Crag Exposure: Ten Sleep Canyon
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WARNING: with blue and grey streaked walls so steep and pockets so small you may spontaneously blurt out phrases in French. People have been shot for much less in this part of Wyoming. For the goodies on TS hit the jump now!
Giddy Up! The Wild West comes alive in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. From local Outlaws to Saloons to wide open vistas, Ten Sleep is the O.K. Corral of the Climbing world. Far from the “Scene” of Rifle, Ten Sleep is a much more relaxed destination. With so much rock, some developed and some awaiting development, it will make you want to slap your mama and say your favorite expletive! Sorry ma, I really don’t want to slap you.
This delightful Dolomite canyon has seen most of it’s concentrated activity from the mid to late nineties to the present. TS is a great destination crag for those of you that need or want more elbow room than you local crag. With 20+ walls and more on the way, TS is quickly becoming a must do on the would be Western Climber’s road trip itinerary. If you can’t make the TS this season, plan on a little known climber’s festival held there over the Fourth of July holiday next year. The festival has been growing in popularity the last few years and should be a darn tootin good time.
The Scene: Boys, don’t expect to saddle up a cragging filly in cute little boulder booty shorts, you’re more likely to see or rein in a dame that looks like she just hog-tied a goat and milked it. Exceptions do exist, like this chica in the photos, but I think she’s taken. Girls, watch yourselves at the crag, hungry female-starved males are lurking in the shadows, seriouslyHowever, if you are going to Ten Sleep for Rock Climbing, then you are in luck! There are plenty O’Rocks to climb and it’s fun too.
Ten Sleep’s crags are around 50 miles west of Buffalo, Wyoming. This is where you need to stock up on the essentials. There is an Outdoor/Sporting store in Buffalo that sells things like Ropes, Petzl draws, and harnesses, but don’t expect to get them cheap. Also, Buffalo is where you lose cell phone service for the next hundred miles west, so make your calls.
Before you go, you should probably buy the Ten Sleep guidebook, even though some of the info is incorrect, it’s still very useful in navigating your way around. Aaron Huey is the author and you can click here to find out where to purchase. Camping is free and pretty darn abundant on the Old Highway. If you are looking for more luxurious accomadations, there is a campground a few miles up canyon from the crag. Okay okay, here’s the shit you really want to know.
Must Do’s:
1. Beer Bong 5.10, although I didn’t get on this route, I assume it’s the area’s most heavily traveled climb.
2. Save the Best For Last 5.11 (Wall of Denial), climbs next to an ice cave that is seriously 20 to 30 degrees cooler than the outside temps. Great route!
3. Circus in the Wind 5.11 b/c (Circus Wall), classic 5.11!
4. Sleight of Hand 5.12a (Dry Wall), long and sustained, like most 12a’s in TS.
5. Great White Behemoth 5.12b (Supereratic Wall), top three sport pitches I have ever been on! Worth the seven our drive to do this route and visit this wall!
6. Happiness in Slavery 5.12b (Slavery), Classic 12b climbing on pockets and edges. An area favorite.
7. Center El Shinto 5.12b (French Cattle Ranch), I can’t say the word sick enough! French Cattle Ranch and Supereratic walls are two of the best looking sport walls out there!
8. Circus in My Pants 5.12d (Circus Wall), great route with the gaston mono-pocket! Sustained and awesome!
9. Exo-Atmospheric Kill Vehicle, aka EKV, 5.12c (Slavery), Pumpy, sustained, great!
10. Burden of Immortality 5.13a (Slavery), check the rope length! Long and cruxy.
11. Hellion 5.13c (Supereratic), Gorgeous is all I have to say!
12. Sky Pilot 5.13+ (French Cattle Ranch). Pretty much, do any route you can at this area!
13. Several 14 projects that need to be cleaned up for those of you that like monos, micro crimps, and long moves on steep rock!
