Visiting from Socal: Need Recommendations.

Greetings from the coast.

I will be going up to visit Denver for the first time in my life, ill be up there thanksgiving weekend. 

Is it still possible to climb that time of year or is it too cold?

I am looking for a crag or two to hit to get in some climbs what would you all recommendations?

I was looking at this sport multi pitch called PB & Jeli Legs, would this be possible to access and hit around the end of November?

Any advice or tips or anything is much appreciated, if any of you ever come to socal i will gladly return the favor, with info and a belay if i can.

I climb sport up to 10.b.  

Any must do hikes or trails that i should do, just any recommendation about any outdoor related activities is much appreciated. 

Thank you for your time.   

If it’s not snowing, clear creek canyon is a fun place to climb. A lot of sport and fun multi pitch.

All-trail for hikes. Hiking around the flatirons is pretty chill. You get to see boulder county and up close to the flatirons. I’m not sure about the 14’ers around, but all trails should help you out. 

If it's not snowing, raining or windy it will likely be good to climb, if the sun is out and it's calm it can be great climbing weather in November. Check the forecast before you come and decide whether to bring gear. PB and Jeli is at the Crags which is pretty high altitude, I'd say the odds for that are very low that late in the season. 

Edit: The Crags are above 10,000 feet and the area where PB&J is faces west and a little north so it will be quite cold up there. I was up in that area in August and I was freezing until the sun came around!

North Table in Golden is south facing so will get sun even in the winter. It isn’t the most classic climbing in Colorado but will be one of the warmer options close to Denver. The Chataqua trail at the base of the flatirons is a very popular hike for good reason. If you haven’t been to Red Rock Ampitheather, it is cool to check out and hike around. They also have some small displays that explain the history of music at red rocks. Have fun!

Thank you alll, if your ever visiting socal let me know. i got you.

Just depends on the weather.  If you are around for the whole week, you are probably going to get a few days in with just a light jacket or long sleeves.
Sport climbing to 10b? Yeah, CCC will have some options, as will Boulder Canyon and the areas on Dinosaur Mountain in the flatirons, where there are some south-facing sport climbs in that range of things. There's also some in the South St Vrain (a longer drive and less crowded) but watch out for the grades relative to CCC and Bocan.
Table is the obvious 'hot spot' with a lot of dark rock, easy access, and Southern exposure.
Good luck and have fun!

The Flatirons are a great idea if conditions allow. Check out Red Devil and Der Zerkle. 

In BoCan, you might enjoy The Young and the Rackless. It’s on Blob Rock. 

The Bihedral has some sunny routes in your range. Bit of a scramble to get to it though. 

In CCC, the Graveyard is warm and sunny and has some nice 10s. 

Cat slab will probably be shaded and cold all day. Otherwise it’d be a good choice. 

Same with Playing Hookey. Probably too cold.  

Don’t go to Table unless you’re desperate and like Polished basalt. 

Don't settle for puny after-work crags like North table mountain or some of Clear Creek Canyon (there are some good classics there, so don't completely write it off - it's great if you don't have time to drive up the front range) unless you have to.  If you want the highest density of classics in your grade range, go to Boulder Canyon (definitely check if there are road work closures or closures due to fires); Upper Dream canyon has great sunny routes with the best position in all the canyon. Otherwise, bihedral (earlier in the day), animal world, and sport park (afternoon-evening) would be good sunny sport crags for you. South Platte would be a great option as well, I'm not yet familiar with the climbs there though.

Per above, Dinosaur mtn (ie der zerkel/mallory cave) has some spread out sunny sport routes - they tend to be sparsely bolted in my experience, and often quite difficult to find - but that's not to say it's not worth it.  The hike there is one of my favorites in Boulder: full of beautiful rock formations and it's even better to just scramble around for hours - and if you're lost the way back is simple: go down back to the city. I also love the hike to the top of the third flatiron - if you're feeling game, the 4th class scramble up the backside of the third is stunning. The hike to Green Mountain Pinnacle via the south side of the fourth flatiron is super fun too, if you get to the top you can stare in awe at the gem of the flatirons, "Death and Transfiguration" - if you can find it!

If you find yourself in Boulder with only a couple hours to kill, bouldering on flagstaff is a historical experience - you can even start your approach up flagstaff trail from the city, it only adds an extra mile or so.  Safe landings, long traverses, and super warm and sunny, I've climbed there in a light snow and in rain.

If you find yourself in Denver with only a couple hours to kill, Morrison bouldering is nice and sunny in the afternoon, and north table mountain offers some short routes. Red Rocks is certainly cool to walk around in, but no climbing at all.

Really you gotta find a local partner with a trad rack to take you out to Eldorado canyon state park. IMO some of the coolest climbing in CO! Largely sunny, unique style of climbing, very fun and historic.

Have fun!

Detrick Swrote:

Don't settle for puny after-work crags like North table mountain or some of Clear Creek Canyon (there are some good classics there, so don't completely write it off - it's great if you don't have time to drive up the front range) unless you have to.  If you want the highest density of classics in your grade range, go to Boulder Canyon (definitely check if there are road work closures or closures due to fires); Upper Dream canyon has great sunny routes with the best position in all the canyon. Otherwise, bihedral (earlier in the day), animal world, and sport park (afternoon-evening) would be good sunny sport crags for you. South Platte would be a great option as well, I'm not yet familiar with the climbs there though.

