CLIMBING IN COLORADO’S CANYONS:
Front Range Crags to Backcountry Escapes
By Helen Sinclair The author on Sonic Youth 5.13a in Clear Creek. Photo by Jen Friedberg
he steep walls, rushing river, and winding road all play a part in the experience of climbing in Colorado’s many canyons. Whether you are after a quick morning run up an easy route before work, an adventurous all-day multi-pitch climb, or a camping trip with some climbing tied into it, Colorado’s canyons offer varied and unique options that will satisfy any type of climber from the first timer to the pro. Even simply driving up a canyon road is an experience. We have all done it: slowed down and peered over the steering wheel to check out the climber up on a steep wall 28
Trail & Timberline
above, giving ourselves a fright after taking our eyes off the winding road, or hearing the angry horn from the car behind us. All of life’s stresses can be forgotten once up high with just the next move to focus on. Kayakers can often be spotted from the wall, seemingly fearlessly tackling the spring rapids. Central to this climbing experience is the inability to hear your climbing partner clearly because of the overpowering road and river sounds. This pushes climbing teams to perfect their communication skills, something vital for any climber, but especially important to
those hoping to move from this training ground to greater alpine challenges. Part of what makes a great place for a climber to live is the ability to get out climbing after work. Living in the Front Range is the choice or dream of many climbers because of this. There are three main canyons to climb within an hour’s drive of numerous city centers in the region: Denver, Golden, and Boulder, to name a few. It was these three canyons, Clear Creek, Eldorado, and Boulder Canyon, that immediately came to mind when I was asked to write about climbing in Colorado’s canyons. Of course, there are others too—including a few secret spots—but these three probably see the most traffic both on the roads that run through them and in the numbers of climbers testing their abilities on the walls. Clear Creek Canyon runs alongside Highway 6 and is often used as an alternative route to Interstate 70. It has a lot of trucks coming and going from the quarries in the canyon. Because of this, the road is wildly busy, and I find that the scariest part of my climbing day is walking alongside and crossing the road to get from the car to the crag. But once up on the rock, the road is forgotten. The traffic sounds melt away into a gentle rumble and merge with the roar of the river. The climbs in Clear Creek are mostly well-bolted sport routes that range in grade from total beginner, at crags such as High Wire area, to a good selection of 5.10s and 5.11s. But for me, the reason why I would choose this canyon over any other is because it has such a large range of high-quality routes between the 5.12 and 5.13 grade range. This canyon offers fantastic red-point project potential. Even if you are just a casual local climber looking to have a quick outdoor workout, choosing a climb a few grades harder than what you would normally climb and visiting it regularly until the moves are pieced together is a perfect activity in Clear Creek, where the approaches are short and parking is easy. Eldorado, or “Eldo”, is possibly the most widely known of the three canyons, with a huge range of old school trad routes put up by many a famous climber. (Be warned, these routes come with old school grades, too.) There are also a few bolted lines and the occasional boulder tucked away between the longer traditional routes. I have repeated many routes in this canyon because the creative, interesting climbing is so fun I just want to do the climbs over
