Colorado Classic Crags: Rifle Mountain Park

  

The most interesting thing to me about Rifle Mountain Park is the fact that at first, I kind of hated it. It may sound like cardinal sin to the climbing community, but I did not take to Rifle immediately as I had to many of the other “classic” crags and locations throughout the west that many consider to be the “best” climbing areas. Yet, one day, without warning, I realized that I fucking loved the place. It was a home for me all of a sudden, with movement and holds that no longer felt foreign.

    In a nutshell, I feel like that’s how Rifle molds onto many people who haven’t spent a lot of time on limestone, especially the highly-trafficked variety that many a person would find in Rifle Canyon, even more so when trying to get onto any of the many ultra-classics throughout the park. Once a place only frequented by locals going for a hike, snowmobilers, and the random ice climber, Rifle Canyon developed into one of the most prolific high-end sport climbing locations in the United States. Situated on the western-end of Colorado’s western slope, Rifle Mountain Park encompasses a canyon near the “Great Hogsback” formation of limestone that juts out of the western rise of the Colorado Rockies. Situated not that far from either Glenwood Springs, or Grand Junction, as previously stated, Rifle Canyon began it’s rise to climbing fame not through the normal amount of Front Rangers who assault the rest of the state every weekend, but through the exploration of ice climbers throughout the winter out of the Carbondale area, noticing the formation of fantastic chandelier and candlestick formations of ice each winter. That was not the only thing that presented itself as hard climbing in the canyon though, and the rest was history. Not allowing for the easy placement of gear, and a majority of them being well within the higher difficulties at a much more than vertical grade, the routes within Rifle Mountain Park are all well bolted, allowing for any self-respecting sport climber to spend several lifetimes projecting the many 5.hard lines throughout the compact limestone-lined canyon.

When my partner, Sarah, and I first made our way to Rifle, it was on our way back from a poorly-planned and way too hot trip to Moab. We had a few more days to climb at our disposal and I had heard tales and legends of the place where all the 12’s were good. None of those tales were wrong. For the beginning climber, Rifle isn’t the place to cut one’s teeth. Many of the lower-graded lines are pretty low on the spectacular scale as well. Although, for the budding intermediate to advanced climber, the canyon overflows with interest. With a majority of the more popular climbs lying in the 12c to 12d range, I would argue that most of the best routes within the park are the 11’s and 12a’s. On more than a few occasions, I would find myself highly impressed on an 11a or 11b while warming up for the harder stuff. While the more vertical routes within the park are subject to the shit that trickles down on them after heavy rains, bring a brush and some gusto for the popular lines, as they aren’t so subject to debris, but rather a certain unique slickness that can only be obtained by decades of chalk and whippers. That’s the most highly unique quality to Rifle I would argue, that even when routes become covered in years of shoe rubber and different versions of friction labs chalk, the routes still maintain the same fantastic and demanding movement, with body positions and the availability for knee-bars that would improve the skill of many climbers just by spending some dedicated time climbing there.

As for my personal favorites, I would say that no one should enter the park without looking up at the many bullet-hard routes up the Bauhaus Wall. Among them, many linkups or extensions, including “Brothers Carrutherzov” a very-demanding 5.12c that has one make an exciting traverse through the end. As of late, I have been spending a good amount of time within the Nappy Dugout, working on “Fossil Family,” a classic 12a that takes some effort to hold on to at the end from the sheer amount of pump that develops. Find what you like at Rifle Mountain Park and get stronger, because the routes will still stay hard. The first 5.15, “Kinder Cakes” (5.15a) was just put up in the canyon by legend Joe Kinder, so one need not worry about running out of routes to get on. 

Grab your project draws, and don’t bring your friends. Come spend some time out on the western slope at one the most classic Colorado sport crags, Rifle Mountain Park.

CLIMBING TYPE: Sport

BEST GUIDEBOOK: The ever so coveted and rare, “Rifle Mountain Park, Western Colorado Rock Climbs Vol. 1” by Dave Pegg, however, Mountainproject.com remains to be pretty updated and accurate.

CLOSEST TOWN: Rifle, Colorado

BEST RESTAURANT: Dead tie between the food truck that sits in the parking lot adjacent to the City Market and Shooter’s grill

****ALL PHOTOS AND WRITING PROPERTY OF TRENT HILLIER, JOE KINDER, WEWHOROAM.COM, AND WOLVERINE PRESS Co.****