Areas in Boulder Canyon
Elevation: | 7,126 ft | 2,172 m |
GPS: |
40.00239, -105.41014 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
|
Page Views: | 4,973,698 total · 17,075/month | |
Shared By: | Michael Komarnitsky on Dec 31, 2000 | |
Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
2/1/24: W. McCurry: to protect nesting golden eagles, U.S. FS annual area closures in Boulder Canyon beginning 2/1/24 - Blob Rock, Bitty Buttress, Eagle Rock, Security Risk.
USFS lifted closures 7/26/23.
From W. McCurry: 2/10/23 Blob, Bitty Buttress, & Security Risk opened. Eagle Rock stayed closed - info: fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news….
W. McCurry, NFS, Arap./Roo. NF: USFS began annual area closures in BC 2/1/23. The closures were Eagle, Blob, Bitty Buttress, & Security.
Through 7/31/23, the closures protect a long-established golden eagle nesting territory. Happy Hour, Bihedral & Riviera will remain open as long as visitors stay out of the closed areas.
The Boulder Ranger District with BCC monitors nesting progress & informs climbers about giving the eagles space to raise young.
Fed. & state laws prohibit disturbing any nesting bird of prey. Visitors help protect wildlife by respecting closures. Signs are posted at key access pts into the closed areas. Closure info: fs.usda.gov/goto/arp/eagles.
K. Armstrong, Public Affairs Specialist, Nat'l Forest Service: as of 6/8/21: BC areas reopen after unsuccessful nesting.
K. Armstrong, NF Ranger 7/29/20:
Following a 5 mo. closure to protect nesting eagles, the Roosevelt NF has reopened Eagle Rock.
“The BC eagles successfully raised 1 strong & healthy eaglet this year,” wildlife biologist Aurelia DeNasha, USDA FS. “2 chicks hatched initially, only 1 survived to fledge, which isn’t uncommon in birds of prey.”
Visits to the nest did not reveal the exact cause of death of the 2nd chick, but climber cooperation with closures are crucial to the eagles.
“Golden eagle pairs are most susceptible to disturbance when choosing a nest. These closures allow the birds to pick the best site for survival without impact of other factors, such as human presence. Once chosen, nest sites stays closed until the eagles fledge in late July,” said DeNasha.
After the eagles’ site selection was made, unused areas opened in Apr.
The annual nesting closures include popular rock climbing spots at Eagle, Blob, Bitty Buttress, & Security.
Effective through 7/31/20, the closures protect a long-established golden eagle nesting territory. Happy Hour, Bihedral & Riviera remain open as long as visitors stay out of the closed areas.
The Boulder Ranger District partners with BCC & AF to monitor nesting progress and to inform climbers about the importance of giving the eagles space to raise their young.
It is against federal & state law to disturb any nesting bird of prey. Only employees, volunteers, & wildlife professionals under an agreement with the FS enter nesting areas for monitoring purposes. This is for the integrity of nest & the safety of the eagles, those conducting surveys, & the public. Visitors help protect wildlife by respecting all closures & leaving immediately if you should accidentally enter one.
For the most current closure information, check signs in the areas, call the Boulder Ranger District office @ 303-541-2500, or visit local climbing websites or fs.usda.gov/recmain/arp/rec….
As of 4/21/20, Blob Rock, East Blob Rock, Bitty Buttress, & Security Risk are open. Eagle Rock stays closed until 7/31/2020 confirmed with Matt Henry, Rec Prog Mgr, FS.
From K. Armstrong, FS Pub Aff, katherine.armstrong@usda.gov, 970-222-7607: 3/20/19, Blob, East Blob, Bitty Buttress, & Security are open. Eagle stays closed to climbing & other activities through 7/31/19.
The Boulder Ranger District partners with BCC & AF to monitor nesting progress & to inform climbers.
See - fs.usda.gov/recmain/arp/rec….
Perennial notice:
Eagle, Blob, Bitty Buttress, & Security will close 2/1 - 7/31 for nesting. Depending on updated information, the closure time can be shortened/lengthened.