Per above, Dinosaur mtn (ie der zerkel/mallory cave) has some spread out sunny sport routes - they tend to be sparsely bolted in my experience, and often quite difficult to find - but that's not to say it's not worth it.  The hike there is one of my favorites in Boulder: full of beautiful rock formations and it's even better to just scramble around for hours - and if you're lost the way back is simple: go down back to the city. I also love the hike to the top of the third flatiron - if you're feeling game, the 4th class scramble up the backside of the third is stunning. The hike to Green Mountain Pinnacle via the south side of the fourth flatiron is super fun too, if you get to the top you can stare in awe at the gem of the flatirons, "Death and Transfiguration" - if you can find it!

If you find yourself in Boulder with only a couple hours to kill, bouldering on flagstaff is a historical experience - you can even start your approach up flagstaff trail from the city, it only adds an extra mile or so.  Safe landings, long traverses, and super warm and sunny, I've climbed there in a light snow and in rain.

If you find yourself in Denver with only a couple hours to kill, Morrison bouldering is nice and sunny in the afternoon, and north table mountain offers some short routes. Red Rocks is certainly cool to walk around in, but no climbing at all.

Really you gotta find a local partner with a trad rack to take you out to Eldorado canyon state park. IMO some of the coolest climbing in CO! Largely sunny, unique style of climbing, very fun and historic.

Have fun!

I am going up to visit my friend, i took her on her first sport climbs out here in cali and she moved up there.  I didnt know you can scramble up the flat irons, I will look into this more.   Do you reccomend a guide book i should purchase to make this trip a little bit easier?? thank you for your response i really apppreaciate it. if your ever in los angeles give me a ring

O Qwrote:

Greetings from the coast.

...

Any must do hikes or trails that i should do, just any recommendation about any outdoor related activities is much appreciated. 

Thank you for your time.   

In a low snow year in November you can hike to Chasm Lake, Spy Pond/Lake of Glass, or Black Lake without floatation (or even boots--I usually do them in trail running shoes), but you will want microspikes. If there is a lot of snow, you can rent snowshoes, or wait a few days and the trails will probably be packed down. 

O Qwrote:

I am going up to visit my friend, i took her on her first sport climbs out here in cali and she moved up there.  I didnt know you can scramble up the flat irons, I will look into this more.   Do you reccomend a guide book i should purchase to make this trip a little bit easier?? thank you for your response i really apppreaciate it. if your ever in los angeles give me a ring

Unless you've got a local or a guide, I do not recommend actually scrambling up any of the flatirons since they are each more than a thousand feet of 5th-5.6 (if you are cool with that, the the second is the easiest and has the most straightforward route-finding relative to the others). I'm just saying that you can have a lot of fun exploring and scrambling around them. I'm also reluctant to recommend a guidebook: the flatirons are so hard to navigate your first few times around that you'd be hard pressed to find anything you're actually looking for whether you have a guidebook or not.

Guidebooks will make your life easier for all the canyons though (CCC, Boulder Canyon, Shelf, Eldo, S. Platte, etc.). North Table could warrant a guidebook, but it's really just too small for me to justify it. If you go to Boulder Canyon, I could lend you my guidebook.

+1 for the chasm lake recommendation. My 2c is you'll probably need boots, but not spikes or pons, but they wouldn't hurt if you had them. There is one section that some sort of self arrest tool may be helpful if there's substantial snow cover, but probably not necessary if you've got a steady head (the trail bisects a 45deg slope that would send you off a cliff if you fell - plenty of room to self arrest though). That cirque is stunningly beautiful and one of my favorite alpine destinations to hike to - get ready to get worked by the altitude!

I'll hit you up if I visit SoCal for sure!

All good recommendations, but beware of the altitude. If you stick to crags and hikes around Denver, you'll have no problem, but it's easy to get over 8ooo' without really being aware of it. I know plenty of people who've come from sea level and just get after it. then their lips turn blue  

Detrick Swrote:

Unless you've got a local or a guide, I do not recommend actually scrambling up any of the flatirons since they are each more than a thousand feet of 5th-5.6 (if you are cool with that, the the second is the easiest and has the most straightforward route-finding relative to the others). I'm just saying that you can have a lot of fun exploring and scrambling around them. I'm also reluctant to recommend a guidebook: the flatirons are so hard to navigate your first few times around that you'd be hard pressed to find anything you're actually looking for whether you have a guidebook or not.

Guidebooks will make your life easier for all the canyons though (CCC, Boulder Canyon, Shelf, Eldo, S. Platte, etc.). North Table could warrant a guidebook, but it's really just too small for me to justify it. If you go to Boulder Canyon, I could lend you my guidebook.

+1 for the chasm lake recommendation. My 2c is you'll probably need boots, but not spikes or pons, but they wouldn't hurt if you had them. There is one section that some sort of self arrest tool may be helpful if there's substantial snow cover, but probably not necessary if you've got a steady head (the trail bisects a 45deg slope that would send you off a cliff if you fell - plenty of room to self arrest though). That cirque is stunningly beautiful and one of my favorite alpine destinations to hike to - get ready to get worked by the altitude!

I'll hit you up if I visit SoCal for sure!

Thanks for the advice, yea man if your ever down here i can show you around our crags, always looking for out of state friends. I would be down to take you up on borrowing the book, realistically i am looking on hitting 2-3 good routes that weekend.