All Locations > Colorado > Estes Park Valley > Big Thompson Canyon

Palisade Mountain Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Palisade Mountain

420 Wall 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Becker Wall 6 / 4 / 7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 10

East Buttress (God's Country Cowboy Church Cirque) 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Horseshead 21 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 21

Ivy League 3 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Jewel of the Nile Wall 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Jungle Wall 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Mikey's Island 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 4

Nancy's Rock 5 / 7 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 9

Palisade Boulders 0 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Sinking Sun 7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7

Skull Rock Area 10 / 6 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 18

Temple of Tao, The 10 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 11

Unknown Crag at Palisade Mountain 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Elevation:	7,408 ft
GPS:	40.43666, -105.31171 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	123,965 total · 560/month
Shared By:	allen simons on Jan 24, 2005
Admins:	Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC Page Updates (admin only)

Access Issue: Access issue - Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc.? Details

Per JF M: as of May 2022, there is no signage on-site, nor information on the USFS webpage for the Cameron Peak Fire (nor on their published map of closures) that indicates the area is closed.

Per Bruce Hildenbrand: it appears that the Forest Service has closed access to all the climbing areas accessed via Storm Mountain Road (Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc.) until they can clear all the dangerous dead trees from the Cameron Peak fire.

I worked this issue with Eric Murdock at the AF, and it looks like the Forest Service picked Devil's Gulch Road as the southern boundary even though all the climbing areas on MP.com were not burned.

Description

Palisade Mountain is the same mountain that Nancy's Rock (a.k.a. Rio Bravo and Cyclop's Slab), Becker Wall, and Skull Rock are located on. This is a huge mountain with some established routes and possibilities for 100s of other routes. Many slabs and crack systems exist. With the exception of Nancy's Rock, everything requires steep approaches and navigating through difficult rock bands, pine needles, and vegetation. The rock here is however very solid and potential for multi-pitch routes exist. There are some brief descriptions in the Estes Park Valley Guide by Bernard Gillett, but locating these routes is difficult in reality and even more difficult to explain.

Getting There

Palisade Mountain is located on US Highway 34 west of Loveland. From the Beige Siphon tube in the Narrows it is 6 miles, just a mile short of the town of Drake. The mountain is the obvious rocky crag hundreds of feet up the north side of the road. Park in the paved lot at Nancy's Rock and start on that trail. After 100 feet break off right and trail blaze up and right. I recently discovered some quartz cairns midway marking a pseudo trail.

Poison Ivy Alert

Eds. Note, there is much poison ivy for the sensitive.

101 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Palisade Mountain

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

5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 13 ● These Ol' Bones Sport Skull Rock Area > Subskull
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 15 ● Pearly Burly Brooke Trad 2 pitches Jewel of the Nile Wall
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 11 ● Channel Surfing Sport Skull Rock Area > Subskull
5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 13 ● The Middle Man Trad Skull Rock Area > Subskull
5.10a/b 6a+ 19 VI+ 19 E2 5b 25 ● Neighsayer Trad 2 pitches Horseshead
5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b 11 ● Kentucky Derby Trad Horseshead
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b PG13 7 ● Breeder's Cup Trad 2 pitches Horseshead
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 5 ● Funky Gold Patina Trad, Sport 2 pitches Horseshead
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 11 ● The Temple Trad Skull Rock Area > Skull Rock
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c 8 ● Annie's Knotty Fingers Trad Mikey's Island
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c 10 ● TDS Trad Horseshead
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 3 ● Vulgar Display of Power Trad 2 pitches Temple of Tao
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c 5 ● The Distriminator Trad Mikey's Island
5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a 4 ● Pokey's Arete Trad Horseshead
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 4 ● Numbskulls Sport, TR Skull Rock Area > Subskull