Ten Sleep is legit! If you happen to run into some of the local yokal climbers such as Kevin or Alli, they are super-cool and will be happy to give you any updated beta on the area as well as direct you to the best that Ten Sleep has to offer. So, pack your rigs and head to Wyoming where the Ice Cream is as creamy and dreamy as the Dolomite!!
No joke, Ten Sleep is stellar. Buy the climbing guide now! it’s on of my top 10 non-fiction books.
Check out Jake Kauppila’s photo gallery on Climbing.com
shut the fuck up!you have your facts all wrong you colorado fuck!aaron huey isnt and never was shit to this place!you need to shut your fucking mouth about this place!i will not let people like you ruin this beautiful place,im sick of your kind!the only thing huey did to develop ten sleep was to watch others do all the work,and take credit for it!i have been here for 14 yrs and i can tell you who fuckin developed this place!i will do anything to keep you and all your fucking friends out here.me and all the locals have had it with your rude,self centered,no mannered ass’s!go some where else,you are not welcome here!check out my myspace so people can read the true story of tensleep canyon.you and your friends need to SHUT THE FUCK UP!AND STAY HOME!
mike, i guess i shouldn’t ask to sleep on your couch when we come then?
well i guess that depends on who you are!as for broncos must do list,how can a you say you must do if you have never climbed it?sleight of hand is a nice route but is not the best that dry wall has to offer.i see you give save the best for last a 5.11?last time i checked it was 11b!im sorry that some people cant climb that 11b.i have heard so many cry and claim its harder but its not!why do you call it 11?bronco you dont have a fucking clue!once again boy shut the fuck up!!
bronco im sorry i twisted on you man.i get very defensive when it comes to this place and whats put out there about it.nobody has ever wanted to hear the real story of tensleep and theres 14 years worth to be told.you have shown me respect and i will do the same back.
Hello, Mike- My wife and I are in our 50′s, from northern Colorado, and liked what we climbed on a short visit to tensleep last year. I think we saw your trailer at Leigh Creek CG. My question is, especially after reading your posts here, are we welcome, or not, to visit again, to climb established 5.10s? Don’t think I’ve ever asked this before, of anyone, but it seems prudent here. -timothy
Timothy,
you don’t have to ask that douchebag permission to climb on public land. While he thinks he “owns” the canyon in reality he doesn’t own anything but a few,well several, sloppy muts and a smoked flat bad truck. Treat him like you would any other poorly behaved adolescent with no self control– ignore is the operative word here.
one important word here is respect. respect for the canyon, respect for the campsites, routes, trails, trees, and the people that have taken their time, effort and money to develop. time and time again i am in the canyon and see trash left at the campsites, trees randomly hacked on, garbage left at the crags and people with their noses turned in the air. prime examples: climbers cutting in front of my crew on specific routes (there is a lifetime of climbing to do in tsc find somewhere other than on top of me) complaining about dog crap on the trail (go back to your gym if you dont like the outdoors) pulling into our fully established campsite and building camp without saying one word, no hello, no how are you, not anything (had this couple at least asked if it was cool they stay at our site they might have been able to enjoy a blazing fire, some good conversation and i had more than enough breakfast to feed an army, but nope) personally this type of stuff is what i do not want to see in the canyon. on a side note, next time your hiking up one of the many trails, to climb on some of the best routes, and water your dog from the stashed water bottles you may want to consider just who it was that made that possible.
Wow. what an emotioal lot. I first want to say can I have dibs on making this a reality show. I’ve personaly witnessed these tales unfolding over a long time in Tensleep. And I understand that to seek out the hidden gems of climbing is what we all strive for. To climb unubstructed in all ways. No lines, no camping fees, and most importantly great rock to climb. However when locals, out of towners whoever it may be that shows as nathan said (disrespect) That is B.S. and guys like mike their sick of it. They stand up when no one else does. And if it wasnt for him and those like him there would be no wood to burn at your nice campsite, and no trails to walk up to that famouse route on. Mike is a person of morale character, though a little brash at times he is ultamitly trying to preserve a value we all hold dear. So when you show up next year say Hi introduce yourselfds, make new friends. But be respectful, and we’ll do the same. But dont come with the same mind set you go to other trampled out ares with. Be nice to tensleep canyoun keep it sacred.
