All Locations > Colorado > S Platte > Cathedral Spires Area

The Bishop Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in The Bishop

L › R R › L A › Z

	Bishop Crack T 5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
	Bishop Offwidth T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Bishop's Conundrum (aka Psycho Physics) T 5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a R
	Craftwork T 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
	Ellingwood Chimney T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Flounder T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Unknown Handcrack - AKA The Right Splitter T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b

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Elevation:	7,903 ft	2,409 m
GPS:	39.4169, -105.2703 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
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Shared By:	Richard M. Wright on Aug 30, 2001 · Updates
Admins:	Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC Page Updates (admin only)

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Access Issue: Seasonal Raptor Closure - at least until Aug. 15, 2025 Details

Per Josh: for the first time in at least 5 years, it appears we have nestlings at the peregrine falcon eyrie at Cathedral Spires! The breeding pair has been present and made attempts at nesting all those years but have not gotten this close to fledging a nest in that time.

Ornithologists across the Front Range have noted that migration and the onset of the avian breeding season seemed to be delayed by around 7-10 days this year, possibly because of the timing and amount of spring precipitation. The peregrines at Cathedral laid eggs later than usual. Because of that, their nestlings may not be ready to leave the nest by the time our usual seasonal closure would end, after July 31. As such, the closure this year will remain until at least August 15 (an opening of August 16). This should give the nestlings the time they need to finish development and leave the nest area.

2023 info: jeffco.us/1531/Alerts-Closures

The Cathedral Spires area, including Block Tower, Cynical Pinnacle, Snake Buttress, the Dome, Hall of Mirrors, Sunshine Wall, and Poe Buttress, are closed annually starting March 1 for raptor nesting. After careful monitoring of nest sites, Jefferson County Open Space opens certain areas of Cathedral Spires and maintain spot closures for active nests through July 31st. Check back periodically during times of closure for updates: jeffco.us/open-space/parks/…

Note, JeffCo Open Space has notified us that access to The Bishop and Poop Point (along with all the Cathedral Spires Area) currently goes across JeffCo OS land. Despite information in some guidebooks (published or soon-to-be-published), the entire Cathedral Spires area is subject raptor nesting closures. Please be aware of the hefty fines associated with failure to observe these regulations.

Access Issue: Private Property on current approach Details

Per T D: the current approach goes through private property.

Description

High on the hillside and nearly facing Cynical Pinnacle and The Sunshine Wall is the stunning yellow East face of The Bishop. From a distance, this gorgeous face appears to be nearly featureless, but for a single wide crack that cleaves the rock in two. In fact, The Bishop is host to several routes, including what may well be the best single pitch 5.11 crack in the state, hell, anywhere.

Getting There

Approach The Bishop as you would for Cynical Pinnacle. Parking can be had off JeffCo 96, 3.8 miles from the intersection with road 97 and the South Platte River. Hike up the mining road past the cutoff for The Dome. You can bushwhack a ridge line that provides line of sight guidance to The Bishop, in the past a cairn trail takes off from the drainage heading West. The hiking takes about 60 minutes, and it is indeed all uphill.

One way to get up: per Mike Carrington: park by the river where the bathrooms are and head up the ravine to the north, away from the river. Pass the sign that points to the trail leading right to Sunshine Wall. In a few hundred yards on the left, there are a few small cairns which is the start of a mining road. Head up the road about 5 or 10 minutes, and look for more cairns on the right that head up the ridge straight towards The Dome. At some point when The Bishop looks close, you will have to go left and bushwhack up to it. I would suggest going left lower rather than higher as I went high and encountered a huge, boulder-filled ravine.

Per Kevin Stricker: the best approach I have found is to follow the "main" Dome trail up past the cutoff for Topographical Oceans. When you hit the ridge, hang a left and walk on mostly flat ground to the back side of the Bishop. From here, it's just a 5-10 minutes to any route on the Bishop.

Per T D: the current approach goes through private property.

Per Christine Hartman, JeffCo Ecological Services, access to The Bishop is currently across the JeffCo property closed for raptor closures and are subjective to the expensive fines. Legal access via through adjacement private property has not been work out yet.

From Shaun Reed (via T D): the landowner Jim came up to visit while we were climbing, and he is a really nice guy. He told us The Bishop is actually on his property, and that he is cool with climbers up there. HOWEVER, he did mention that the approach beta in Haas' new South Platte guidebook is NOT correct! He wants climbers to take the trail up to the Dome and traverse across from there. We did both ways, and hiking past the Dome doesn't seem much longer. So please respect the landowner, and keep access to this beautiful rock open.

7 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at The Bishop

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 19 ● Ellingwood Chimney Trad 2 pitches
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 8 ● Bishop Offwidth Trad
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a 17 ● Craftwork Trad
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b 42 ● Bishop Crack Trad