Boulder Canyon CLIMBING

Category: Colorado (Boulder area)Elev: ~7,000 ftRock Type: GraniteDates: 2018(x1 day), 2019(x4 days), 2020(x1 day), 2021(x11 days), 2022(x10 days), 2023(x1 day)Partners: Annie Hines, Doug Haller, Tony Bubb, Brad Mering, Tom Wright, Michael Cantrell, Michael Underwood, Will Starks, Kishen Mangat, George Bracksieck, Peter Gonda, Nate Arganbright, Patrik Larsson, Matt Touchette, Zach Durbin, Will Starks, Erika Bannon, Ryan Enright, Nate Beckwith
Trip Report #: 298(this trip report number corresponds to the first time I climbed at Boulder Canyon and established this page on my website)

List of Climbs I've Done & Some Photos

Boulder Canyon is located mere minutes west of Boulder. The rock is granite, smooth in places but for the most part highly textured. The canyon has a wide variety of climbing types, both sport and trad, and nice scenery above the highway. The soaring granite walls of Upper Dream Canyon off the Sugarloaf Road provide some of the areas longest routes and a good mix of sport and trad in a seemingly remote setting high above the Boulder Canyon floor.

The first time I climbed in Boulder Canyon was in July 2018, for one day, in between bigger objectives in RMNP.  I didn't know it at the time, but a year later I would be living in Boulder and the climbs in Boulder Canyon would be a mere half hour from my home. 

On this page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done in Boulder Canyon. Below the list, I have random photos from cragging in Boulder Canyon.

list of climbs i've done IN Boulder Canyon

Boulder Canyon

photos

Some random photos from cragging in Boulder Canyon.

Color coded by area:
Boulder Canyon North side of river (usually sunny)Boulder Canyon South side of river (usually shady, must cross river)Lower Dream Canyon (sun & shade)Upper Dream Canyon (sun & shade)

(First Trip to Boulder Canyon)

Date: July 13, 2018 (Fri)      Partner: Annie Hines     Climbed at: Bell Buttress and Cob Rock 

I had planned a 4-day climbing trip in the Rocky Mountain National Park area with Annie Hines, but the first day of our planned trip was forecasting "60% thundershowers after 1pm" in the Park. We tossed around the ideas of Lumpy Ridge, Eldorado Canyon, and Boulder Canyon. I had climbed the last 2 days at Lumpy and had already climbed at Eldorado Canyon, but had never climbed at Boulder Canyon. Neither had Annie, so we were both eager to check it out. So Boulder Canyon it was!

Boulder Canyon is just west of Boulder. The rock is granite, smooth in places but for the most part highly textured. The canyon has a wide variety of climbing types, both sport and trad, and nice scenery above the highway. At the recommendation of an Estes Park local, Annie and I started off the day by doing laps on three popular routes at Bell Buttress: Cosmosis, West Face, and West Crack. We finished the day by climbing a 2-pitch route on the cool-looking Cob Rock ("that rock looks cool, lets climb something on it"). The tyroleans across Boulder Creek to access Bell Buttress and Cob Rock were a unique treat to climbing on the south side of the highway. We finished early, but we needed to get ready for a climb in RMNP the next day.

