Area Profile
These Sprawling Granite Crags are Great for Spring Trad Climbing
South Platte, Colo. Fun Cracks
For nearly 100 years, climbers have been exploring South Platte, a sprawling s,outhwest square of kilometres Denver of between rocky foothills Conifer 1 500 and Sedalia south all the way to Colorado Springs and Elevenmile Canyone. The adventurous climbing is known for its splitter cracks, run-out slabs and aesthetic towers. The crags closest to Colorado Springs are Big Rock Candy Mountain, Sheeprock and Turkey Rock, while the
crags nearer to Denver include the Dome, Bucksnort Slabs and Cynical Pinnacle. There are so many climbs that are so spread out that no one group of climbers has ever laid claim to the entire zone.
Some climbers have compared the stone to The Needles in California. Up until a few years ago, Thunder Ridge was only known to locals. It’s one of the most overhanging sport walls in the area, mostly developed by Glenn Schuler and Kevin Mclaughlin. Over the past decade, a number of new crags have been developed and the popularity of the climbing has led to more organized topos and guidebooks. There are more than 2,000 routes, with the best cracks being at Turkey Rock, big bolted multi-pitch at Big Rock Candy
Mountain and fun multi-pitch slab lines at Helen’s Dome. Beam Me Up Scotty 5.9 is the absolute classic. For fun three- and fourpitch routes, head to Sheep’s Nose and climb Ozone Direct 5.10b and Lost in Space 5.9.
The climbing is off-piste and adventurous, which means you’ll need be OK with getting lost before finding your route. Some of the rock is bulletproof, some is coarse or friable and some is fine grained. You’ll need a big rack of cams with some routes requiring triples in some sizes. There’s a fair number of wide cracks so bring the big gear. Most climbers use tape gloves because the rock is so rough. The South Platte has a lot of climbs and crags, so if you’re in the Denver area this spring put some time into discovering the classics.—gripped