Montrose Climbing

Montrose is a largely rural, but growing city with a population of around 19,000 within city limits (as of 2010). Once a town of mainly ranchers and farmers, Montrose is now becoming a community of families, retirees, and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

The rock quality in the area is widely varied, from bomber sandstone, to less-than-bomber granite. Many sandstone cliff-lines and boulders can be found west of town, on the edge of the Uncompahgre Plateau, while some granite is found east of town, near the edge of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. There are very few developed areas, but the ambitious climber could absolutely take advantage of undeveloped areas for bouldering and trad climbing.

The rock climbing community in Montrose is not large, but it is there. It consists mostly of experienced weekend warriors, but also of young climbers from the local high school climbing team. Local beta is scarce, and mainly passed by word of mouth.

For rest days, Montrose certainly lives up to its motto, "Stay Here, Play Everywhere." Though best known for its close proximity to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, there are countless other opportunities to enjoy the outdoors within a thirty minute drive of town, and within town as well. The newly built Water Sports Park has drawn the interest of both amateur and hardened kayakers and SUP-ers. The brand new Rec Center, which opened in February of 2017, is booming with business from climbers, runners, and other athletes from the Montrose area. For a quick after-work pump, the Rec Center even has a small climbing wall, specially textured and painted to resemble the Black Canyon.