If you’ve been debating upon your next bouldering destination, look no further than Morrison! With over 80 problems and 945 variations to those 80 problems, Morrison has something for everyone. Whether you’re a circus clown or V14 hard(wo)man, the climbing here is, well, eccentric. With areas such as the Black Hole and The Lobby, Morrison should NOT be overlooked.

When approaching this area it’s easy to get overwhelmed by Morrison’s aesthtic nature, friendly locals, and quality stone. Have no fear, let’s break it down.

As you ascend near the crag, the Lobby is your best bet for a good warmup. To blend in with the local scene make sure your feet stay ABOVE the chalk line and NEVER mantle out these problems. As the blood starts to flow and you are getting in “the moment” drag your pads up to the Black Hole. Notably, the BH is the main “hang” at Morrison. Glean as much beta from the yokals so your flash attempt on Helicopter and Cytogrinder will be duly noted as legitimate in the official book of Morrison Eliminate Bouldering. If you’re told to keep your right pinky finger off the 3rd crimp on a problem, DO IT, or be chastised forever by the Elders of Morrison.

Literally, you can spend decades whittling out variation after variation to problems in the Hole, and people have. Why go elsewhere when the climbing at Morrison is SO good? So, now you have sweaty fingertips and a jonesin to pack the pad and get gritty in Morrison, let’s talk logistics.

Camping: N/A

Season: Summer

Eats: The Fort

Wildlife: Rattlesnakes and Urban Denverites getting there adventure on!

So, come on Down! The Morrison season is upon us, don’t miss out!

Tick List:

1. Helicopter, V5

2. Breashears Crack, V1 – 10 (depending on which holds you use)

3. Air Jordan, V5

4. Holloway’s route, V7

These are just the tip of the iceberg. Oh, there is bouldering on the South side of the road, but the approach is WAY more involved and the climbing is not near as good.

Typical Shelf scene

Canon City, America, home to Ortega’s (best New Mexican Food outside New Mexico), Colorado’s largest Penitentiary (known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies), and Shelf Road rock climbing!  Probably Colorado’s best, most expansive face climbing area, Shelf Road hosts hundreds and hundreds of routes with a little something for everyone.  Experience the Vertical Beach this winter, jump for more info on Shelf…

I was first introduced to Shelf a couple years ago during the dead of winter here on the front range.   While most urban yippees like us were headed up to the mountains in search of powder and snow bunnies my friends and I were seeking sun and pocket pulling pleasure.  Shelf Road has been the winter oasis for front range climbers for years.  The dead vertical dolomite crags beg to be climbed on.  On a sunny day climbers can be climbing in t-shirts while the actual air temp lurks in the 30′s and 40′s.

If you are looking to up your onsight tick list, this is the place to get dirty.  Most routes are as straight forward as the come.  In fact, most beta invovles crimp, pocket, high step, repeat.  Although that may sound somewhat boring, you would be surprised how accomplished you can feel when you onsight 4 or 5 routes at your limit in a weekend.  False confidence? Does it translate to other areas?  Who the fuck cares!  If it gets you psyched, then do it. Once you get in the Shelf groove, you may surprise yourself at how hard you can pull down on the onsight.

So, Shelf is a good to great climbing area.  Warm temps in winter, accomadating routes for everyone, and easy access, what does this mean?  Crowds!  Shelf can, and is slammed most weekends that the weather is half way decent.  Crews of gumbies clash with crews of hardmen and women, dogs barking, full campsites, parties, families, you may just see it all if you decide to go to the Shelf.  However, this author thinks it is well worth the scene.  As with any crowded area, you can often find some solace at less attractive, but just as worthy cliffs.

Let’s talk camping.  Shelf is situated in a kinda high desert plateau region, so with the warm winter days, comes cold winter nights.  However, the camping is pretty chill with porta-johns, group sites, picnic tables, and fire rings.  If you do what Wig, Limit, and myself do and forget all kinds of food, then Canon City has a McDonald’s conveniently located approximately 17 minutes from Campsite 10 at the Bank campground.

You can post up your camp at the Sand Gulch which is the first turn off when you get to the crag, or you can keep driving up the wash board road to the Bank campsites.  Each area has 1 group site that accomadates 20 people and is $8 a night, the other sites accomadate 10 people and are $4 a night.  If you are planning on climbing at Cactus, The Bank, The Dark Side, The Vault, the Gym, or The Cash Wall, your best access point is from the Bank campgrounds.  All other areas are better accessed from the Sand Gulch Campground.