Each year, BC raptor nesting area closures are in effect starting 2/1 through 7/31 at Eagle, Security, Blob, & Bitty Buttress. The area is monitored & closures are periodically lifted early (due to no active nest, nest site failure, or early fledging). This monitoring program is a partnership with the FS Boulder Ranger District, BCC, & Audubon Society. Check back periodically during times of closure for updates. More info at fs.usda.gov/recarea/arp/rec…
Description
Note, for organizational purposes, Upper Dream Canyon is listed separate from Boulder Canyon, despite being a side branch of Boulder Canyon.
The crags on the south side of the canyon receive little sun in the winter months, and often are quite chilly then. They are great for shady climbing in hotter weather, however. Most crags on the northern side of the canyon are climbable in the winter months, and quite hot to climb in the summer sun. Approach time for most climbs is in the 5-15 minute range, if not less.
Ice Climbing
There are a couple of areas in BC that form ice during the winter thanks to a leaky aqueduct. These flows form just West of Castle Rock on the South side of the creek. Mainly shorter, easier lines, but up WI6 (in thin conditions) can be found.
Mileages / Crags
Here is a update-able list of approximate mileages (from the bottom) with associated crags:
Mile 0.4 South: Goofy Spire | Slabs
Mile 0.5 North: Elephant Buttresses | The Dome | Frogman Pinnacle | Rock Island I | Ament's Rock | Three Buffoons | ??
Mile 0.6 North: Rock Island II
Mile 1.0 North: Little Crag
Mile 1.1 South: The Teflon Wall
Mile 1.? North: Trespass Rock
Mile 3.9 North: Sugar Crack Buttress | (up Sugarloaf Road) Bummers Rock
Mile 4.2 South: Island Rock
Mile 4.6 North: The Brick Wall | Spasmodic Rock
Mile 4.8 South: Mental Rock
Mile 4.8 North: Turtle Rock: A Crag for Kids | Milk Dud aka Canyon Block | Long Walk Rock
Mile 6.2 South: Eagle Rock
Mile 6.3 North: The Arena (aka Contender Wall)
Mile 6.6 South: Cob Rock | Lost Flatiron | unknown crag
Mile 6.6 North: One Shoe Makes It Murder | Stoner Slab | The Wall of Voodoo | Bitty Buttress
Mile 6.7 North: Short Cliff w/ Three Cracks | Blob Rock Area
Mile 6.8 North: Happy Hour Crag | Security Risk Massif | Poison Ivy Dome | The Solar Dome (aka Lighthouse)
Mile 7.0 North: The Riviera | The Bihedral Area | Kanjiklub | Lady’s Choice
Mile 7.0 South: Lost Flatiron | unknown crag | Witches' Tower | Sherwood Boulder | Sherwood Forest | Garden Party Wall | Across from The Bihedral aka Cascade Crag | Scruffy Crag | Jungle Book
Mile 7.3 North: Hillbilly Rocks | Truth or Consequences Crag aka Inca Stone | Claim Jumper | Glacier Dome
Mile 7.3 South: Boulder Canyon Boulder (AKA Graham Boulder)
Mile 8.0 North: Lower Dream Canyon | Lower Boulder Falls | Boulder Falls East | Boulder Slips | Lion's Den | Mindless Cliff | Mind Shaft Cliff | Valor | Law of Physics
Mile 8.0 South: Tonnere Tower | Tower of Babel | Above Tower of Babel | Across From Mind Shaft Cliff
Mile 8.1 North: The Bowling Alley | The Lookout | The Hideout | Tungsten Mine Shaft | Practice Rock | The Cornerstone | Electra Glide | Road Rock | Superdeath
Mile 8.1 South: Sentinel Slab | Aquarium Wall | Bell Buttress Massif | Solaris | Japanese Garden
Mile 8.2 North: Myth Rock
Mile 8.2 South: Wizard Rock | Avalon | The Watermark
Mile 8.7 North: The Zoo | Animal World | The Boulderado | Mine Hole Crag | Armin's Crag | Huck's Fins aka Sun Dial Crag (submitted as Fin Land)
Mile 8.7 South: Vampire Rock | The Loft | Black Widow Slab | Trout Rock | Sleeping Beauty | The Angel of Death (formerly known as The Beer Can) | The Catacombs | Unknown Crag
Mile 8.8 North: Unknown Crag
Mile 8.8 South: Lost Rock
Mile 8.9 North: Easter Rock
Mile 9.1 South: High Energy Crag | Higher Energy Crag
Mile 9.2 South: Interloper Wall
Mile 9.2 North: Coney Island
Mile 10.5 North: Nip and Tuck | Stepping Stones | El Barrio
Mile 10.8 North: Nursing Home
Mile 10.8 South: Retirement Rock
Mile 11.0 North: Couch Fire Crag
Mile 12.0 South: Broken Rock | The Overlook | Castle Rock | Mountain Rose | Frisky Cliff
Mile 12.3 North: Cenotaph Crag
Mile 12.3 South: Across From Cenotaph aka Sea of Tranquility
Mile 12.5 South: The Sport Park
Mile 12.5 North: Cenotaph Spire
Getting There
From the high lands, go to Nederland. Drive downhill on CO Hwy 119.
