Boulder Canyon
The granite outcroppings that lie just outside of Boulder and scattered alongside Boulder Creek, offer an endless amount of climbing. Just minutes from downtown Boulder, the canyon’s granite cliffs and crags are a climber’s paradise, with top-notch climbs on impeccable stone. Boulder Canyon has it all: single-pitch, multi-pitch, trad, sport, sun and shade. Climbers were first drawn to the canyon’s most obvious cracks and chimneys in the early 1950’s. Today, climbers are still drawn to the canyon for both the amazing cracks and the bolted face climbs.
Throughout spring and summer, the cascading Boulder Creek adds a nice mountain feel to the climbing experience; many of the crags are accessed by a tyrolean traverse across the creek – an exciting way to start the climbing day! During the cooler months, this canyon is a popular choice to climb, as the south-facing slopes soak up the Colorado sun.
Boulder Canyon is a very popular destination for local climbers on a quick mission to “get in some pitches”, and crags like Nip & Tuck are perfect for our half-day private guided outings, especially for novices and first-time climbers. Colorado Mountain School makes good use of the canyon as an important teaching venue, with crags like Cascade Crag a perfect setting for our Learn to Lead Sport clinics; or Elephant Buttress for our Introduction to Crack Climbing. CMS can also be found in the canyon teaching our American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) courses and exams. And the historic Castle Rock offers the shortest approach of any cliff in the Boulder area, with some of the finest granite crack climbs around- classics like Jackson’s Wall (5.6) and Cussin’ Crack (5.7), both excellent, challenging introductions to multi-pitch crack climbing. East Slab, The Dome – 5.6, 2 pitches. One of the finest routes in the Boulder area for the grade.
- East Slab, The Dome – 5.6, 2 pitches. One of the finest routes in the Boulder area for the grade.
- Athlete’s Feat, Castle Rock – 5.11a, 5 pitches. A mega classic and one of the finest routes in the canon.
