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Aircraft Carrier, The 
Bikini Bottom 
Camp Hale 
Gilman Canyon 
Homestake Road Crag 
Hornsilver 
Klettergarden, The 
Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Creek) 
Misc Bouldering 
Roof Rock 
Wolcott Crags and Boulders 

Rest Day:
Nearby Mountain Bike Rides

The Boneyard Loop
A local's favorite with singletrack and great views of Castle Peak and Red Canyon Near Eagle, CO
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Aspen's closest singletrack network accessed by climbing up the popular Smuggler Mt. Road. Near Aspen, CO
Smuggler-Hunter-VanHorn-Hobbit-Secret-Sunnyside loop ride
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Eagle Ranch Loops
A fun, flowy, mostly singletrack ride in the heart of Eagle, Colorado. Near Eagle, CO
Mayer Gulch
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Sunnyside Trail
One of Aspen's premier classic trails, offering big views and challenging riding. Near Aspen, CO
From MP's sister site: MTB Project

Eagle/Vail/Leadville 


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Lat, Long: 39.6429, -106.379 Map
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Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: John McNamee on Mar 4, 2006

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Near Vail Pass.

Description 

This area encompasses a geographic location with a variety of vertical type experiences. You probably have heard most about the Vail ice and you can find that under the CO ice/mixed section. In this section, you will find various rock cragging on sandstone, limestone, gneiss, schist, and even some granite. While this generally has little for a destination type of experience, there is still some interesting crags to find vertical pleasure.

Some of the climbing here is protected in information accessibility and locals may cringe to see non-Eagle county folks playing here. Nonetheless, we have to share amiably and symbiose.

Some of the better known areas include Lime Park's limestone, Wolcott's sandstone & Gilman's gneiss, but there is more for the exploring types.

Due to the increased elevation, most of the cragging in this area is limited to April to October times.


Getting There 

As a well-known ski area, this general location is easy to find. I-70 accesses this area from either east or west (100 miles West of Denver). From the south, you can access this area via CO Hwy 9 (past Copper Mountain) or US 24 (through Minturn). From the north, you can access this area via CO Hwy 9 (Silverthorne) or CO Hwy 131 (Wolcott). The ice cragging is mostly visible from I-70. Parking is challenging, since all street parking in Vail is subject to ticketing. Gilman, illegal to access, is reached via US 24 south from Minturn.


Weather 

You can check NOAA.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Eagle/Vail/Leadville:
Too Tall Jones   V3     Boulder, 20 feet   Cemetery Blocks : Cemetery Block
King Jones   V4     Boulder, 24 feet   Cemetery Blocks : Cemetery Block
V5   V5     Boulder   Wolcott Crags and Boulders : Waterside Boulder
Star Crossed Lovers   V5     Boulder, 12 feet   The Aircraft Carrier
V5   V5     Boulder, 12 feet   The Klettergarden : Boulder A
The Minturn Mile   V6     Boulder, 10 feet   The Klettergarden : The Minturn Mile Boulder
Return of the Jedi   V8     Boulder, 12 feet   The Klettergarden : The Minturn Mile Boulder
Immortality   V8     TR, Boulder, 25 feet   The Klettergarden : Giant Boulder Uphill From M...
Cool Arete   V9     Boulder, 15 feet   The Aircraft Carrier
Drilla From Manilla   5.7     Sport, 1 pitch, 85 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Prow
Snail Trail   5.8     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Prow
Tears   5.11a     Sport, 1 pitch, 50 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : North Wall
Uckfay Ushbay   5.11a     Sport, 1 pitch, 50 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : North Wall
Smoke on the Water   5.11c     Sport, 1 pitch, 40 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Punchbowl
Drive By Shooting   5.11d     Sport, 1 pitch, 70 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Punchbowl
The Bush League   5.12a     Sport, 1 pitch, 75 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : North Wall
Momentary Lack of Resin   5.12b     Sport, 1 pitch, 70 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Punchbowl
Strategery   5.12b     Sport, 85 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : Strategery Wall
Drill for the Thrill   5.12b     Sport, 1 pitch, 90 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Prow
Unknown (Right Arch of Cave)   5.13 PG13     Sport, 1 pitch, 90 feet   Lime Park (a.k.a. Lime Cree... : The Punchbowl
Browse More Classics in Eagle/Vail/Leadville

Featured Route For Eagle/Vail/Leadville
Just getting started up the long steep wall.

Drive By Shooting 5.11d  CO : Eagle/Vail/Leadville : ... : The Punchbowl
This is a really good route, reminiscent of the Project Wall in Rifle. It may be 11d/12a....[more]   Browse More Classics in CO


Photos of Eagle/Vail/Leadville Slideshow Add Photo
Bouldering in Vail. It's not Photoshopped, I swear.

Bouldering in Vail. It's not Photoshopped, I swear...

Some deepwater freesoloing.

Some deepwater freesoloing.

Again some deepwater freesoloing on the Colorado River.

Again some deepwater freesoloing on the Colorado R...

Rock & Ice 1993 Vail article, page 1.

BETA PHOTO: Rock & Ice 1993 Vail article, page 1.

Page 2.

BETA PHOTO: Page 2.

Page 3.

BETA PHOTO: Page 3.


Comments on Eagle/Vail/Leadville Add Comment
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By maryjax
From: golden
Aug 4, 2007

Hi,
Does anyone out there have any info on the routes at Homestake Creek in the Holy Cross Wilderness area? Is there a guidebook for this area?
Any info before next weekend would be great!
Thanks.

By Michael Schneiter
From: Glenwood Springs, CO
Apr 29, 2009

I've got the old Rock & Ice that lists routes for Homestake. I'll pull it out. If I recall it's from the mid-90s(?) and it's the kind of thing you don't see anymore. Great crag. I did a bunch of my early climbing there.

By Rob Dillon
From: '81 Sunrader
Jul 4, 2012

Um, why is Leadville lumped in with Eagle/Vail? Leadville is about as close to Eagle as Boulder is to Estes Park, but they don't get the same listing.

By Leo Paik
Administrator
From: Westminster, Colorado
Jul 5, 2012

Rob, good question. Part of the issue for now is that there wasn't a Leadville entry, and there weren't already a bunch of nearby crags. So, if someone writes up a good entry for Leadville, we can move Leadville crags there. This whole shebang of climbing...com and mountainproject.com is an organic kind of thing. It evolves as folks put the time in to make it better. So, if you get inspired, write a good entry for Leadville, and then we can move it there. Right now, for me, time is a bit tight. Otherwise, it's on my to do list. Thanks!

By Rob Dillon
From: '81 Sunrader
Jul 7, 2012

Thanks, Leo. Listing stuff by valley might be the most sensible approach of all, as towns are kinda spread out and the climbing is mostly in between them. But then what do ya do with places like Independence Pass...?