South Platte Camping

Just like the title says: looking for some camping beta for the south platte area for this weekend, devil's head in particular. The plan is to climb both days with a night in the tent on saturday. Easy access to the crag is ideal, but any info is helpful as I'm not very familiar with the area.

What do you say? Any favorite spots?

A nice spot is just around the corner from the Fire Tower campground. You can walk to some of the areas from there. It seems to be past the ATVers and their ilk, but you never know who is camping out there now. It's also where the annual gathering is held.

Make sure to get the new guide book. It is awesome!

Continue south on Rampart Range Road past the turn to the fire tower for the best camping. The spot Tim refers to is just past MM10 where the road makes a hard right. This spot is walking distance from the Lower West Side. The spot where the annual gathering is held is actually further down RRR (about MM11.25) and is a bit too far to walk to the crags. THere are decent sites all along this stretch but the one just past mm10 is the only one within reasonable walking distance. Avoid all the sites in the first 9 miles of RRR as the scooter noise will be overwelming.
Tods book, Rampart Range Rocks is the one to get for Devils Head...

Was up there today and the combination of the rain and fire ban seems to be keeping the "extreme campers" at bay, so sites should be easy to find. The spot by MM10 does afford walking to the crags from camp access as does the USFS campground at the main parking lot. Tons of sweet new routes going in all financed by the RRR book.

FWIW, the pay sites there are actually pretty nice in that they are well shaded by giant aspens. The MM10 site is close to the Lower West Side, but the LWS gets a ton of sun and has less shade to chase than other parts of the mountain when its 90

One of the best places to camp is about 10.2 miles down RRR. If you're going to the Lower West Side, you can just walk from where you camp.

This is the most up-to-date book for the area. fixedpin.com/The_South_Plat….

For fuks sake, are you guys going to turn every single Splatte thread into this tired guidebook debate. Let it go already.

Randy, I have no dog in this fight either, I just responded based on all the other Anderson plugs from Derek and Tod himself (Tzilla). At least he's being honest now that he's using money to bolt new routes. Before it was to update hardware, but if you look at the ASCA website, he's using their hardware. Not to say I'm not appreciative of him updating the hardware, just saying be honest about it. Hell, don't buy the FP book, but I still would recommend mountainproject beta over Tod's book. I know, I know, "just take and lower down to get more draws if you run out because Tod was wrong". That's not a really fun way to climb to me, but maybe you enjoy that, I don't know. And I didn't start anything. The "Devil's Head Crew" did, try reading it. Oh and I think most of those guys apologized after the truth came out. That's on that forum thread too if you'd like to educate yourself.

And geographically, Devil's Head is in the Platte. Yes it's grid bolted all to hell and the rock sucks pretty bad compared to Helens and stuff, but just because some guys don't know how to mellow out on bolting doesn't mean its not part of the platte. Look at this thread title, it says "South Platte Camping" and then asks about Devil's Head. Look at where Devil's Head is categorized under on this website - The Platte, imagine that.

Thanks everyone! This'll be my first trip to the platte and though turkey rocks (or anything on gear) sounds a little more in my wheelhouse, I've heard fun things about devils head also. Besides, climbing is climbing is climbing (as in, it's not work) at the end of the day. Thanks for all the helpful ideas and if anyone is interested in coming to get a few pitches in, everyone is welcome. I only climb 12a on my best day, but I'm happy to belay anything out there.

Glenn Schuler wrote:Let it go already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq3jcpUfUcc

Nice Stich! That was pretty damn funny.

FWIW - some of the proceeds from RRR goes into route maintenance too, not just new stuff. Past posts about ASCA hardware were from a batch of hand-me down hardware that had passed trough several hands before me, that I was trying to find some reasonable use for. Some of the ASCA stuff was used in Clear Creek, & Table too, or wherever it seemed that existing hardware was in need of an upgrade or replacement.

The folks up in Canada have a great organization called TABVAR (The Association of Bow Valley Area Rockclimbers)that supports all sorts of activities that benefit the greater community, including trail projects, hardware maintenance, new routes, etc. TABVAR is funded by outdoor retailers and from what I could tell receives strong support. It would be great if something like that were to happen around here.

Does anybody know if all closures in the area have been lifted from the Waldo Canyon Fire?

Randy W. wrote: I'll call BS if they pull the same shit in the second edition. Fixed pin and their allies sound like a couple of ass plugs to me.

Randy,

I will first address your concern: No, we are not going to include Devil's Head in the second edition. However, as with the first edition, we do plan to do the following:
1. Climb or belay every pitch.
2. Write an accurate description for every route that includes gear beta, a quality rating, a difficulty rating and route length.
3. Use and cite all available sources (print, electronic, old timer) to again ensure the most accurate information possible.

As far as the characterization that Jason and I are ass plugs, are you referring to the fact that we are trying to start a viable business in a competitive marketplace while we both teach high school full time? Are you also referring to our efforts to lead stewardship projects in the areas in which we've written guidebooks? Or maybe you are referencing the fact that we give free advertising to the Access Fund and the AAC in every single one of our guidebooks? Or, silly me, maybe you're talking about the belief that the normal rules of business and competition do not apply in the climbing guidebook industry. Once one person writes a guidebook for a climbing area (on public land, I might add) they somehow own exclusive rights to that area in perpetuity, right? If it is these things you are referencing when you call us "ass plugs", then yes, we are guilty as charged.

Dave, how was your trip to Devil's Head? Hope you enjoyed it!

I accolade any/all who take the time to write a guide book.
Thanx for two excellent books. They are borh already heavily used. And if another one gets published by another party, well I will surely buy that too.
Cheers to the authors of all guides out there!!!

It sounds to me like the the guy in county jail would know the most about ass plugs. Just saying' .