book, but Stewart Green constantly gives wrong information through out the whole book!!!! The book says it's an hour hike from parking to the base.... Um yeah, maybe if you have nothing but chalk and shoes, and maybe if you run the entire way.... This would not have been such bad info; however, my climbing partner and I decided to backpack in at nightfall, and well, let's just say after about two hours of hiking we were not even close! I'm no TREK master, but I'm in good shape. So you be the judge, bad info? Also he will give you a how many miles to a base and can be off by 4 miles or so at any given time, point is if you have the book check here first before heading out, his parts in the Red Rock Open Space guidebook for Colorado Springs, bring an extra quickdraw on every climb he has described, somehow he missed one on every climb he wrote about!!!!
Hi Nathan! Thanks for your thoughts. If you check the above info for Greyrock it also says to plan on an hour hike to the cliff base and 45 minutes back. I was up there three times this year, carrying rope and a rack, and it took...about an hour! If you're carrying bivy gear and hiking at night, it's gonna take longer. As far as Red Rock Canyon, tell me one route besides Helios, which I added a bolt to last spring, which has a different bolt count than in the little climbing guide. I mean, fella, I did the FA of about half the routes out there and have climbed all but 3 of the routes so I know the counts are right. Besides, it's up to you, the climber, to decide how much gear you want to carry on a particular climb. Never rely on any guidebook for your safety or gear list. This ain't no paint by numbers climbin', ya know! Cheers.
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