1.  Cosmosis (5.10a), an awesome corner climb at Bell Buttres. On lead, it seemed quite stout for 10a, but after toproping it a couple of times, 10a seemed quite fair. The crux was pulling a committing move above tiny brass offset nuts (which were pretty good though).
2. Looking up West Crack (5.9+) (left) and West Face (5.9+) (right) at Bell Buttress. Both super fun.
3. Looking down West Crack (5.9+) and West Face (5.9+).
4. Boulder Canyon as seen from Bell Buttress.
5. Cob Rock.
6. Annie starting up the first pitch of Empor (5.7+, 2-3p) at Cob Rock. She linked this easily with Pitch 2.
7. Fun corner crack on 2 of Empor (5.7+, 2-3p), easily liked with Pitch 1.
8. The tyroleans across Boulder Creek were a unique treat to climbing on the south side of the highway.
Date: July 16, 2019 (Tue)      Partner: Doug Haller      Climbed at: Upper Dream Canyon
9. Pitch 1 of Hunky Monkey (5.10).
10. Pitch 1 of Hunky Monkey (5.10).
11. Pitch 2 of Hunky Monkey (5.10).
12. Pitch 3 (variation) of Hunky Monkey (5.10).
13. The popular Wrinkles in Time (5.9).
14. Doug avoiding the high water between the base of Lost Angel Wall and Dream Dome in.
15. Oops, got wet anyway.
16. Oceanic Wall.
Date: August 11, 2019 (Sun)      Partner: Tony Bubb      Climbed at: Security Risk Massif  
17. The Prism (5.9).
18. The Prism (5.9).
19. Give Me a Squeeze (5.10-) (possible FA with Tony Bubb).
20. Maximum Security (5.10a).
Date: August 18, 2019 (Sun)      Partner: Brad Mering      Climbed at: Castle Rock 
21. Castle Rock, with Country Club Crack (2p, 5.11c) on right.
22. Pitch 2 of Country Club Crack (2p, 5.11c).
23. South Face (5.9+).
Date: August 31, 2019 (Sat)      Partner: Tom Wright      Climbed at: Castle Rock
24. Curving Crack (5.9+).
25. Skunk Face (5.9+).
26. Final Exam (5.9+).
27. Black Cracks (5.9+).
Date: May 8, 2020 (Fri)      Partner: Michael Cantrell      Climbed at: Happy Hour Crag 
28. Grins (5.8).
29. Nice-looking rock.
30. Toprope soloing Dementia (5.10a).
31. Toprope soloing Dementia (5.10a).
32. Twofers (5.8).
Date: April 29, 2021 (Thu)      Partner: Michael Underwood      Climbed at: Plotinus Wall
33. Wall of Winter Warmth. We had planned to go here but could not safely cross the creek so we headed to Plotinus Wall instead.
34. Old mining equipment in the creek.
35. Old mining equipment in the creek.
36. Michael leading The Sandman (5.10a).
37. Michael leading The Scientist (5.11a).
38. Looking up Smell the Coffee (10a) and The Daily Grind (10d).
39. Looking up Golden Slumber (10d, mixed).
40. Snooze Button (5.10a/b).
Date: May 5, 2021 (Wed)      Partner: Michael Underwood      Climbed at: The Bihedral
41. Bihedral Arete (5.10a, 2p).
42. The Bihedral Pitch 1 (5.7).
43. The Bihedral Pitch 1 (5.7).
44. Puff Daddy (5.10a).
Date: May 26, 2021 (Wed)      Partner: Will Starks      Climbed at: Wall of Winter Warmth
45. Rappelling down Wall of Winter Warmth.
46. Will cruising up The Slit (10a), which comprises Pitch 1 of Left Side (4p).
47. Black grooves of Pitch 2 (5.10b) of Left Side (4p).
48. Pitch 3 (5.9) of Left Side (4p).
49. Will on the fun and exposed start of Pitch 4 (5.9) of Left Side (4p). Nice lead Will!
50. We toprope-soloed (and toproped) Direct Cop Out (10c, 3p) in one long pitch.
Date: July 1, 2021 (Thu)      Partner: Kishen Mangat      Climbed at: Castle Rock
51. Kishen leading off the slabby crux that starts off Country Club Crack (2p, 5.11c).
52. A bit of monsoon season wetness on Country Club Crack (2p, 5.11c).
53. The steep awesome hand crack of Country Club Crack (2p, 5.11c).
54. Kishen leading off the slabby crux start of Pitch 1 of Athlete's Feat (4p, 5.11a).
55. Pitch 2 of Athlete's Feat (4p, 5.11a).
56. Pitch 3 of Athlete's Feat (4p, 5.11a). Nice lead Kishen!
57. Pitch 4 of Athlete's Feat (4p, 5.11a).
58. The definition of roadside cragging.
Date: August 19, 2021 (Thu)      Partner: George Bracksieck      Climbed at: Tonnere Tower 
59. Pitch 1 of Workingman's Blues (3p, 5.10b).
60. Pitch 2 of Workingman's Blues (3p, 5.10b). A bit dirty.
61. Pitch 3 of Workingman's Blues (3p, 5.10b).
62. If there are stickums around, I will usually manage to walk through them.
63. George on the tyrollean across the river.
Date: August 20, 2021 (Fri)      Partner: Peter Gonda      Climbed at: Animal World
64. Looking down Baby Dog (5.7+).
65. Peter leading Unfamiliar Strangers (5.9+).
66. Toproping something hard.
67. Peter leading Animation (5.8), one of the most popular routs on the crag.
Date: August 25, 2021 (Wed)      Partner: Peter Gonda      Climbed at: Cob Rock
68. Tyrolean.
69. Peter leading our first route of the morning, Othello (5.8+).
70. Splitter on Indistinction (5.8-). If only this route were longer...
71. Splitter on North Face Left (5.8, 1-2p).
72. Peter staring up West Rib (5.8, 1-2p).
