Eldorado Canyon shortcomings/good complementary crag

Where will someone who exclusively climbs in eldo be left wanting style/skill wise?

Been climbing there a lot lately, and for the first time ever have dedicated myself to working through the grades at a specific crag. Since I live in Boulder it's WAAAY easier for me to climb in eldo (or at least to fit it into my schedule) than most other places, so I expect to keep climbing there, developing the techniques/skills that eldo tends to hone, and developing gaps/shortcomings in particular styles of climbing that are underrepresented. I'd like to make a conscious effort of climbing in places that can fill in the inevitable gaps that will form, but I'm having trouble figuring out what those gaps might be. Eldo seems pretty diverse in terms of the kinds of techniques that it calls on (part of the reason why I'm investing the effort to work through the grades there rather than boulder canyon for instance). Wondering if more experienced climbers would care to chime in and make any suggestions for good complementary crags, or specific kinds of technique that won't be developed well climbing exclusively in eldo, and that I should pay attention to.

+1 for Vedauwoo. Eldo won't prepare you a whole lot for that style. It's like wrestling a bear.

Eldo will work your head. South Platte will work your technique.

T G wrote: Are you looking for places in Boulder to round out skills? Because Eldo isn't going to give you much translatable technique on Sierra-style granite slabs or long, parallel-sided cracks.

ya, a place nearby for rounding out skills is what I'm looking for. Somewhere that requires less than a 4 hour drive to reach (so mostly front range). 

Sierra-style granite is something I've had on my mind for a long time, even before starting with this Eldo binge I've been going on lately, although I've been treating it kind of as a niche climbing style. Lumpy is the best spot I've found so far, although somewhere with less friction would be better I think. I haven't been to the south platte yet and I suspect it might satisfy in that regard.

I used to go to crags to develop specific techniques (e.g. the red for steep climbing on good holds, the creak for crack, devil's lake Wisconsin for balancy face climbing, etc.). Then I went to Eldo and got shut down on grades where I thought I was solid. The thing with Eldo is that it seems to call on a full bag of tricks but non of it is sustained. There may be one or two moves of technical smearing on featureless slab, a move or two of jams, or whatever, but then it changes to something else. I initially suspected that the reason I was getting shut down was because I was missing some tricks in my bag as it were, and started climbing there more hoping that it would round me out and keep me honest. Now though I'm coming full circle and wondering how much of what I'm learning will translate to routes where techniques are sustained.

Vedawoo is also a great suggestion (in addition to Lumpy and the Platte). Haven't been there, and was mostly thinking of it as a novelty area, but I'll be thinking of it more now as a way to round out technique and making more an effort to get up there.

I'd also suggest Clear Creek, there you'll find more sustained and powerful routes. 

I climbed a lot in Eldo for years and was pretty comfortable on 11's there for a long time.  Then I went to J-tree to do some desert granite.  It was a while before I got comfortable on 5.10 salbs there and the friction.  I simply wasn't tuned in to using small slopers that would not have held anyway in Eldo.
So +1 for Eldo not attuning you to friction slabs.  5.10 slabs still give me fits, in fact.  That made doing routes like Crest Jewel in Yosemite all the more challenging, but all the more worth while to do and learn on.  

I do think that you can find sustained/powerful pitches in Eldo, but you kind of have to shop for them.  It ins't a prime training ground for that.  Yet there are pitches like Neon Lights, Your Mother, Bunny Fluff, the Handcrack on the Naked Edge, the Diving Board, Parting Shot, Wild Kingdom, Predator, Plastic Jesus, Rosy Crucifixion, Over the Shoulder Stuff, P2 of Super Slab (the steep pitch, not the slab), Kloof, C'est What, Apple Strudel, Bacon and Ergs, Bat's Ass Dihedral, Pilgrim, Rover, Pony Express, the Regular Route on the Potato Chip, Escallade, Wingshot, Blues Power, The Metamorposis to Ur-ine Trouble (or anything next to it, for that matter)...  There are plenty more, but again - off the top of my head.

Maybe others would describe these as technical and not sustained...  But if you do them and don't get pumped then I think you are ready to move up a few grades, and I'm impressed.

I live by Eldo and I regard that place as my baby and I climb there as frequently as possible. The style one needs/fosters climbing in Eldo is actually quite specific to Eldo. I feel this is the way with many climbing areas around the US. I recently went to Yosemite and spent the entire summer training/prepping for a big trip out there. I begrudgingly (at first) concentrated my outdoor climbing to Boulder Canyon because I imagined this was much more similar to the slick, granite crack climbing that I would find in the Valley. I was definitely glad I did that because spending tons of time at a crag like Castle Rock in BoCan prepared me for the style found in the valley much more than Eldo ever could. I will say however that spending massive amounts of time climbing in Eldo has given me so much, both in terms of enjoyment and development of skill. I am much better at finicky gear, navigating runouts, weird body english, keeping my head in check, and punching out face sequences having climbed in Eldo religiously for a couple years now. Don't shy away from Eldo. It's truly a magical place that has a lot to give and teach. Living in Boulder however gives tons of opportunities for venturing out on the weekends and climbing at new and world class climbing areas that will foster other skills. My favorite places that help provide me with a full range of climbing experiences are as follows: Vedauwoo (2 hrs from Boulder) S.Platte (1.75 hrs) RMNP (1.25 hrs) The Creek (6.5 hrs) The Black (5 hrs) Shelf (2.75 hrs). All these places and more are excellent weekend trips (Especially when Eldo is getting gang banged on the weekends. If you want a partner in Eldo though I'm always down. DM me. Cheers

Afterthought: Eldo is an excellent place to climb to get ready for the classic alpine rock climbing found in RMNP. Very complementary styles.

