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Radio Head Rock Climbing
Routes in Radio Head
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Bends, The T 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c |
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Black Velvet T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Blinders S 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a |
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Centrist T 5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b |
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Crandall Hammer Arete S 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b |
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Crosshairs S 5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b |
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Doom Seam S 5.12d 7c 28 IX 28 E6 6b |
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Freezer Burn T,S 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a |
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Gap, The S 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Giant Dihedral T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Gigantor T,S 5.11c/d 7a 24 VIII 25 E4 6a |
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Heat Stroke S 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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Lady Fingers T,S 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b |
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Left of Center S 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Libertine S,TR 5.11- 6c 22 VIII+ 22 E3 5c |
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Line-of-Sight S 5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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Lord of the Flies S 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Man Hands T,S 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b |
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Meter Maid T,S 5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b |
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Mighty Mouse S 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Minimalist T,S 5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Mix Up T 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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My Left Foot S 5.13a/b 8a 29 IX+ 29 E7 6c |
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Not Alone T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Radio One S 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Refiner S 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c |
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Right of Center S 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Shimminy Cricket T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Shiny Face S 5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c |
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Sun Burn S 5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a |
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Sunrise Slab S 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Super Nova T,S 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a |
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Surefire S 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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Tall Boy S,TR 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c |
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Tilt S 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a |
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Tilt-a-Whirl T,S 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Trail of Tears S 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Two Edged Sword T,S 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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White Dwarf T,S 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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| Elevation: | 9,120 ft |
| GPS: | 39.27, -105.118 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
| Page Views: | 30,592 total · 317/month |
| Shared By: | Jim Hausmann on Aug 15, 2010 |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac |
Getting weather forecast...
Access Issue: Raptor Closures
Details
March 1st-July 31st: Devil's Head Rock, Sin City, & Recovery Wall are closed for raptor protection. The vast majority of the other crags are unaffected by the closure.Please visit:
fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/al…
For additional information and maps.
fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/al…
For additional information and maps.
Description
Radio Head offers one of the shortest approaches at Devil's Head, with routes ranging from 5.6-5.13. Approximately half of the routes require some gear placements, so bring at least a small rack of stoppers and cams through 4". Most routes require a 60m rope to lower off, with a few requiring a 70m rope. Tod Anderson's book "Rampart Range Rocks" is the best resource for route information. The crag faces primarily southwest, with most routes getting afternoon sun.
This crag was developed recently, primarily by Scott Sills and Jim Hausmann, but there was evidence that at least 2 routes had been discovered and climbed several years prior.
This crag was developed recently, primarily by Scott Sills and Jim Hausmann, but there was evidence that at least 2 routes had been discovered and climbed several years prior.
Getting There
To get to Radio Head, continue along Rampart Range Rd past the turnoff for the campground, heading uphill on the now narrower road. After 0.7 miles you crest the ridge at the Radio Towers. Park here, or up the road a short ways, making sure not to block access to the towers.
From the parking, head northwest along the ridge. The trail is pretty obvious as it goes along, first on the right side of the ridge crest, then over to the left. Stay on the west side of the ridge, just below the top, until you pass a big mess of quartz crystals.
At this point, you will see a large tower (Line of Sight Wall). Descend the slabs marked with cairns and logs and a couple of steps. Total approach time is approximately 15-20 minutes.
Per Jason Haas: as of December 2014, the parking situation at the “Radio Head” area off the Rampart Range road has changed. A gate and fencing was installed this fall to control access to the communication facilities and prevent parking and camping at that location. There is no parking available at this location now. We hope to develop additional parking the south to account for the 5-10 spaces this takes away. Best parking in the area for now is probably to the south near the Topaz Point picnic area.
From the parking, head northwest along the ridge. The trail is pretty obvious as it goes along, first on the right side of the ridge crest, then over to the left. Stay on the west side of the ridge, just below the top, until you pass a big mess of quartz crystals.
At this point, you will see a large tower (Line of Sight Wall). Descend the slabs marked with cairns and logs and a couple of steps. Total approach time is approximately 15-20 minutes.
Per Jason Haas: as of December 2014, the parking situation at the “Radio Head” area off the Rampart Range road has changed. A gate and fencing was installed this fall to control access to the communication facilities and prevent parking and camping at that location. There is no parking available at this location now. We hope to develop additional parking the south to account for the 5-10 spaces this takes away. Best parking in the area for now is probably to the south near the Topaz Point picnic area.
Classic Climbing Routes at Radio Head
Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
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Photos
18 Comments
More About Radio Head
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Guidebooks (14)
Centenntial
Colorado
Lakewood, CO
In addition, after incountering several lost climbers looking for gully slab, it is located at the top of the gully beyond the north end of the main wall.
Hope this helps. Oct 2, 2013
Louisville, CO
rakkup.com/climbing-guidebo… Oct 28, 2014
"Wanted to let you know the parking situation at the “Radio Head” area off the Rampart Range road has changed. A gate and fencing was installed this fall to control access to the communication facilities and prevent parking and camping at that location. There is no parking available at this location now. We hope to develop additional parking the south to account for the 5-10 spaces this takes away. Best parking in the area for now is probably to the south near the Topaz Point picnic area."
Colorado
Hi Jason, thanks for posting about this.
I have actually been meaning to write a similar post but obviously hadn't gotten around to it. In some sense, I understand the parking lot closure because there has been quite a bit of trash left at the "campsite" fire pit on the trail in (diapers, tortilla wrappers, etc.). However I feel like the complete closure is excessive and unwarranted on public land, but I guess if they plan on adding spaces nearby, then it is not a huge deal. That said, as it stands there is no way that there will be adequate parking for the West Valley/Wipeyur areas if they don't do something soon.
On top of this, the approach trail into Radio Head proper has been co-opted by an (illegal?) dirt bike trail. My guess is that the dirt bike folks have been trying forge this trail for a few years now, because each of the last few years they have smashed an ever wider gap between the rocks and trees to gain the ridge proper. This year they finally succeeded in smashing a big enough gap that they could finish paving their trail down the other (south) side of the ridge where it heads back down into the woods. I find this pretty irritating on multiple levels. First off, it is a hazard to the climbers and crystal gathering folks that have been using this trail for years, because the dirt bikers certainly don't slow down in that section (my brother and his wife almost got mowed down this fall). Second, the dirt bikers also cut down live trees to block the climber trail proper (I have pictures...it's pretty annoying and ugly). My guess is that they did this to "signal" to the other dirt bikers that the trail goes down the hill to the northeast (away from Radio Head) instead of following the climber trail back to the old, now closed parking area.
I feel like climbers are being punished here despite the fact that the dirty campsite and new dirt bike trail are clearly the bigger damaging issue (and I am pretty damn sure that it ain't climbers who are trashing the place with new trails and diapers in the fire pit). I guess what really gets me is that I and my partners spend probably 3 weekends a month somewhere in the Platte during the summer and fall months, and every single weekend we spend time cleaning up shell casings, clay pigeons, broken bottles, trash, etc. left behind by other (i.e. non-climber) user groups -- not to mention the several abandoned dirt biker fires I have extinguished -- and I am fairly certain that we are not the only climbers who pitch in to help keep the Platte a clean place. Yet we as a user group somehow get our parking area shutdown as a result of the other irresponsible user groups. Arrrgh.
Anyway, I was planning on making a forum post about all of this so that we as a user group can try and come up with a coherent message to the Forest Service about all of this if need be; thus if an admin sees this and wants to move my post to an appropriate forum, that would be just fine.
Cheers. Dec 9, 2014
Colorado
Evergreen, CO
Golden, CO
Highlands Ranch, CO