Colorado Classic Crags: Shelf Road

    Between the amount of times I’ve tripped into an unsuspecting cactus, or frozen the shit out of the tips of my fingers on the only cold day in a week when I decide to go there, Shelf Road holds a lot of dear memories for me. Living about an hour and a half to two hours away, Shelf Road is the preferred winter sport crag for myself, my significant other Sarah, and our climbing partners in the area. While not being able to hold a candle to the likes of places such as Rifle Canyon, or The Fortress of Solitude, similar crags about the same distance away, I believe that I could unequivocally say that no other place in our area helps develop one’s technical skills on vertical dolomitic limestone formations. Among other things, that also being that it’s practically beach weather just about every day of the winter there (unless it’s the one day that I’ve chosen to show up).

Before gushing anymore about one of the better sport crags in the state, let’s first dig into the history of shelf road. Developed in the late 70’s and 80’s by many famous (or infamous) Colorado Springs climbers, the most recognized of them being Bob D’Antonio, whose current guide for the area I also highly recommend, the routes along the many cliffs and rises were bolted in “French style.” That being that they were rappel-bolted from the top down with many of the clipping stances being investigated and thought out before the bolts actually ever being drilled in. This was as a result of a current revolution in the climbing world at the time, with many American climbers realizing that they were being “beat out” by Europeans in technical skill and grade. A comparable area being developed in Europe at the time the Verdon Gorge, which offers slightly more overhanging routes, but similar features overall. The disdain for the Europeans can be seen in many of the route names, including a few of my personal favorites such as “Almost French” (5.12a) and “The French Are Here” at the Cactus Cliff crag.

Many of the more popular routes in the area remain within the Cactus Cliff vicinity, or along the approach to it. This being because it was one of the first major areas bolted at Shelf, and that it is one of the only areas to receive an entire day of full sun, something that makes the cliff especially crowded on the weekends any time of the year October thru April. Routes on this section usually lie anywhere between 70 to 90 feet in length, although there are some short or long gems to be found here and there. Many of the classics that are raved about by old timers and gumbies alike can be found either on the Cactus Cliff proper, or the surrounding sub-walls. If you’re planning on going farther down to The Gym crag, I would recommend warming up at the Cactus Cliff.

If routes of a 5.12 grade or harder are of the variety that you are searching for, The Gym, New Gym, or Mural Walls are highly recommended. While The Gym and New Gym walls sit past the Cactus Cliff, The Mural Wall, and the surrounding sub-areas are accessed via a parking area to be found before reaching the main “Bank” parking area. Significantly fantastic climbs to be found at The Gym include that of “Ejection Seat” (5.12b/c) and “The Gym Arete” (5.12a). One also cannot visit the gym without taking a look at “The Example” (5.13a/b) one of the first climbs put up in the country of that grade, and to be used as “an example” for other climbs of the grade furthermore. The New Gym contains the hardest route at Shelf as well, “Apogee Pending” (5.14a) a wonderfully hard route put up by Mark Anderson in 2011 with a dynamic mix of movement and required discipline. Overall, unless you consider yourself in the likes of Johnathan Siegrist, or any other hard-climbing Front Range pro, there’s enough grade within Shelf Road to keep one busy for quite a while.

Coming to Shelf in any other time other than the fall and winter? Not to fear, there are plenty of shaded crags in the area, including a few contrived zones for bouldering potential. One of the most popular being the “Dark Side.” Protected in a more old-school manner, the bolt spacing here tends to be more in line with the original routes at Shelf, featuring a bit more runout and by proxy, spice. My personal favorites include that of “Enchanted Porkfist” (5.11a) and “Void Lloyd” (5.12a). Both demanding fantastic, crimpy movement on the dark, cool rock in the shady side canyon the entirety of the crag lies within.

All in all, don’t ruin this crag, but certainly take advantage of the wealth of fantastic sport routes that Shelf Road has to offer. There’s a reason that this area has remained popular among newcomers and veterans alike. With more than enough routes to fill a few years worth of time, and the perfect spot to get some good pitches in during ski season, Shelf Road is certainly a Colorado classic crag.


CLIMBING TYPE: Sport

BEST GUIDEBOOK: “Shelf Road Climbs” by: Bob D’Antonio, or the slightly newer, “Shelf Road Rock” by: Rick Thompson

CLOSEST TOWN: Canon City is about 20 minutes east

BEST RESTAURANT: The Bean Peddler (get a burrito)




*ALL PICTURES AND CONTENT PROPERTY OF TRENT HILLIER, BOB D'ANTONIO, AND TRAILSOFFROAD.COM*

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Afternoon Hang: BoCan's Tonnere Tower

Image
  Tourists meandering to Boulder Falls beyond us seemed to move with a distinct lack of purpose. Sarah yelling for slack cut me away from the dull overwhelming lull of noise emanating from Boulder Creek below. For a second I was almost relaxed enough to nap, even despite the slight hanging position I was sitting in at the second belay on our way up Tonnere Tower in Boulder Canyon. We had considered climbing this jutting formation within BoCan many times before, as each time we’d whizz by on our way to Nip and Tuck, Sports Park, anywhere else, the dominating position it took above the hustle and bustle of the Boulder Falls lot cut through the normality of stopping your car simply to gander at water falling down. Each time we’d considered it though, as if guided by fate, weather moved in, or there was someone on the route we’d wished to do already. This time was different. The summit was clear. The sky was a nice hue of deep blue in the mid-May sun. It was a Monday. There was no spec...
Read more

A Long Walk: Hayden Spire

Image
I tried to look past my headlamp in the very-early morning darkness, and in all honesty I couldn’t. Matt, Scott, and I had met in a parking lot only less than an hour before, three men on a mission to go to one of the most remote peaks in all of Rocky Mountain National Park. By the end of today, with a little luck and a whole lot of skill and toughness, we would summit Hayden Spire. Laying on a ridgeline extending from Sprague Peak and off of the western side of Stones Mountain lays a massive crater-like formation of rock and cliffside. Along that cliffside sits a series of huge spires above Hayden Lake, one of many year-round pockets of glaciated lake that sits quiet among the high peaks in the park. Hayden Spire is easily seen from Trail-Ridge Road, and the Forest Canyon Overlook, but never easily reached by any sort of insertion point into the park. On this particular morning, we had chosen to take the overland approach route to the spire from the Bear Lake Trailhead. This ...
Read more

3-Star Chossaneering: Wild Ridge via/El Diablo de Oro (5.8 III)

Image
  I could feel the heat of the late-day sun, its rays giving a light burn to the tops of both of my arms. Below me fell away the rest of Wild Ridge for about 1000 feet with New York Peak beyond. Nary a cloud in the sky, the air was warm interspersed with the light breeze from the west. I couldn’t hear any of the cars below on highway 82. Some lady in Aspen was probably buying a martini for $35 about now. I couldn’t have been happier. For as much of the Indy Pass obsessive that I was, it had never occurred to me to give Amos Whiting’s long route “El Diablo de Oro” (5.8 III) on Wild Ridge a look. Having been established in about 2014 or 2015 or so, the route certainly wasn’t grand-spanking new, but it was definitely modern compared to the Harvey Carter classics that surrounded it. I was a fan of Mr. Whiting’s work, many of his newer additions to “The Pass” were near-perfect, with great bolt placements when needed and fantastic movement for whatever grade they went at. Sarah and I h...
Read more