Eldo lacks sustained cracks 

Eldorado has been literally my backyard crag for many years ( I live in town...the horror) . Awesome climbing and you can always find something to work ya. But there is nothing like getting yer butt kicked at Castle Rock for cross training. Run laps on Country Club crack and Athletes Feat for full value. 

OP, do you mind if I ask why you are avoiding Boulder Canyon?  It seems to check most of your boxes.  Close to home, granite, slicker than Vedauwoo.  Go explore it more is my suggestion.  

I wouldn't avoid BoCan. I switch between the two depending on the day and I feel it makes me a more well rounded climber. BoCan tends to be my goto place for sport, but I've done a lot of the easier trad there as well and a lot of it is just as good or better than the easier Eldo trad. Plus you can often avoid waiting for routes on weekends by doing trad lines on crags that are more popular for sport climbing.

Jim Turner wrote: OP, do you mind if I ask why you are avoiding Boulder Canyon?  It seems to check most of your boxes.  Close to home, granite, slicker than Vedauwoo.  Go explore it more is my suggestion.  

Boulder canyon feels really soft. Less on trad than sport, but still generally soft. I don't like getting comfortable in places that are soft. It scares me actually, the same way objective hazard does. Feeds my ego too much and risks getting me into trouble when I climb somewhere more honest. 

I do climb there on occasion though. Just don't like doing it too often. Stylistically it's a fine complement though, I agree. 

Eldo wont prepare you for anywhere but eldo. I have yet to find a place that climbs like eldo and have yet to find a place that eldo translates too.

1. Justin Winger wrote: Eldo wont prepare you for anywhere but eldo. I have yet to find a place that climbs like eldo and have yet to find a place that eldo translates too.

RMNP, to echo Mitch Friedeman above, is very similar, at least for the handful of routes I've done. Devils Lake Wisconsin and Senneca in WV are other places that come to mind immediately. 

These are just places with lots of overlap though, and is neither here nor there, just a tangential point and some fun facts (most people haven't been to Devils lake and even Senneca is less familiar to people that it should be). Everything translates to some degree to everywhere else. I've even had improvements on technique on ice translate back to rock (took some years off rock because of injuries, and when I came back I noticed changes and improvements having almost exclusively ice climbed in the meantime). 

Of course the idea that everywhere translates is not what this thread is about, just saying places don't needn't to be as similar as you might think for technique to spill over. We'll see what my time in eldo amounts to but I suspect it to translate to most climbing elsewhere with only a handful of gaps on particular skills, and am just trying to figure out what that small handful are. If you think climbing in eldo is only useful for climbing in eldo though then you're coming from a totally different place with your answer than the place I was coming from in posing the original question. 

How is it possible to live in Boulder and only wind up climbing at one area, on one type of rock?

Justin Winger wrote: Eldo wont prepare you for anywhere but eldo. I have yet to find a place that climbs like eldo and have yet to find a place that eldo translates too.

That's strange.
I climbed in Eldo 90% of the time and yet found that in most of the country I flash 5.11's (my Eldo grade) fairly easily by comparison.

Dave Holliday wrote:

I've always found the trad routes in Boulder Canyon to be solid for the grade.

I think that type of climb correlates, but isn't all of the cause.  I think it has more to do with the era of the FA than the style, IMO.
Early routes were hard, more recent ones seem to be set to a newer standard or expectation of the grade (softer).
Now, I'll give you this: the newer routes tend to be sport climbs...

I've found Eldo useful for places like the Black Canyon.

It'll lack splitters, as everyone else has mentioned. Its very easy to rack up the mileage though in Eldo. So I train other places for power/strength and then hone in my fitness/endurance in Eldo!

Clarke Conant wrote: How is it possible to live in Boulder and only wind up climbing at one area, on one type of rock?

Climbing in Eldo is the most efficient once you factor in driving and approach time. It has a shockingly high density of routes in a very small area (2/3rds the route count of Boulder Canyon in 10% of the area). If I get a full day to climb (rare) I go to RMNP, but for squeezing stuff in between other obligations Eldo can't be beat given where I work and live. It only has a small edge over boulder canyon but when you only have time for a couple pitches that small edge wins out.

That said I probably still climb in more places than most people who dedicate themselves to climbing, but Eldo is starting to get a disproportionate amount of my attention.

Interestingly enough, I lived in Chicago before Boulder, and I only climb ~30% more now by route count (pitch count might differ, not sure, haven't done that math). Life, not geography, turns out to be the big limiting factor, which is hopefully encouraging for people who live in less well endowed places.

Bogdan P wrote:

RMNP, to echo Mitch Friedeman above, is very similar, at least for the handful of routes I've done. Devils Lake Wisconsin and Senneca in WV are other places that come to mind immediately. 

These are just places with lots of overlap though, and is neither here nor there, just a tangential point and some fun facts (most people haven't been to Devils lake and even Senneca is less familiar to people that it should be). Everything translates to some degree to everywhere else. I've even had improvements on technique on ice translate back to rock (took some years off rock because of injuries, and when I came back I noticed changes and improvements having almost exclusively ice climbed in the meantime). 

Of course the idea that everywhere translates is not what this thread is about, just saying places don't needn't to be as similar as you might think for technique to spill over. We'll see what my time in eldo amounts to but I suspect it to translate to most climbing elsewhere with only a handful of gaps on particular skills, and am just trying to figure out what that small handful are. If you think climbing in eldo is only useful for climbing in eldo though then you're coming from a totally different place with your answer than the place I was coming from in posing the original question. 

I completely disagree with everything you said just from my experience over the years.