Elevenmile Canyon Rock Climbing

The South Platte River flows from Elevenmile Reservoir at an elevation of about 8500 feet into the canyon, just one hour west of Colorado Springs. The granite domes are home to large number of moderate trad routes and more recently some quite moderate sport routes on the many low-angle domes. The canyon also hosts many "hardman" routes (both sport and trad) in the 5.11-5.12 range. Interestingly, there are not many routes with grades in the 5.8-10 range, but any climber will be satisfied by the fine quality routes. Update: in the Green (2010) and Schmitt (2013) guidebooks, many new routes in the 5.8 to 5.10 range have appeared. Several of these routes have high first bolts with poor landings, a stick clip and additional protection is advised.

Weather will be colder than most Front Range areas due to the higher elevation so the season is shorter, but it's a fine place for summer climbing on the shady side of a crag.

Bring a standard rack up to #4 Friend for trad routes. A 50m rope should suffice unless specifically mentioned otherwise.

Route development started in the '60s but the '70s marked the era of the many moderate classics, while the '80s brought about many new difficult lines of sport and trad. Major developers included: Richard Aschert, Dale Goddard, Mark Milligan, Mark Rolofson, Neil Cannon, and Bob D'Antonio (whose guidebook "Mueller St. Park/Elevenmile Canyon" from the Chockstone Press provides more historical information).

Popular rocks include: 11 Mile Dome, which hosts many moderate trad and sport lines from 5.4-5.10. Don't miss "South Face Direct" (5.10c sp), a fine face route. "The Overleaf" is a nice long 5.8 trad route to the summit of the dome.

Also, check out Arch Rock, Turret Dome, Pine Cone Dome, for moderate climbing. The hardperson should check out Sports Crag, Indulgence Crag, and Cove Rock.