I thought i would write a little comment to all this crap from Colorado yuppie f%^cks.I first of all would like to say don’t you have your own f&*cking mountains to climb on.I secondly would like to say my wife and i go to the mountain to relax,enjoy a excellent roaring campfire and conversation with our brothers and sisters.I have lived her for 43 years and seen your no mannered,trash throwing,live tree cutting and nose in the air mannerisms and frankly i am sick to death of your bullsh*t.The next time you feel you have the balls to pull into my camp and try and camp on top of us,you will reap the percussion’s of your actions.There are a million acres of pristine forest to camp on and why you believe you have to invade our space like you own it is beyond me.I also must say its everybody’s mountain to use that you are correct on,so if you must come here, treat it like its your own living room and with respect.Oh by the way Mike is by far one of my best friends and the crap you post about him is from your own illusions,but keep your crap up and all i can say is,reach down in your soul and think of your worst nightmare and it isn’t gonna be even f#$king close.
Oh one more thing dildo or what ever your name is,why don’t you come to my camp and call me a douchbag and my dog a sloppy mut and we will see what your alligator mouth and sparrow ass gets you.
I would also like to address Timothy and his wife,you and your wife sound like really nice people and advocates of the climbing world.I do invite you and your wife to stop by our camp any time for that roaring camp fire and some good conversation with some really good people.Stay young,keep climbing and enjoy your time in Tensleep canyon.
First off, this seems appropriate on Columbus day. Second, Dolo you are a douche. You are exactly why Americans have a bad name around the globe. People like you and a good majority of the climbers from the “Peoples Republic of Boulder” are the biggest hypocrites I have ever seen. You claim to be these liberal, caring, earthy, respectful people and complain about the rest of America being dumb redneck tourists. But when YOU are tourists and go somewhere else to climb/bike/ride/hike/whatever, YOU act like you own the place and show no respect for the locals. Why do you think that people around the world react like this at their local spots? Because of people like YOU that show up in droves, act like you own the place, use it, trash it, try to change it, write a guidebook about it and call it yours. Its not any different than the loud redneck american family going to Europe in their NASCAR shirts and fanny packs yelling and asking for an “American beer, none of this French crap”. Granted its not all Colorado climbers by any means, but these other few are the people Mike and other locals around the world get mad at. Locals take a lot of pride and care of their local spots where they live and get fired up when people come and fuck it up. People like the d-bag who wrote the guide book probably are licking their chops wanting to build condos in Tensleep Canyon.
For Tensleep Canyon, Mike has been at this spot for a lot of years putting a lot of hard work into that place. Why wouldn’t he get mad when people trash it? Or make fake holds? Or litter, etc? SO when Mike stands up to these disrespectful jackasses, he gets smeared all over the internet as being a psycho. That’s bullshit. Bottom line is when you go somewhere as a guest to enjoy what the area has to offer, have some fucking respect for the area and the people who make it that way… Don’t act like its your right to be there and its yours. Why don’t you ask a Native American about that mentality.
AMEN JIM………..BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK THE IDIOTS WILL FIGURE IT OUT?!
Tom,
Please do not threaten people on my site like that. For real. Totally uncool. Not funny. Not fun, and I’m sure you really mean it which is why i’m mentioning it. I won’t deal with it and i’ll just start removing comments.
If you want respect in the future. explain your problem and try to win people over so you’ll get it. Insulting the rest of us for what you experienced with others isn’t helping your cause.
any of this making sense?
It goes for all of you. This post is really the only post we’ve had to deal with in terms of this. Adam posted it because he was excited about a new crag. Mike and him talked and they are now on very amiable terms last i checked (till waiting to interview you mike… get back with us!)
I can’t understand why the rest of you locals are hell bent on hating the rest of us.
totally doesn’t make sense to me.
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