Turkey ROcks & Thunder Ridge & SHeep's Nose CLIMBING
Dates: 2019(x3 days), 2020(x6 days), 2022(x1 day)Partners: Doug Hutchinson, JJ Calhoun, Jon Oulton, Giles Eperon, Tom Wright, Nate Arganbright, Nate Mankovitch, Natalie Huey, Nate Arganbright
List of Climbs I've Done & Some Photos
Turkey Rocks, Thunder Ridge, and Sheep Nose are three areas of granite cragging in the South Platte. I've put them all on this page, since they are in the same general vicinity, all accessed off of Stump Road/CR-68.
Turkey Rocks has one of the finest concentrations of crack climbs in Colorado with a friendly southerly aspect and a quick approach. As the same suggests, Turkey Rocks is a collection of rocks, including popular rocks such as the Leftovers, Rightovers, Turkey Rock, The Turkey Perch, and Turkey Tail.
Thunder Ridge — located just north of Turkey Rocks — is a large outcrop of rocks composed of steep and highly-featured "alligator skin" granite. The climbing here is mostly single-pitch, and a mix of trad and sport.
Sheep Nose (elev 8,832) is the obvious granite monolith located on the drive to Turkey Rocks or Thunder Ridge (just before the road turns off to head to Thunder Ridge). It is hard not to want to climb to the top. Sheep Nose is known for fine delicate face climbs and thin cracks of a non-strenuous nature. There are several routes, with a few of them being fun and popular classics.
Turkey Rocks, Thunder Ridge, and Sheep Nose all face primarily south, although there are some aspects that hold shade as well. For this reason, it is often possible to climb here during the winter, although a four wheel drive vehicle and spikes might be needed to negotiate the snow that is sometimes found on the road and the walk to the base of the crags. The areas are far enough removed from Boulder that they typically are not too crowded.
The first time I climbed at Turkey Rocks was in July 2019, for two short days with a friend from Washington who was interested in a grand tour of some of the climbing areas in Colorado. I had just moved to Boulder and was eager to check out the area, so we included Turkey Rocks in our tour. The first time I climbed at Thunder Ridge was in November 2019, for a single day on a fall weekend trip to the South Platte. The first time I ticked off the summit of Sheep Nose was on a sunny day in January 2020.
On this page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done at each of Turkey Rocks, Thunder Ridge, and Sheep Nose. Below each list, I have random photos from cragging at the respective location.
Table of Contents for this page
Turkey Rocks
list of climbs i've done at Turkey Rocks
photos from turkey rocks
Some random photos from cragging at Turkey Rocks.
The Leftovers Turkey Perch Turkey Rock Turkey Tail
(First Trip to Turkey Rocks)
Date: July 5&6, 2019 (Fri&Sat) Partner: Doug Hutchinson Climbed at: Turkey Perch, Turkey Rock, Turkey TailI had just moved to Boulder, and my friend Doug from Seattle took the opportunity of me being down in Colorado to plan a 10-day climbing trip to the area. This was a great opportunity for me to check out some of the climbing areas in my unfamiliar backyard with a familiar partner. Due to the unsettled forecast and Doug's desire to acclimatize a bit to the elevation, we started off the trip with a couple of days of cragging in Turkey Rocks. The following gives a list of what we climbed and some photos.
Thunder Ridge
list of climbs i've done at Thunder Ridge
photos from Thunder Ridge
Some random photos from cragging at Thunder Ridge.
Alligator Lounge Brown Wall Quarry Wall Wasp Canyon
(First Trip to Thunder Ridge)
Date: November 3, 2019 (Sun) Partner: Nate Arganbright Climbed at: Alligator Lounge, Quarry WallClimbed here for a single day on a fall weekend climbing trip to the South Platte. I found the climbing a bit reminiscent of City of Rocks climbing. Super fun and high quality stuff. I'll be back for more cragging.
Sheep Nose
list of climbs i've done at Sheep Nose
photos from Sheep Nose
One short trip report for first time climbing at Sheep Nose.
Lost in Space (5.9, 3-4p)
Date: January 25, 2020 (Sat) Partner: Natalie HueyLost in Space is of the most popular routes up Sheep Nose, climbing cracks and corners and knobs directly up the southeast buttress in 3 to 4 pitches of fun and moderate climbing on beautifully featured rock.
Other photos from Sheep Nose
Some random photos from cragging at Sheep Nose.