Jurassic Park is a nice secluded area with a good concentration of moderate cracks and even some sport routes. The routes are all short, most are only about 50-80 feet long, but the rock quality is excellent so it is worth a visit.
Getting There
Park at the lower parking lot and follow the Turtle Lake trail as it winds along the base of the main cliffs. Pass Holy Saturday(obvious large rock formation near the trail) and locate an unmarked climber's trail after about a half mile. Hike up and over Jurassic Pass and descend steeply to the cliff.
Perhaps the cleanest, prettiest line on the cliff, located just right of Lichen Lung. Stiffest right of the ground through slippery finger locks and layaways. The crack gradually widens from fingers, thin hands to solid hands before becoming a little flared at a shelf. Rest here, before punching through the last section of flared hands to fists....[more]
This area is called Mud in your Eye, after it's namesake climb, A couple ego maniacs from Colorado decided to write a book and rename most of these routes after a movie. All these routes had been done for years, some named and others unnamed. Seems to me ethical climbers do not name routes unless they did the FA or rename routes unless did the 1st free ascent. Seems to me that ethical climbers don't rename areas unless they discovered the place. Heel and Toe, get out of Vedauwoo.
Actually I think this area was originally known as the "Sheep" area, shortened for ease of local pronounciation from the namesake climb "Sheep's One Thing, but Them Boys Crossed the Line". The naked, freesoloing FA's subsequently disappeared without a trace.
Interesting history. Maybe ignorance of the past is part of all this 'dumbing-down' of rockclimbing that's happening. Is 'attention-deficit-disorder' the excuse?
Long before Mud In Your Eye and Lichen Lung were climbed, this area was loosley referred to as Ice Box, as some locals know. When Piana freed Mud, he sure didn't call the entire area Mud - why? There were nasty battles being fought even back then (ask around), and there were many unclimbed lines still there which remained so until the early '90's. Ethics, history, somebody needs a primer in both.
I have read every Vedauwoo guide book available in the Laramie Library, and the history of Vedauwoo climbing, and the climbs themselves, have been poorly documented, so all this debate over who is ignorant is getting old.
I love this bickering, it is good for us all. I'm not too informed about this area but do know better than to trust heel and toe. Any of you history buffs should post the real history and names of the stuff here and all over Vedauwoo. Climbing history is always cool, it makes the stuff you climb even better.
Has anyone actually climbed in this area? If not a sugest you give it a try , it is quit rewarding.Story is as told.
By Matt Richardson Administrator From: Fort Collins, CO Jul 5, 2007
This is a great place for both those who are well aversed in crack and those who are looking to build their skills. Recombination Mutation and Sore-O-Pod aka Spatial Juxtaposition are both excellent intros to crack and all of the climbs here are short enough to top.
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