73. We finished off the morning by leading the #4-sized offwidth Huston Crack (5.8+) and then toproping the polished pin scars of Aid Crack (5.10d) just right of it.
Date: September 1, 2021 (Wed)      Partner: Peter Gonda       Climbed at: Avalon
74. Looking up The Tower (5.9+).
75. Toproping S.I.N. (10b) next door.
76. Peter leading off Wheel of Fortune (10b).
77. Looking up Lust (10c), a classic at the crag.
78. Looking up the final slabby corner of Lust (10c).
79. Looking down while leading Lust (10c).
80. Our last climb of the morning: a quick toprope lap of Marquis de Sade (10c).
81. The water was flowing low enough that no tyrolean was needed to cross the creek.
82. Hiking back to the car. You park at the same pullout as for Animal World, about 0.2 miles down the road from Avalon.
Date: September 3, 2021 (Fri)      Partner: Nate Arganbright       Climbed at: The Riviera
83. Lease Agreement (10a fingercrack) and New Lease on Life (5.9+ sport). 
84. Nate leading Sea Breeze (5.11a).
85. Nate near the crux of Silver Glide (5.11b).
Date: September 15, 2021 (Wed)      Partner: Patrik Larsson      Climbed at: Bell Buttress
86. The tyrolean across Boulder Creek has seen better days.
87. West Crack (5.10a) on left, West Face (5.9+) on right. Both excellent. I had climbed these in 2018 and was happy to climb them again.
88. Patrik climbing Double Jeopardy (5.9). Athletic climbing, better than it looks.
89. Patrik starting up Gates of Eden Pitch 1 (5.10b). This climb is kind of Vedauwoo-esque.
90. Patrik leading Cosmosis (5.10a). A classic.
Date: September 17, 2021 (Fri)      Partner: Peter Gonda      Climbed at: Tonnere Tower 
91. Looking up Buried Treasure (5.8+, 2p). We combined it with the last pitch of Stayin' Alive (5.10a) to make it a 3-pitch bolted romp to the top.
92. Stayin' Alive Pitch 2 (10a).
93. Looking up a line of bolts on Pitch 1 of Toe the Line (10a, 2p).
94. Peter leading off Pitch 2 of Toe the Line (10a, 2p).
95. I'm curious to what inspired someone to rappel off this bush rather than just one of the nearby bolts.
Date: June 7, 2022 (Tue)      Partner: Peter Gonda      Climbed at: Tonnere Tower 
96. Tyrolean over the rushing Boulder Creek.
97.  Peter leading Twilight Time (5.9), a fun route.
98. Looking down The Twilight Kid (5.10b). Good rock and movement.
Date: June 9, 2022 (Thu)      Partner: Matt Touchette     Climbed at: Avalon
99. Tyrolean across Boulder Creek. Photo by Matt.
Date: June 14, 2022 (Tue)      Partner: Matt Touchette     Climbed at: Upper Dream Canyon
100. Matt nearing the end of the first pitch of Wrinkles in Time (5.9-). 
101. Sun and shadow.
Date: June 17, 2022 (Fri)      Partner: Matt Touchette, Zach Durbin      Climbed at: Avalon
102. Dominator (5.10c), our first route of the day. Stiff warm-up! 
103. The Stigmata (5.10a), a fun trad lead that gets your attention in a couple of spots.
104. Dead Again (5.10c), another fun climb.
105. What to do when you forget to bring the draws,
106. The trail crew has been doing some good work at Avalon. Thanks!
Date: June 27, 2022 (Mon)      Partner: Will Starks      Climbed at: Blob Rock
107. The start of The Young and the Rackless, a fun 4 pitch bolted 5.9.
Date: June 28, 2022 (Tue)      Partner: Erika Bannon      Climbed at: Cascade Crag
108. Hot day in Boulder! And pretty decent gas mileage for once.
109. Fire Starter (10c). One of four fun routes we climbed on this short after-work session.
Date: July 19, 2022 (Tue)      Partner: Erika Bannon      Climbed at: Sherwood Forest
110. Erika leading The Prince and the Pauper (5.10a). This was a good warm-up for our short after-work session.
111. Erika leading Merry Men (5.11a). Nice lead Erika!
112. Tyrollean across Boulder Creek.
Date: August 30, 2022 (Tue)     Partner: Zach Durbin      Climbed at: Electra Glide & Practice Rock
113. Zach leading the Regular Route (5.11a) at Practice Rock. This is a great pitch of crack climbing reminiscent of Yosemite (perhaps it's all the pin scars....).
Date: September 29, 2022 (Thu)      Partner: Nate Beckwith      Climbed at: Castle Rock 
114. Roadside cragging at Castle Rock. We spent the morning doing a couple of laps each on Country Club Crack (5.11c) and Englishman's Home (5.11d). The best way to do this is just to toprope solo.
115. Nate starting up Country Club Crack (5.11c). 
116. Looking up at the changing corners crux section of Englishman's Home (5.11d). We toprope soloed this route.
Date: January 14, 2023 (Sat)     Partner: Nate Arganbright     Climbed at: The Bihedral
117. Fun 10a climbing on Puff Daddy (5.10a).
118. Nice rock on Rhodian Shores (5.10b).
119. Nate leading Sands of Iwo Jima (5.11d). We thought this pitch was stout for the grade.
Date: Month Day, Year (Day)      Partner: Someone      Climbed at: Somewhere
120. 
121. 
122. 
123. 

previous and next adventures

(July 2018: First time cragging at Boulder Canyon)