Climbing around Denver

Maybe I am the one in a bad mood; but calling most of the rock here "shit" is out of line. Royal said that we were spoiled here in Colo. to have so much rock. I would think that he knew what he was talking about coming from Calif. and a world traveler too! So he did not climb the huge numbers; so what. The OP did happen to mention that she might be into trad too someday. Yes I am from Colo. and am proud of it but I still say we rank up there in the top 3 States for overall climbing.......and Oregon isn't one of them!

I feel better now......... :)

Check out the following areas of the MP database and decide for yourself what's here.

Golden, as others have pointed out, is ~20 minutes from central Denver, rush hour can double that, don't underestimate traffic, Denver has rated in the top 10 (top 5?) for worst traffic in the nation.

mountainproject.com/v/color…

Boulder is ~45 minutes from Denver, again non-rush-hour. mountainproject.com/v/color…

Estes Park ~1.5 hour from Denver.
mountainproject.com/v/color…

South Platte is a big area, anywhere from 45 minutes to 2+ hours depending on the area. mountainproject.com/v/color…

Morrison and Evergreen ~20 minutes to an hour. mountainproject.com/v/color…

Denver South and CO Springs are about an hour.
mountainproject.com/v/color…
mountainproject.com/v/color…

Granted there is plenty of choss to be found but there is also a lot of good rock and quality routes. Having moved here from the Northern Va/D.C. area I find the amount and variety of climbing here incredible and more than enough to keep an old traddie of average ability like me busy for a long, long time.

Amusing how conspicuously silent Colorado Springs has been on this issue. Nothing further, just a comment . . . that's one part of what is so special about the climbing and community there. Not a perfect place, but the climbing component is blended nicely.

Everyone knows the best climbers in the country come out of the Springs and have been since Ellingwood was a professor at The Colorado College. Their just quiet about it. Seriously it may be one of the best places in the country to be a climber. Nothing like riding your bike to the Garden on a sunny January day and doing a world class soft sandstone climb or two and then riding home.

Just to defend Mono's comment, not that he's being flamed, but there is not very much in the front Range north of .13A compared to places like Smith, and what there is is not usually very aesthetic. The Flatirons was the best hope for that. A very interesting argument has been made in the past here about whether its the stone or the talent of the local climbers. I think its both, there's be a lot more .13+ climbers around if we had the stone to promote it.

Mike Lane wrote:there's be a lot more .13+ climbers around if we had the stone to promote it.

I think there's be(sic) a lot more if they's all packin' drills and hangers:-)

Mono mentioned nothing about difficulty. I imagine he ment to. I still do not agree. Yes the flatirons probably were the best chance for really hard routes, but the bolting laws prevented much of that. Check out the proposed route possibly going up on the maiden. Wow! Besides, what percentage of climbers can climb harder than 5.12. I would say only about 17% so it really doesn't matter to most. Just the arrogant statement about most of the rock is shit here is what pissed me off. I have been to Smith Rock and found it to be a great place, but it is still primarily a one pitch sport route destination. Granted, the rock there is steller, but all the same. We have many varieties of rock here which adds to the overall excellence of the area.