Ancient fossils still lie hidden in the bold and bronzen buttes of Badlands National Park, a protected wilderness penetrated by hiking and biking trails.
Clear Creek Canyon is located just next to Golden, Colorado, (home of the Coors Brewing Company) and about 20 minutes from Denver. The rock here is good solid limestone conglomerate and there is a ton of challenging sport routes. Clear Creek is an exceptional place to come if 5.12 - .14d sounds like a good time to you. There are some newer routes that are a little easier but there is really not that much intermediate climbing to be found. Along with the advanced climbing come some advanced (i.e. sketchy) approaches which are short but not so sweet. There is also a fair amount of ice during the winter months which can be climbed.
An added bonus to climbing in Clear Creek is that there is some great bouldering on big blocks of rock. The canyon is notable for being exceptionally good for bouldering during the winter because most of the boulders face south getting the sun and getting dry. Crash pads and spotters are almost a must since most of the problems are pretty tall.
Details
Location
Within metroplex of Golden Colorado
Rock Type:
Limestone conglomerate
Hazards:
Reports of vehicle vandalism
Routes:
Lifetime
Season:
Spring to fall with winter bouldering
Map + Directions
Basic Directions
Find 6th Avenue in Golden which turns into HWY 6. Take this west through the canyon.
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