Cracked Canyon is the place to go for a high concentration of quality routes. There is a good selection of routes in the 5.6 to 5.11 range. Out of the 80 routes in the canyon, there are classic routes at every grade. Pirouette 5.7, Chewbacca 5.8, Summertime 5.9+, Orange Peel 5.10, Javelin 5.11... Most of the routes are around 80ft long. Pick up a copy of Telluride Rocks at a local climbing shop for route descriptions and maps.
Getting There
Park 100 yards past the Post Office and find a climbers trail that leads to the talus. Follow the talus up the steep slope towards the obvious canyon to the right of the main wall. Be careful on the loose rock in the canyon, it is probably best to leave Spot at home.
The most popular (along with Chewbacca) climb in Cracked Canyon - and for good reason.Look for an eye-catching hand and finger crack on the left hand side of the canyon a few hundred feet up from the mouth of the canyon. It is just uphill from Tobacco Road and directly across from Chewbacca. Start up steep jugs and crack with rests in between many of the harder moves. At an obvious point about 50 ft. up, the jugs and goo...[more]
One of Colorado's hidden gems for sure (both the Ophir Wall and Cracked Canyon).
Great place to go for two people of different abilities - easy routes on the right side of the canyon, hard routes on the left side. Or, for those so inclined, the right side of the canyon is perfect for a circuit - you can do the first 7 routes in the canyon (5.4-5.8) without touching the ground; each is an independent line, but they're closely spaced and short traverses can link them. And if you're lucky, you might see Antoine or some other hardman doing a similar circuit on the left side of the canyon!
Cracked Canyon
Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!
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