Do I live in the right Colorado?

I've lived in Denver for just over 6 years now and climbed most of that time as a weekend warrior, mostly sport and easy trad with some alpine stuff here and there (mostly scrambles). But this year I started climbing a lot more trad and getting in the alpine... the cognitive dissonance from complainers online vs my own experience really hit me this summer when I did:

1. Sharkstooth on 4th of July (0 other parties on route, not a single human from the lot to the descent turnoff to Loch Lake aside from a party on the summit of the Petit - we were ready for the route to get absolutely socked)

2. Ellingwood Arete on a weekend in July (3 other parties seen on the wall, no waiting)

3. Rewritten after work last week (only saw 3 other parties in the entire park on Yellow Spur, John Long, and Bastille + we were alone on West Redgarden wall)

4. Never Winter Wall, an easy 5.8-10 crag in Staunton today on Labor Day weekend (1 other party on a 16 route wall)

Of course if you go to Little Eiger or Canal Zone after work or rip a lap up Freeway or the Third or something it's pretty crowded. But especially if you like waking up early and exploring, you can enjoy a lot of solitude...online you'd think you're stepping over ropes at every moderate alpine climb or crag. And there are a lifetime of routes in the state. Am I just incredibly lucky or is the CO climbing scene pretty chill and not worth the bad rep?

That's really cool you had those experiences with lesser crowds. I would say the planets aligned for you. 

We did OZ recently on a weekend in perfect bluebird weather and didn’t see one single other human the entire day. I was at the same wall last fall on a weekday and when we got there at 0630 there were 6 parties waiting at the base already. The dynamic of everyone just choosing routes based on nothing and hoping the odds are in your favor always fascinate me!

Tim Stichwrote:

That's really cool you had those experiences with lesser crowds. I would say the planets aligned for you. 

It was definitely cool...felt like an older time! Maybe I am just lucky...

We did OZ recently on a weekend in perfect bluebird weather and didn’t see one single other human the entire day. I was at the same wall last fall on a weekday and when we got there at 0630 there were 6 parties waiting at the base already. The dynamic of everyone just choosing routes based on nothing and hoping the odds are in your favor always fascinate me!

I might be blanking but what's OZ?

Shay Subramanianwrote:

It was definitely cool...felt like an older time! Maybe I am just lucky...

I might be blanking but what's OZ?

A route on Drug Dome in Tuolumne.

Shay Subramanianwrote:

It was definitely cool...felt like an older time! Maybe I am just lucky...

I might be blanking but what's OZ?

I'm assuming he's referring to OZ in Tuolumne. I've done it 3 times. Twice no one at the dome. Once it had at least 4 other parties on it that day. This was nearly 10 years ago at this point so I'm glad to hear people are still getting in some sense of adventure out there!

Shay Subramanianwrote:

I've lived in Denver for just over 6 years now and climbed most of that time as a weekend warrior, mostly sport and easy trad with some alpine stuff here and there (mostly scrambles). But this year I started climbing a lot more trad and getting in the alpine... the cognitive dissonance from complainers online vs my own experience really hit me this summer when I did:

1. Sharkstooth on 4th of July (0 other parties on route, not a single human from the lot to the descent turnoff to Loch Lake aside from a party on the summit of the Petit - we were ready for the route to get absolutely socked)

2. Ellingwood Arete on a weekend in July (3 other parties seen on the wall, no waiting)

3. Rewritten after work last week (only saw 3 other parties in the entire park on Yellow Spur, John Long, and Bastille + we were alone on West Redgarden wall)

4. Never Winter Wall, an easy 5.8-10 crag in Staunton today on Labor Day weekend (1 other party on a 16 route wall)

Of course if you go to Little Eiger or Canal Zone after work or rip a lap up Freeway or the Third or something it's pretty crowded. But especially if you like waking up early and exploring, you can enjoy a lot of solitude...online you'd think you're stepping over ropes at every moderate alpine climb or crag. And there are a lifetime of routes in the state. Am I just incredibly lucky or is the CO climbing scene pretty chill and not worth the bad rep?

I keep hoping pickleball takes over and climbing dies off like freestyle in-line skating.