Eats:  Ortega’s!  This is the shit, no lie, you have to eat here.  Try the Stuffed Sopapilla for entree and for desert you must have the Xanga (cheesecake stuffed sopapillas with caramel ice cream and drizzled in caramel)!

Rest Day Activities:  Cripple Creek is just a short drive up shelf road through a pretty amazing canyon.  Gambling abounds in this town.  Enough said.

Okay, The Must Do’s:

1.  Back to the Future 11b/c, The Bank

2.  No Future for the Timid 11d, The Bank

3.  Heavy Weather 12a/b, The Bank

4.  LaCholla Jackson 5.9, Cactus Cliff

5.  Lat’s Don’t Have Feelings 11d, Cactus Cliff

6.  Tit’s Up 12b, Cactus Cliff

7.  Menses 10d, Menses Prow

8.  The Mural 12c, Mural Wall

9.  The Gym Arete 12a, The Gym

10.  Morning Stretch 11c, The Gym

Shelf harnesses so many 4 star routes that this list would be ridiculous, go climb there and make your own list, these are just my favorites.

Last bit of advice for you shelf desirer’s, get the guide book!  Shelf is a decently big place and the folks over at Sharp End have done a bang up job with the Shelf Book.  Click Here to buy it!

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!!

The canyon, characters, bolts or lack there of, pins, flakes, towers, and history make Eldo one of the most famous rock climbing areas in the U S of A. This sandstone wonder-canyon can make men cry, women swoon, and send Euros packing. Located just south of the People’s Republic of Boulder, Eldo was the forefront of rock climbing for years and has since seen a resurgence in popularity among young, talented, and bold tradsters (aka, Eric Decaria, Matt Segal, Matt Wilder, Justen Sjong, or your basic front range freak). Climbing in Eldo can evoke sappy nostalgic emotions to climbing history buffs. Once the playground of Layton Kor, Larry Dalke, Pat Ament, Jim Ericson, Roger Briggs, and a host of other old school pimpers and crimpers, Eldo is a virtual rock climbing Smithsonian. Utilizing pins pounded into the conglomerate sandstone, the typical rock climber is clipping artifacts from days gone by. Nostalgic, but frightening!

While early generations stuck mostly to the obvious lines on the Redgarden Wall, Bastille, and the Wind tower, latter generations sought out harder lines at Rincon, West Ridge and then attacked the old aid routes as free climbing techniques developed. When sport climbing kicked off in America Eldo proclaimed drilling bolts as an evil act and banned their use in the park. Therefore, the observant Eldoradoer will recognize a lack of sport routes in the 5.13 and harder category. Save of course the classics which slipped in before the ban. Hard classic sport routes such as Rainbow Wall, The Web, and Desdichado do exist, however, Eldo is staunchly traditional and rightly so. The traditional lines that have been established in this canyon are proud. You may recognize a few of these names: The Yellow Spur, Bastille Crack, The Naked Edge, Jules Verne, Doub Griffith, blah blah, the list of classics is endless, well not really endless, but it’s really long.

With over 500 routes to her name, Eldo has a little something for everyone. Think you’re solid at a certain grade? Step up to the plate in Eldo and then we’ll talk. Face climbing with RP’s and micro-cams can humiliate and humble the average joe. Oh yeah, don’t forget two big brass balls when you rack up, chances are they will come in handy on a large percentage of Eldo routes. Multi-pitch madness, casual cragging, bouldering, it’s all wrapped up in a tight little canyon called Eldo, here on the front range.

Down to the nitty gritty. The must do’s for Eldo adventure seekers:

The Moderates: Bastille Crack 5.7, Wind Ridge 5.6, Ruper 5.7, Rewritten 5.7, and Reggae 5.7

The Semi-Moderates: Yellow Spur 5.9, Werk Supp 5.9, XM 5.10c, Outer Space 5.10, Rosy Crucifixion 5.10, Grand Giraffe 5.10, Super Slab 5.10c, Over the Hill 5.10, Rincon 5.10, Hand Craker Direct 5.10, and Deviant 5.9+

The More-Serious Moderates: Vertigo 5.11b, The Naked Edge 5.11, C’est Le Vie 5.11b, Jules Verne 5.11, Supremacy Crack 5.11b, Pansee Savauge 5.11b R, Le Boomerang 5.11d, Doub Griffith 5.11c, and the list goes on and on in this category.

The Scary and Hard: Wendego 5.12a, Genesis 5.12+, The Evictor 5.12d R, Scary Canary, 5.12+, Musta been High 5.13+, Iron Monkey 5.14

Photo Credits: aceeldo.org,

To preface this post, we at P&C will be profiling crags we think are worthwhile for whatever reason. Even though we tout ourselves as sport climbing pansies, we will bring you the best areas we know of for all disciplines of this climbing lifestyle. However, the crag I am featuring in this segment is a sport climbing area, so blow me.

