| Greyrock |
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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.
Fixed Hardware Over the years, Greyrock has been the source of bolting conflicts. At this time, the Northern Colorado Climbers Coalition (NC3) strongly discourages the placement of additional bolts on existing routes, per community consensus. Any new bolts will be removed promptly and the holes will be patched. For questions regarding route development or hardware replacement, please contact the NC3 at nococlimbers@gmail.com
The ClassicsMountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Greyrock:
Featured Route For Greyrock
Hang 12 5.10- CO : Fort Collins : ... : Granite Sea
This is a fantastic two-pitch climb on the lower tier of Granite Sea. P1: Assault the short but burly offwidth (left of the poison ivy fest), cruise up an enjoyable left-angling fist/hand crack, and then commit to thin face moves above, which gains a good belay atop a block. There's a big flake/horn thing to sling here.P2: Continue up the left-leaning hand-crack till it fizzles out, bust some thought-provoking face moves to gain the horizontal crack above, and lieback left to gain an easier slab... [more] Browse More Classics in CO
BETA PHOTO: Artifacts on Greyrock's summit, January, 05
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Kristen belaying Holly on unknown route on greyroc...
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BETA PHOTO: Photo of Greyrock massif.
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Seasonal summit lake on top of Greyrock.
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Greyrock.
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Some more of Greyrock.
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On the summit looking west after an evening ascent...
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By Jim Berg
From: Boulder, CO
Oct 9, 2002
| 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. |
By John Gill
Feb 26, 2003
| 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.... |
By Timmy! Tormey
From: Fakeville, USA
Jan 24, 2005
| 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. |
By Legs Magillicutty
From: Littleton
May 16, 2005
| 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. |
By Nathan Van Horn
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Oct 24, 2009
| 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, the 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!!!! |
By Stewart M. Green
Oct 25, 2009
| 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. |
By Dave Bohn aka "Old Fart"
Sep 19, 2010
| Pat McGrane was just in town last week. We got together for a little climbing, and bit more beer drinking with Jim Brink.
That got me to remembering the few dozen routes I did on Greyrock my freshman year at CSU in '73.
I remember projecting that aweful chimney on TR, what is now known as "Go Spuds, Go". I never led it, but did TR it in spring '74. I did lead many horrendous runout slab routes on the SW slabs that I rated Devil's Lake,WI, F8 to F10 "back in the day" ratings.
First ascents...maybe, but the rock is so high profile I doubt it.
Good times ! |
By Jason Haas
From: Broomfield, CO
Dec 18, 2010
| The new Poudre book has arrived and it fully includes Greyrock. All money goes to benefit Craig Luebben's daughter via a college fund. Snag it off the Fixed Pin website or pick up a copy in any of the local shops. |
By Kevin Landolt
From: Fort Collins, Wyoming
Dec 22, 2010
| "My hands still sweat when I think of Tom Moderson leading the blank lower face of Mr. Gone long before the bolts were added, or meandering up the Granite Sea with Jeff Bassett before a single bolt graced the face. Standard practice was to tiptoe up a blank face armed only with a rack of small wired nuts and hope for the best."
- Pat McGrane
Badass for sure. Greyrock has a proud history. |
By Nathan Van Horn
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Feb 19, 2011
| Mr. Green, look I say if you are going to write a book, give facts not delusional memories... a car has an odometer that is going to be exact, how are you consistently wrong by an average of 3 miles!? It's incomprehensible...do all climbers a favor and either stop writing books or fix them... as far as Red Rocks, the very first edition of the book was completely wrong on every climb you were accredited... sorry, just a fact, not my memory.... |
By Kevin Landolt
From: Fort Collins, Wyoming
Mar 28, 2012
| Average hiking times for a fit climber: 40 minutes to base of S. Slabs, 45 to SE Face, 55 to NW Slab, 1 hour to Breakers/Granite Sea.
My best car to summit time - via the Sugar Mountain route (sans rope/climbing shoes) is 58 minutes. A decent trail-runner (I suck) could easily knock 5-10 minutes off that time. Let's see it! |
By Tre
From: Fort Collins, CO
Apr 21, 2012
| Anyone boulder the Greyrock area? Last time I hiked it looked like there was some potential.... |
By Drew Clements
From: Fort Collins, CO
May 22, 2012
| I'd expect Greyrock to be closed for a few weeks (at least a couple) while fire crews do mop up and remove hazard trees resulting from the recent fire. Depending on trail conditions, maybe even longer. Renegade trips might be do-able. |
By rangerdrew
From: Loveland
Jul 4, 2012
| Greyrock is still closed. Spoke with FS today. Soil impact studies going on or something. |
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