Climbing around Denver

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice about the Denver area. I'm thinking about moving out there and am taking a trip in a couple weeks to Denver to check out the city and the surrounding area. Colorado makes me think of lots of climbing and fun things to do outside but I haven't spent much time there. What is the climbing like around Denver? I mostly sport climb and boulder. I'd like to learn more about trad but am not there yet. Is it possible to climb outside in March around that area or is it too wet? Any advice you can give me about climbing spots around there would be great. Also if you have any advice on good places to live or just the area in general, let me know. Thanks so much!

Nichole

There is tons of climbing here. In March a good bet is Golden Cliffs, its nothing spectacular but there are a ton of routes and it is south facing and almost always dry. Also, don't miss checking out Eldo. Its 99% Trad but well worth checking out.

Clear Creek Canyon is close proximity to Denver (<20min). Mostly sport climbing, growing number of bouldering areas, and a handful of trad routes.

besides Golden is a great place to live.

jmac wrote:There is tons of climbing here.

Absolutely true. Unfortunately the vast majority of it is shit, a small percentage is mediocre, and an even smaller percentage is great.

If you prefer quantity over quality, this is the place to be. Otherwise, look elsewhere. (For some reason these statements will offend a lot of people, as if they are personally responsible for the quality of rock on the Front Range.)

I'll definately 2nd the Clear Creek Canyon comment. March is generally good unless it's been really snowy. If you mostly sport climb, there is a lot to chose from and it's very easy to find the different cliffs through out the canyon.

The thing I like most about living on the front range is the amount of variety you get in the local climbing areas. Within a 2 hour drive you can be on everything from single pitch limestone to alpine walls.

Monomaniac, if that's the case why don't you leave the State like your brother did?

My wife really loves her job.

Sorry I offended you, creator of the universe.

I love Front Range choss piles. Anyone can climb on good rock.

Would you it is better to be a climber living in Ft. Collins or Denver?

Mono,
I think you are wrong about the rock quality. Good granite in Boulder Canyon, excellent sandstone in the flatirons and Eldo. and good limestone at shelf.

Are you in a bad mood or what? Hopefully stocks will bounce back.

Unfortunately Nichole the Denver Climbing Community loves to fight with each other... But it is rather entertaining 90% of the time!

If you like good food and fun bars and music it would be hard to beat the Wash Park area in Denver.

If you are more into a quiter small town feel, yet close to the city, Golden is a really nice place to live as well.

Good luck with the move!

I just moved here this summer. Currently live in Boulder. I personally think there is tons of awesome climbing here. Monomaniac might have a point. It isn't all fantastic but its pretty damn good and there are plenty of high quality classics to keep you busy for a long time.

As far as living goes you can literally choose based off of what you want your home life to be like. Denver is an awesome city in my opinion. Lots of good food and vibrant neighborhoods. Boulder has great access to recreation and is a pretty cool community as well (despite the strange issue a lot of people seem to have with it). Fort Collins is great but a bit far to commute every day. Golden is a great compromise and gives you a small town feel right next to Boulder and Denver. Don't forget about the extensive transit network when thinking about where to live. I ride the bus every day from Boulder to Denver and find it very easy and convenient. Not that I recommend commuting but there are options that make it less stressful or expensive.

My recommendation is to start by checking out the incredible places like Eldorado or Rocky Mountain Nat Park. Drive up Boulder or Clear Creek Canyons just to get an idea what its like. You won't get a very comprehensive understanding until you climb here for a while.

If you need any other help feel free to message me.

Monomaniac wrote: Absolutely true. Unfortunately the vast majority of it is shit, a small percentage is mediocre, and an even smaller percentage is great. If you prefer quantity over quality, this is the place to be. Otherwise, look elsewhere. (For some reason these statements will offend a lot of people, as if they are personally responsible for the quality of rock on the Front Range.)

I totally agree, Morrisen is sooo 80's and sucks. Now Boulder kicks ass though. You should climb here.

edit-sorry little shanks

its all relative.

Monomaniac wrote: Absolutely true. Unfortunately the vast majority of it is shit, a small percentage is mediocre, and an even smaller percentage is great. If you prefer quantity over quality, this is the place to be. Otherwise, look elsewhere. (For some reason these statements will offend a lot of people, as if they are personally responsible for the quality of rock on the Front Range.)

You do have a good point and I'm certainly not offended, but I think one big factor you leave out is proximity. Clear creek, table, morrison are all 20 minutes. Boulder is 45.

I came here from Cincinnati and could make it to the Red in 2 hours, so a weekend or even a day trip was doable. But having so much rock sooooo close here - albeit shitty, mediocre, etc. - is awesome. It's generally not nearly as good as the SE sandstone but I LOVE being able to climb so close to home. You can get in a couple pitches in the morning or after work, and still have the majority of the day for other stuff. I wasn't able to do that back in Cincy.

To the OP, if rock climbing is a primary factor in your decision, I'd go with Boulder over Denver. Denver is much more of the 'big city' vibe, which has its pros and cons but is ultimately why I chose Denver.

Bob Packwood wrote:Same can be said for the inbounds skiing, really. I mean, quantity we have, but quality is questionable because: - Most FR ski areas are all located at the end of a super shitty road clogged full of shitheads (I-70) - Summit county inbounds terrain is pretty tame and really corporate: How much did you pay for parking again? - We don't have world-class precip patterns (like Wasatch) and we have high winds.

Haha sooo true. Couldn't agree more.

Although, it's kind of like I was saying in my last post - part of what I love about living in Denver is that the climbing and skiing are both so accessible. (Although I-70 on Saturday morning is basically the opposite of accessible.) But if you can shoot up on a weekday or have somewhere to stay for the weekend it's not bad, plus the season pass price of roughly $500 is unreal. And I do enjoy Vail much more than Summit County. More snow, not as windy, has better capacity for crowds than Breck, etc., and better terrain. It's not Utah, but it's not bad.

Ben Cassedy wrote: ... if you can shoot up on a weekday ...

there is that in Denver too.

Darren Mabe wrote: there is that in Denver too.

Wait, I thought the meth billboards fixed that.

Ben Cassedy wrote: And I do enjoy Vail much more than Summit County. More snow, not as windy, has better capacity for crowds than Breck, etc., and better terrain. It's not Utah, but it's not bad.

But the terrain parks are totally sick bro.

Thanks for the beta :) I appreciate the advice from everyone.

Nichole

There's a lot of climbing to had around the front range. Quite a bit of that is best described by Ken Cangi's term "another soulless sport route". But a lot of our mediocre stuff is still better than what many other state's have. At least it keeps you tuned up and motivated for road trips to the top destinations. If you put the point of a compass on Denver, the pencil on St. George UT and draw a circle around the West there's a huge amount of epic destinations within striking distance.
Mono has the unfortunate dilemma of getting too good. It gets hard to keep up a long list of projects when you can send an area's hardest in a weekend. I've seen guys blaze through all the tough ones an area has, therefore have no need to return except to just repeat routes or tour the easier ones. This is by no means a problem for me and my fat ass though.