The two areas Jefferson County Open Space intends to close in Clear Creek Canyon, shown on the attached maps, encompass the active eagle nests. If the Clear Creek eagles continue to nest in the active nests, these areas will remain closed from February 1 through July 31. If the eagles choose different nesting sites, the closures will be adjusted accordingly to protect those eagles during their breeding season.
Currently, rock climbing areas that fall inside of the seasonal raptor closures include:
Blonde Formation Bumbling Stock Evil Area Ghost Crag Highlander Skinny Legs Stumbling Block Tetanus Garden Fault Caves
June 7, 2021 - TBD: Highway 6 is currently doing full road closures from Sunday night to Friday morning every week. The closure is from the junction of Highway 119 and Highway 6 to the junction of Highway 40 and Highway 6 (mile post ~260 to ~257). Vehicles that remain in the closure will be towed at owners expense.
Sundays: 7PM-4AM Monday-Thursday: 4PM-4AM
Description
Guppy is the right of two routes that start from the belay pod above the small pine on the south-facing Creek Side Wall, east side of tunnel 6. Approach by tyrol from cottonwood tree (see comments under Creek Side Area description).
Chase several bolts up to a left-leaning, left-facing dihedral. Pull right around the dihedral and continue up past a small roof, and finish up the black rounded arete and the anchors. Lower or rap exactly 35m back to the pod. A 60m rope will certainly not make it. If you are careful when you pull the rope, it won't get wet... the tyrol line and pine tree will catch most of it.
Guppy is a long fun route with superb stone, huge positive holds, and consistent climbing!
Protection
13 protection bolts. 2-bolt lowering anchor. A 70m rope or 2 shorter ropes are needed for the rappel.
[Hide Photo] Eric 3/4ths of the way up on a summer afternoon in 2016.
[Hide Photo] South Creek Side Wall: F. Rhett Wench, 11+, 2p. G. Fish & Chips, 9+, 1p. H. Guppy, 8+, 1p. IG. Crackside Direct, 9+, 1p. J. Crackside, 9+, 1p.
[Hide Photo] Gotta love CO. A climber blending in above the rafters.
[Hide Photo] Climber on Guppy at Creekside buttress, Brennivin looms above in the background.
[Hide Photo] Me belaying lil sis up Guppy. Notice that I'm 10 feet above the pod on at a hanging belay because a 60m ROPE WILL NOT REACH THE POD.
[Hide Photo] Looking back to the road, showing the tyrolean traverse over to the pod. As of Sept. 2012, there are two lines, one with the sheath totally worn off. The tree climb is a breeze with a rope to cli…
[Hide Comment] Yup, what Darren said. Great route, fun climbing all the way, I thought fairly easy for a .9 but not over-bolted, some spicey almost run-outs on the easier sections. Bolts are brand new and placed with either loving care or extreme obsessiveness - take your pick!
May 18, 2005
[Hide Comment] A very fun route. I'd give it 4 stars if it was done on gear...which it easily could have been. But it's CCC. What else is new?
Jul 4, 2007
[Hide Comment] J. my suggestion is that you take your rack across the tyro and do the route on gear. Just because there are bolts there doesn't mean you have to clip them. While you are over there give Crackside a go, it is a trad route to the right of Guppy. Trad is Rad!
Jul 5, 2007
[Hide Comment] That would be a good idea and certainly one I would never have thought of!
Truth be told this is an excellent route, I highly recommend it to any one that rock climbs! However it could have been an absolutely stellar trad line. Should the bolts be pulled? NO WAY!! My reason for the comment is that on a crag with 2 previously established trad lines, why bolt one that would have been a classic trad line? Just food for thought for future route developers.
Jul 6, 2007
[Hide Comment] This is how moderate sport routes should be. Great rock, fun moves, excellent equipping. Well worth the effort no matter what grade you climb!
Jun 14, 2008
[Hide Comment] Love this route especially the 'approach' across the creek. This is beautiful on a sunny day though it is a very long route for a one pitch.
Jun 2, 2012
[Hide Comment] Great route. I'd say it's an even 31 meters from the belay pod. Put your belay device at the end of your PAS and you'll make it into the belay pod with a 60m, just pay attention.
Oct 12, 2013
[Hide Comment] Excellent route, best single pitch 5.8 I've ever been a part of. Shade after 4pm, even in summer.
Your rope must be at least 70m! Pulling the rope to the far side of the tyrol may help it from winding up in the water. Use lockers on the tyrol to prevent all 3 of the ropes getting caught in one gate.
Jul 19, 2016
[Hide Comment] This absolutely has my money for the best single pitch of 5.8 I've ever done. Approach, length, variety, exposure. All classic.
Oct 24, 2016
[Hide Comment] My wife and I started with Guppy then moved to Fish and Chips yesterday. Both climbs will leave us with wonderful, lasting memories. The exposure and views were amazing!
