Recommend a crag around Boulder/Evergreen for August

Hi All,

We're coming over from the UK to visit some family in Evergreen in August this year - we're keen to get some climbing in (trad & sport), can anyone recommend crags in the area which will be good and not too hot at that time of year?

Thanks,
Ian

Check out the South Platte. Many areas, from cracks to slabs.

Steve Williams wrote:Check out the South Platte. Many areas, from cracks to slabs.

Hey,

Thanks Steve, i'll check out South Platte.

Do you know if places like Boulder Canyon and Rifle Mountain park will be too hot?

Thanks,
Ian

You can find shade in either spot, so you should be fine.
I love Boulder Canyon, but I'm not sure it's really a destination area, unless you have some particular route in mind?
Mark

Mark E Dixon wrote:I love Boulder Canyon, but I'm not sure it's really a destination area, unless you have some particular route in mind? Mark

Hi Mark, thanks for your reply. We're completely new to the area, so no particular routes in mind. We're really looking for single pitch steep sport routes, 5.10 - 5.12c and some fun trad climbing for rest days (nothing too serious). Thanks, Ian

Ian- just a quick geography point: Boulder and Evergreen are not really related in any way; other than both being satellites of Denver. No big deal though, we get what you mean.
Be sure to hit Devils Head

Devils Head is a great suggestion. Fun climbing and a pretty spot. Also relatively close to Evergreen.
For steep sport you would probably have more luck in Clear Creek Canyon than Boulder Canyon.
Rifle is further, well worth visiting, but can take some getting used to!
Eldorado Canyon would offer many classic trad routes, and you might want to take a long day and do something in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Mark
PS Don't listen to Mike- Boulder isn't a satellite of Denver, everyone knows the universe revolves around Boulder.

Hi, I am the other Limey heading over to Colorado this August.

Basically what we are after is some shady steep limestone in a beautiful setting surrounded by scantily clad rock chicks yelling 'You GOT this' at us.

If that is not available then we will settle for a damp, chossy quarry with an overcast sky; this is probably closer to what we are used to.

On a slightly more serious note in terms of picturesque climbing spots I've heard good things about Lime Creek. Will it be in condition in August?

Rob Tru wrote:On a slightly more serious note in terms of picturesque climbing spots I've heard good things about Lime Creek. Will it be in condition in August?

Yes. The question is then if you decide to camp there (it is a gorgeous high altitude valley) or stay in a hotel in either Carbondale or the Eagle valley which includes Vail. If you choose to camp, it gets chilly even in August b/c you are at over 9000' and there is a possibility for a bear encounter; so plan accordingly. Also, if you are doing a Lime Creek trip, you had better had have tried Rifle first as its a significantly better area for climbing.
As for the scantily-clad beauties, your best bet is this.

Rob and Ian, just thought I'd mention that we have a lot of dentists in this country.........you know, just sayin'........

Limeys on limestone!

I don;t think there is any limestone up the hill where things are cooler in the front range. Mostly granite and quartzite around the front range along with some gniess schist

http://www.fixedpin.com/The_South_Platte.html

We moved to Evergreen a couple months ago, love it so far.

South Platte is fairly close but August in Splatte can be pretty warm, definitely look for climbs in the shade and some of the crags are not easy to find if you're not familiar with area, it's also a huge area. mountainproject.com/v/south…

Clear Creek Canyon is close, about 20 minutes depending on which you crag. It's also fairly cool in August and relatively easy to find the crags as most directions relate to tunnel numbers in the canyon. Certainly not a destination climbing area but some nice climbs, plenty to choose from in the difficulty range you're looking for and close to Evergreen. mountainproject.com/v/clear…

Haven't done any of the climbs here but depending on where in Evergreen you'r staying it's only 20 minutes drive, add whatever time it takes to hike to the crag. mountainproject.com/v/lover…

Small crag off Squaw Pass Rd. should have nice temps in August. I wouldn't go out of my way to climb here but it's only ~15 minutes from Evergreen Parkway. mountainproject.com/v/junip…

Alpine trad on Mt Evans, only ~30-40 minutes. Just keep in mind it will be summer in the Rockies, that means afternoon thunderstorms and it can snow any day of the year. We did a route on the aprons on August 1st a couple years ago and had several inches of snow and ice on the route, access road was closed above Summit Lake and the snow plow was clearing the road. Also keep in mind this is climbing ~13K-14k feet and I'm guessing you're coming from sea level. mountainproject.com/v/mt-ev…

Keep in mind that most of the suggestions are not day trips.

- Rifle is 3+ hrs from Evergreen
- Lime Creek is 3+ hours from Evergreen

Other far options which include beautiful scenery, great camping and other nearby attractions are:
- Independence Pass (3 hrs): mountainproject.com/v/indep…
- Penitente Canyon (4hrs has possibility of being too warm: mountainproject.com/v/penit…

Evergreen and Morrison are full of some really good bouldering if you want to hit something right there but don't really have any sport routes.

August can be hot anywhere in Colorado depending on what the weather does. The nice thing is the mornings and evenings will usually cool down and the only bad parts of the day are in the middle.