To me crags are broken up in categories that define something like this: 1) Destination areas, places I would basically suffer for on long caffeine and nicotine induced trips trapped in a motor vehicle, train compartment, or aircraft. These places tend to hold significant historical value and high quality lines to boot. Examples, Hueco Tanks, Font, Smith Rocks, The Red, Indian Creek, Frankenjura, Ceuse, etc. 2) The Weekend Excursion, similar to a destination area, but within 4 or 5 automobile hours. Maybe even a new area that seems to be a “hot spot” or a lesser known crag that could be a dark horse personal favorite. Examples for us here in the Front Range, Wild Iris, Black Hills, Puoux, The Poudre, Shelf. 3) The Local Crag, typically these are your go after work, I can’t get away this weekend, last ditch effort, training crags. They could be good or they could be bad, but at least it’s rock you can climb on and find some marginal benefit to its existence. So, with that, this installment of Crag Exposure speaks of the latter crag category mentioned, at least for me.

Clear Creek Canyon sits just outside Golden, Colorado and slivers up Highway 6 headed for mountains, casinos, and of course, Rock Climbing. At first glance the rock seems friable and chossy, which, it may be, but diamonds in the rough do co-exist with these overbolted brick dumps. For the brief boring historical point, CCC soared in popularity in the late 80′s when cocaine, fast cars, and lycra played an integral role in every climbers life. After the bolting ban at the staunchly traditional Eldorado Canyon became effective, CCC was the place that pimpers and crimpers united in a single front to overcome this evil sport climbing discrimination that plagued the Front Range. Names such as Kurt Smith, Alan Nelson, Richard Wright, and Ken Trout paved the way by scouring the roadside cliffs that now make up the CCC.

Today, climbers from all over the front range utilize this Gneiss canyon for weekend jaunts, after school specials, and post work workouts. What attracts me to CCC, besides living two minutes from the mouth of the canyon, is the variety of routes that it offers. Want super steep Rifle simulators? Done. Need to pull your Cobras on and suss out technical masterpieces with Francois Legrand style? No Problem. Salivating for Slopers? We got’em. CCC accommodates most every style, short, long, powerful, sustained, you name it, its there. Now, with a new guidebook published by Sharp End, authored by the elusive and reclusive Darren Mabe, even more people will be combing the crags of CCC. By the way, the book is as good as it gets, one of the best guides on the Front Range.

The Must Do’s if you are cruising through and need to stop at CCC (all three or four star routes):

5.8 – 5.9+: Guppy 5.8 (Creekside Crag); Fish and Chips 5.9+ (Creekside Crag); Gneiss Ride 5.9+ (Mission Wall); Lunchmoney 5.9 (Capitalist Crag); First Impressions 5.9 (Little Eiger); Mineral Museum 5.9+ (Crystal Tower, Primo Area).

5.10a – 5.11d: Too! 5.10a (Little Eiger); People’s Choice 5.10b (High Wire); Vixen 5.10c (Wall of the 90′s); MirthMobile 5.10a (Primo Wall); Reefer Madness 5.11a (Wall of the 90′s); Curvaceous 5.11c (Wall of the 90′s); River Jam 5.11d (River Wall); Officer Friendly 5.11c (Wall of Justice)

5.12a – Super Hard: Wet Dream 5.12a (Wall of the 90′s); Hipster 5.12a (Hipster Crag); Balkan Dirt Diving 5.12a (Sport Wall); Adventure Kayak Trundle 5.12a (River Wall); Quartz Sports 5.12b (Crystal Tower); Slammer 5.12b (Wall of Justice); Sucking My Will to Live 5.12c (Primo Wall); Ten Digit Dialing 5.12c (Wall of the 90′s); Ken Tanks 5.12c (The Armory, Primo Area); Anarchitect 5.12d (Anarchy Wall); Sonic Youth 5.13a (New River Wall); Stuffed Wolf 5.13b (High Profile Crag); Interstellar Overdrive 5.13d (Wall of the 90′s)

Photos: 1) Brandon Patterson hanging on for the clip, The Desiderata 5.11d (The Bumbling Stock) Photo: Bronco. 2) Bronco Lowering off Sonic Youth, disheveled and defeated. Photo: LucasMarshall
3) Clear Creek Canyon Guidebook Photo: Fred Knapp (Sharp End Publishing).