My partner and I had the Diamond all to ourselves a few saturdays ago. Crazy how stuff like that can happen. Or maybe CO climbers have gone soft? Only you can decide!

Yukon Corneliuswrote:

My partner and I had the Diamond all to ourselves a few saturdays ago. Crazy how stuff like that can happen. Or maybe CO climbers have gone soft? Only you can decide!

I've definitely gone soft, and so has my old alpine partner. We did most of the Kor route on the Saber as our last outing some years ago and he pulled a pectoral muscle. Can you believe that? Ha. We old! Anyway, we both kind of hung it up after that. Haven't been back to the park since. 

No.

Maybe the gym climbers who were scared outside during the pandemic went back to the gym. And the glamour of all the climbing movies has faded. 

What's the first rule of fight club? 

It's just that the younger generations have learned to be more risk adverse. I see it not only in Rock Climbing, but Snow Climbing and Whitewater kayaking as well.

They have a lot of evidence available to study and choose to avoid the risks based on that..

Maybe their just smarter than we were, as sustaining injuries suck permanently. I always thought I wasn't afraid of dying when I was climbing or kayaking. Everybody needs to go sometime. I didn't realize until I fell on a goofy folding ladder and broke my heel that I am very afraid of being a quad and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I'm lucky to still walk and hike after it.

Risk can be mitigated only to a point. There are many dangers that can't be mitigated. Like Rockfall, Avalanches, judgement mistakes, Weather, Et al. or any combinations thereof.

Risk is a very personal calculation, but historically, people who take risk frequently tend to succumb to them. It is only a matter of time.

FWIW from my 50 years of experience and still walking. (Knock, Knock )

Go bouldering and see why!

I moved away from Colorado 9 years ago. You're welcome.

You’re doing it right, and probably getting a bit lucky based on circumstances.

Alpine quieter with all the rain.

Eldo quieter with the rez and shuttle system. Plus evenings are slow there.

Quiet Labor Day weekend in the close S Platte areas like Staunton.  A lot of people went farther, or stayed home and bbq’d

Am I just incredibly lucky or is the CO climbing scene pretty chill and not worth the bad rep?

I’ve lived in CO for 4 years and totally agree. I primarily sport climb and rarely run into crowds as long as I steer clear of the Denver metro areas like CCC or BoCan. I’ve never understood the complaints. I used to live in Kentucky and compared to the Red, the climbing here is way less crowded if you go to the right places.

It seems like many folks only frequent the gym and areas close to Denver. Everything else is pretty chill. 

op:

SHUSH! 

For the love of god, hush yourself!

Spray belongs on the California coast.

They can hear you, and they're coming.

Matt N: 

"fight club" lmao, well said.

Brent Kellywrote:

op:

SHUSH! 

For the love of god, hush yourself!

Spray belongs on the California coast.

They can hear you, and they're coming.

Matt N: 

"fight club" lmao, well said.

It's okay, any new residents will just continue to pack into the same few crags and gyms as everyone else, leaving most of the state's climbing uncrowded 

Matt Swrote:

I’ve lived in CO for 4 years and totally agree. I primarily sport climb and rarely run into crowds as long as I steer clear of the Denver metro areas like CCC or BoCan. I’ve never understood the complaints. I used to live in Kentucky and compared to the Red, the climbing here is way less crowded if you go to the right places.

It seems like many folks only frequent the gym and areas close to Denver. Everything else is pretty chill. 

Even BoCan isn’t that bad. I’m convinced the people complaining about crowds just keep trying to hit Staunton/ccc/trade routes rather than drive and walk a little farther for climbing that’s just as good

Matt Swrote:

I’ve lived in CO for 4 years and totally agree. I primarily sport climb and rarely run into crowds as long as I steer clear of the Denver metro areas like CCC or BoCan. I’ve never understood the complaints. I used to live in Kentucky and compared to the Red, the climbing here is way less crowded if you go to the right places.

It seems like many folks only frequent the gym and areas close to Denver. Everything else is pretty chill. 

The biggest difference is that the climbs in the RRG warrant crowds and lines, the climbs in Colorado do not