Climbing Near Larkspur, Colorado

The Larkspur Rim lies above I-25, east of Larkspur. It is the obvious cliff band composed of the light-colored Castle Rock Conglomerate, which also composes the climbing rock at Castlewood Canyon. Here, the rock is a coarse-grained, poorly cemented, pebbly sandstone. In 1981, Steve Sarns, Sarah and I bushwhacked through the Gambel oak to the most obvious feature along the whole rim, the huge 90-degree dihedral, and climbed it. I recall that we parked somewhere along a frontage road on the east side of I-25. There was no trail.

Parachute Rock is an out of the way crag in the South Platte/South Rampart Range area. The climbing includes one, and two pitch moderate cracks, and a couple of slabs. There are several nice cracks in the 5.8-10c range, and even a gaping offwidth. This crag has some great views of Pikes Peak, and the south! Hubble's guide calls it one of the 'hidden gems' of the Platte. I would [recommend] the topo in his guidebook, it is right on. Most everything seemed to be an easy walk off, including the summit routes. It may be a little out of the way for the value, but, it makes a nice day in a nice setting. The approach is short which makes up for the drive. Finding this place isn't too bad if you have the right directions! We drove down Sante Fe to Sedalia, and took a right on CO Highway 67, go about 10 miles until you get to the Rampart Range Road turn-off where you go left at the obvious dirt road. From here, you have 21 miles of winding, washboard, dirt road. Go about 8-9 miles down Rampart Range Road, until you see the signs for Devil's Head. Here, take a right where the sign points you to Woodland Park. Follow this dirt road for 12 miles until you see a left turn on FR 327. Take FR 327 for about 0.6 miles until you see the pinnacle on your left, and park in an obvious pullout in a small draw. From here, the approach is only about 5-10 minutes and is obvious, heading straight up to the base of the climbs. Rack up. Per slim: the key to finding the turnoff to Parachute Rock is that when you are on the main road (Rampart Range Road), looking north you can see the radio towers dead ahead above the road. If you are coming from the south, this makes it really easy to find at night, as it will be the first time that you can really see the blinking red lights of the radio tower. At this point, the Parachute Road is practically there on the east side (right hand if you are headed north).

This is the main boulder at the highest point on the ridge. The quality is pretty good but is very dirty. There are many cool routes to explore, but watch out for the occasional hold blowing on you. There are two ways to access the crag. Either walk from Parachute Rock directly west for about ten minutes up the hill. Or after you head east on Route 327, take your first left, head north until you find an obvious turnoff, start hiking up the hill, and follow it to the crag.