Can someone help me understand why there are so many ropes with loops hanging down into the cave? We used a cordelette equalized to the three anchor bolts which worked really well to allow us to partially hang out of the cave in order to see the climber. Mostly we used the looped ropes to hang gear...is that the intended purpose?
Here's what I learned about the Tyrol crossing: the top line seems to be static, so when I clipped my wife to that with a long sling and a shorter sling to the lower two ropes (dynamic), she wasn't able to unclip once she got to the cave. The two lower ropes sagged way down, but the top rope kept her too high to unclip (couldn't get her feet solid on the floor of the cave). I had to come over to help her unweight the top line so we could unclip. Lesson learned. To return, we just rappelled into the stream and cleaned our rope!
Sep 28, 2018
[Hide Comment] Dale Haas removed two of the three pieces of cord in the Guppy pod. He left the green one which is an etrier with steps to help getting on and off the Tyrolean.
Oct 2, 2018
[Hide Comment] The Tyrol is wearing pretty thin. About halfway the outer sheath is worn out, and about 10" of the core is exposed. Amazing climbing.
May 3, 2019
[Hide Comment] Hey Bruce and Dale, I have two climbing ropes I've retired but are still in excellent condition. Is there a person i can give them to that could put them to use for such things as Tyroleans?
Thanks! Kevin Capps of Denver Mountain Guiding strung the new tyrolean (thanks again, Kevin!). You can find him here on MP and shoot him a personal message or go to his website to ask him about using your ropes.
Sep 13, 2019
1) Some of the branches on the tree felt a little loose, so be wary when climbing up and down. The branch on the right side just below where you start the traverse seemed sketchy.
2) One of the ropes that make up the Tyrolean looked like it was damaged a little near the part where it connects to the tree... it appeared like it had been rubbing against the tree for some time.
Jun 18, 2021
[Hide Comment] Climbed 8/8/21 and can confirm Evan's comment. One of the two lines on the tree side of the Tyrolean has lost a few feet of its sheath now and likely needs to be replaced. Line felt pretty secure when we crossed, since the second rope/strand is in good shape, but in hindsight, it is probably not the safest.
Aug 9, 2021
[Hide Comment] The haggard cottonwood which serves as one anchor for the tyrolean is in rough shape. Be careful while climbing up 30ft before you can reach the fixed line as the approach is almost as cruxy as the route. Guppy is incredible, but it's not a quick Clear Creek roadside endeavor.
Sep 11, 2023
Avg: 3.6 from 305
votes
Access Issue: Seasonal Raptor Closures/CDOT Road Work
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Golden CO
denver, co
Glenwood Springs, CO
denver, co
Truth be told this is an excellent route, I highly recommend it to any one that rock climbs! However it could have been an absolutely stellar trad line. Should the bolts be pulled? NO WAY!! My reason for the comment is that on a crag with 2 previously established trad lines, why bolt one that would have been a classic trad line? Just food for thought for future route developers. Jul 6, 2007
Eagle
Sketchily yours,
Ryan Aug 28, 2007
Dolores, CO
Louisville, CO
Golden, Colorado
Littleton, CO
Boulder, CO
Las Vegas
Your rope must be at least 70m! Pulling the rope to the far side of the tyrol may help it from winding up in the water. Use lockers on the tyrol to prevent all 3 of the ropes getting caught in one gate. Jul 19, 2016
Bozeman, MT
Morrison CO
Can someone help me understand why there are so many ropes with loops hanging down into the cave? We used a cordelette equalized to the three anchor bolts which worked really well to allow us to partially hang out of the cave in order to see the climber. Mostly we used the looped ropes to hang gear...is that the intended purpose?
Here's what I learned about the Tyrol crossing: the top line seems to be static, so when I clipped my wife to that with a long sling and a shorter sling to the lower two ropes (dynamic), she wasn't able to unclip once she got to the cave. The two lower ropes sagged way down, but the top rope kept her too high to unclip (couldn't get her feet solid on the floor of the cave). I had to come over to help her unweight the top line so we could unclip. Lesson learned. To return, we just rappelled into the stream and cleaned our rope! Sep 28, 2018
Silicon Valley/Boulder
Denver, CO
Silicon Valley/Boulder
Morrison CO
I have two climbing ropes I've retired but are still in excellent condition. Is there a person i can give them to that could put them to use for such things as Tyroleans?
Thanks for all you do! Sep 13, 2019
Silicon Valley/Boulder
Thanks! Kevin Capps of Denver Mountain Guiding strung the new tyrolean (thanks again, Kevin!). You can find him here on MP and shoot him a personal message or go to his website to ask him about using your ropes. Sep 13, 2019
Evergreen, CO
1) Some of the branches on the tree felt a little loose, so be wary when climbing up and down. The branch on the right side just below where you start the traverse seemed sketchy.
2) One of the ropes that make up the Tyrolean looked like it was damaged a little near the part where it connects to the tree... it appeared like it had been rubbing against the tree for some time. Jun 18, 2021
Denver, CO
the road!