Nine Mile Hill Bouldering

The climbing along Nine Mile Hill exists on the Cretaceous-era Dakota Sandstone formation. Although not as solid as its famous Wingate brother, the Dakota is certainly capable of moments of brilliance. Several cliffs along Nine Mile Hill have been developed with both traditional crack climbs and bolted sport routes. However, the main draw along Nine Mile Hill is bouldering.

The boulder fields along CO-141 extend the entire nine miles from the Gunnison river to the top of the Uncompagre Plateau, at an average width of over a mile. Now that is a lot of boulders! It is true that a lot of these boulders don't contain climbable rock; for every climbable boulder there are perhaps 5 unclimbable boulders. But in an area where the boulders literally number in the thousands, that leaves about (hmmm lets see [several X 1,000 X (1/6)= uhmmm]) a lot of climbable rock. Whats more, a lot of those boulders that have routes have amazing routes.

The bouldering in this area is still largely undeveloped, and much that has been developed has gone unreported. This often gives the bouldering an adventurous feel.

The earliest known bouldering in this area was developed in the late '80s and early '90s by the climbers heading out to the main canyon. Many areas were developed throughout the '90s, and there were a few chipping incidents whose offenders shall go nameless here. Many of the classic areas were explored and developed by the reticent hardman Matt Lisenby and friends throughout the late '90s and early 2000s. Many more strong climbers have developed boulders as of late. Several of them have posted these areas to this database, and I will let them tell their own stories.

The land in the Nine Mile Hile area is all BLM, and few regulations are in place. There is no camping in the East Creek Day Use Area. Once you pass the cattle guard at the base of the real hill there is legal at large camping with the usual 14 day limit. Please help keep this area free of regulation by being respectful of this great resource.