Devil's Head Rock Climbing

Devil's Head is a relatively new granite climbing area with perhaps the highest concentration of three star routes anywhere in the Front Range. While lying in the South Platte, Devil's Head granite presents a super fine-grain textured granite that only rarely reveals the typical South Platte crystalline matrix. The rock is remarkably featured with roofs, cracks, edges, and flakes that, unlike most of the South Platte, offer up tremendous amounts of excellent, exciting, face climbing.

Devil's Head climbing occurs largely on the South and East-facing slopes of Devil's Head mountain, and the climber could not ask for a more serene place to climb. The crags face South, West, or East and overlook Pike's Peak with all the rest of the Rampart Range hills spread out in unbroken splendor as far as the eye can see.

The area possesses over 400 routes with the balance of new route activity devoted to bolt-protected sport climbing, although nearly 20 of the routes are superb granite crack climbs on bomber trad gear. While the emphasis in climbing is largely on the upper 5.11 and 5.12 range, difficulty pretty much spans the gamut, and it is a good bet that some under-rated 5.13 lies on the hill as well.

Development of new routes started nearly 8 years ago spearheaded by the relentless energy of Tod Anderson, author of the area's guidebook, "The Devil Made Me Do It". The roster of first ascentionists that Tod dragged up the hill includes (in no particular order) Tom Hanson, Scott Sills, Rich Magill, Richard Wright, Alan Nelson, Mike Lane, Janice Harnak, Ernie Moskovitz (Ziggy), Frank (Tripp) Collins, Martin Birch, Dave Fields, Eric Leonard, and Pat Burwick. Other notable developers include Pete Takeda, Ken Trout, and probably some more great climbers as well. Of more than a dozen developed crags, the most notable routes lie on the following crags: The Headstone, The Crimpfest Wall, The Red Wall, The Starcastle, The Crag Ranch, and The Shaft.