Per George Bracksieck: parking for Cenotaph Spire is the same as for Cenotaph: at 12.3 miles.
Access Issues
The US Forest Service implemented existing seasonal closure orders for Eagle Rock, Blob Rock/East Blob/Bitty Buttress and Security Risk (including both Upper and Lower Security Risk) climbing areas.
These closures protect a long-established golden eagle territory, including valuable alternate nest sites. Undisturbed access to alternate nest sites is important for birds of prey early in the nesting season, to give them a chance to use different nests during courtship and to select a site for the season free of human influence. Signs have been posted at key access points into the closed areas and closures will be in effect until July 31. See AccessFund for further details.
Also, please see ?news? item regarding Security Risk crag access.
Marijuana
Bats - conservation
See a bat on a route, give a shout. Climbers for Bat Conservation is working with climbers to understand bat ecology and why bats choose certain cracks and flakes. If you see bats, and want to tell them, here is their email (climbersforbats@colostate.edu) and their website ( climbersforbats.colostate.edu/).
Climbers for Bat Conservation is a collaboration between climbers, bat biologists, and land managers to understand where bats roost and where large populations may reside. They are interested in finding bats because a new disease, called white-nose syndrome ( whitenosesyndrome.org/), has killed millions of bats in North America. This collaboration has identified bat roosts throughout the U.S., and as far away as Norway and Bulgaria. CBC was developed by biologists who climb and they are advocates for climbing access and bat conservation. If you see bats while climbing, please let them know by emailing them at climbersforbats@colostate.edu, or visiting their website to learn more ( climbersforbats.colostate.edu/).
Rob Schorr
Zoologist, Colorado Natural Heritage Program ( sites.warnercnr.colostate.e…)
Director, Climbers for Bat Conservation
Robert.schorr@colostate.edu
Classic Climbing Routes at Boulder Canyon
Route Name | Location | Star Rating | Difficulty | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
● Bitty Buttress | Bitty Buttress |
|
5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Trad 3 pitches | |
● Dementia | Happy Hour Crag |
|
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a Trad, TR | |
● Cosmosis | Bell Buttress M… > Bell Buttress - Main… |
|
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a Trad 2 pitches | |
● Lust | Avalon > Second Tier > Tarot Wall |
|
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport | |
● The Scientist | Lower Dream Canyon > Plotinus Wall > Middle |
|
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Trad | |
● Consilience | Black Widow Slab |
|
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport | |
● Country Club Crack | Castle Rock |
|
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Trad 2 pitches | |
● Animal Magnetism | Animal World > Upper Animal World |
|
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport | |
● Strange Science | Avalon > Second Tier > Middle Wall |
|
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport, TR | |
● Jolt Cola | Blob Rock Area > Blob Rock > Right Gully |
|
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport | |
● Empire of the Fenceless | Easter Rock |
|
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport | |
● Tell-Tale Heart | Easter Rock |
|
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Sport | |
● Plan B | Security Risk M… > Upper Security Risk |
|
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Sport | |
● Lucid Dreaming | Lower Dream Canyon > Plotinus Wall > Middle |
|
5.12d 7c 28 IX 28 E6 6b Sport | |
● Vasodilator | Blob Rock Area > Blob Rock > Right Gully |
|
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c Sport |
Weather Averages
High
|
Low
|
Precip
|
Days w Precip
|
J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
Photos
All Photos Within Boulder Canyon
Most Popular · Newest · RandomMore About Boulder Canyon
Printer-FriendlyWhat's New
Fixed Hardware Report (269)
Guidebooks (19)
32 Comments