Easy Climbs (5.6-5.7) Near Denver

My girlfriend is just getting into climbing and I want to make it a positive experience... I am looking for easy climbs around/close to Denver- I am the guy that always picks hard climbs to start off the day and I tend to get myself in trouble with friends that want to start off easy. Any advice is appreciated.

In light of some of the recent posts I have seen: OPINIONS ARE WELCOME/PREFERRED.

Thanks!

Set her up for success, which means don't put her on something that she has to project or has no chance of getting. The initial experiences should be fun and easy.

Understand that she probably doesn't have your tolerance/enthusiasm for all day approaches, hanging off an uncomfortable ledge, or any sketchiness.

Some things that fit the bill:
Recon, the bomb, in eldo

Garden of the gods has a number of TR's and other fun routes, although the rock kinda sucks. On the plus, concrete trails and civilization are close.

If she's up to multi-pitch:
bastill, rewritten, swansons arete all in eldo

There's a route on cob rock, I believed call Northeast face, that goes at 5.7. It is fun, easy, and without a lot of traversing.

I'm stay away of the dome as this can be heady and tricky for the grade.

Just some to get you started.

Evan1984 wrote:I'm stay away of the dome as this can be heady and tricky for the grade.

Check out Golden Cliffs in Golden. Plenty of moderates for the beginner. I believe there is a guide book out there in circulation.

For multi pitch trad fandango would be good! Good route, views, summit. I think the hardest thing for somebody new is the rappel

+1 for Golden cliffs. Some people may not like the steeper approach. I wouldn't do Fandango for her first time as its a little runout and she may be a little sketched. North Cheyenne Canyon has some good ones too like Crack Parallel.

Look for a book called "Serious Play" (REI or Amazon), it's full of quality climbs in the 5.5 - 5.9 range along the Front Range, with decent beta for each pitch, aimed at the new climber. I gave my "new to climbing" female friend a copy and she loved it.

I'd avoid Swansons Arete, too much route finding in my opinion, and it can turn into a long day pretty quickly and the approach is steep compared to the other things available in Eldo, plus it can be crowded.

West Dihedral and West Crack on the backside of the Whales Tail, and of course the easy variations of Calypso (first couple of pitches). These are all easy walking access from the parking lot and good intros to Eldo without being intimidating and offer enough variation to be fun.

Go and have an afternoon at Lookout Mtn Crag. Low commitment, easy access and some nice climbs in the low 5th grade. The says corner in particular is a great climb. It says its 5.7 but it is really 5.6.

mountainproject.com/v/color…

Have a few hours then and top it off with a trip to Coors to do the "short tour."

I'd avoid Eldo until you have all your systems down and is ready for multi pitch routes.

Check out Grocery Store Wall at Castlewood Canyon. Very easy access and some great beginner climbs. There are 5.6's and 5.12's right near each other, so it's great for mixed ability groups as well.

FYI: "Serious Play - An Annotated Guide to Traditional Front Range Classics 5.2 - 5.9" can be bought from REI and shipped to the store for a meager $1.83. Shows some pretty cool stuff in the Colorado area in the 5.2 - 5.9 range. Good Investment.

Thanks for all your input... I'm not very good at picking first climbs; be it first climbs of the day or first climbs period. If you guys have any more suggestions I am open...