If you’re making your first visit to Shelf Road, here are some tips for getting the most out of your climbing trip: Rock climbing at Shelf Road lets you enjoy outdoor crags year-round in Colorado. BRAND NEW BOOK! There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Lime Street (5.11b) is a more technical 5.11 with a burly compression finish, and No Rest For the Wicked (5.12a/b) is an excellent climb if you want to push your grade into the 12s. Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2011. In fact, as one of the best climbing areas in Colorado, Shelf is locally treasured by climbers all over the Front Range. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Use your strength on Muscle Beach (5.11a) or Lats Don’t Have Feelings (5.11d). Shop for Climbing Guidebooks at REI - FREE SHIPPING With $50 minimum purchase. The few ads don't bother me. Shelf Road is one of the most popular sport climbing areas in Colorado. Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2016. Shelf Road. From our local crags all over Colorado to the most popular climbing areas throughout North America, Europe, Australasia and South America. Head to the popular Shelf Road Climbing Area where you’ll find hundreds of quality sport routes on quality, vertical limestone. Cañon City Brews & Bikes offer local beers on tap alongside burgers and sandwiches. (Psst, perfect if you've just moved to CO too!). Please try again. Limestone walls are lined with endless sport routes in a beautiful desert landscape. Flakeus Maximus (5.11a) is amazing, especially if you love crack. The type is small, and there is a lot of printing in light colors on dark backgrounds in tiny type making it really hard to read. Description The Shelf Road is a limestone sport climbing destination in southern Colorado offering mostly single pitch sport climbs. Unable to add item to List. Plan Ahead And Prepare. Love this book. More than 1000 routes, from 5.5 to 5.13c , spread over many crags Bolting : big run out climbing If you’re nervous, bring a stick clip. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Check out First Blood (5.8) for a cool warm-up crack. Because each area encompasses a lot of climbs, you’ll find routes for a variety of grade levels at most crags. 60-degree sunny days are a common occurrence. Shelf Road is one of my favorite climbing places in the western US and is truly a hidden gem! Take advantage of Cañon City’s 325 annual days of sunshine, and enjoy year-round climbing on vertical limestone at one of Colorado’s most popular, and one of its first, sport-climbing venues. All the campsites at both campgrounds have picnic tables and fire rings. Sent Fast! The road provides access to an important rock-climbing area and the renowned Garden Park Fossil Area and parallels the stream of … Great book, an essential for any trip to Shelf Road. Even the nearby hikes here offer up killer views. Shelf Road follows the old stagecoach route to Cripple Creek. Shelf Road. Finally, a comprehensive guide to Shelf Road with over 900 plus routes, the new guide covers: The Gallery, Sand Gulch, Dead Colt, The Bank, The Dark Side, The Vault Area, Cactus Cliff, Spiney Ridge, The Gym, The North End and the Great Black North. The crags of Shelf Road offer spectacular high-desert settings with captivating views of snowcapped peaks. Everyone loves Shelf! Explore the outdoors in Colorado like a local, not a tourist. Now you're ready to travel like a local, not a tourist. Corrections to Rick Thompson's Shelf Road Rock. Stout moves off the ground can lead to deck falls. Shelf Road is secluded, rural, and has great climbing. Camping. Your question might be answered by sellers, manufacturers, or customers who bought this product. Shelf Road: Limestone walls are lined with endless sport routes in a beautiful desert landscape. 4.2 out of 5 stars 16. Rock & Ice #103 [October 2000] (the one with Josune Bereziartu on the cover) has a mini-guide to the new areas, which are not yet covered in any guidebook. Local Tip: The Sand Gulch campground just has a single pit toilet for everyone, while The Bank campground has two pit toilets near the campground and an additional two at the large parking lot. Forget about those loose, sketchy, tiresome climbers trails. Metropolis (5.11d) starts hard right off the ground and is fun the whole way up. Im looking for some area favorites for both places. The Crack of Dawn (5.10b) could be a trad climb, but it’s bolted since it’s at Shelf. Plus get bonus local travel tips, gear deals, and more to your inbox once a month! When winter approaches and the temps cool down, climbers from the Front Range flock to the warm weather haven of Shelf Road. Note: This website participates in affiliate marketing. When you start walking from The Bank parking area, you’ll turn a corner and the road and see Cactus Cliff beckoning across the way. If you’re climbing at The Bank or Cactus Cliff, The Bank Campground is where you’ll start your approach hike from. Any sport route in the 5.10 range or lower. We want to climb at both shelf road and penitente canyon. The Gym Arete (5.12a) offers tough but great face climbing, and you can get your steep fix on The Ejection Seat (5.12b/c) and Head Cheese (5.12d). The book is also heavier and thicker than need be because it includes numerous gratuitous essays, color photos of people climbing (with their names and the route names almost impossible to read) and lots of ads. Areas Covered. Shelf Road Climbing South Platte Climbing: The Northern Volume and South Platte Climbing: Thunder Ridge and Turkey Rock Edition Mountainproject.com also provides excellent user-generated recommendations and up-to-date information about the Centennial State’s climbing areas. Shelf Road Climbing: A Complete Guide takes you through the spectacular high-desert crags with captivating views of snowcapped peaks. Climbers can find solitude or a happy hour atmosphere, sun or … But since there are so many climbs, you can just keep walking down the cliff band until you find something open that looks fun. This area gets tons of sun and truly has something for everyone, from 5.7 to 5.14. Michael & Rachel McGee are featured in the following guide books: Colorado 14ers Summits and Attempts Curbside Pickup Available NOW! This impressively thorough guide features 1150 routes—an increase of almost 300 routes over the previous edition—scattered throughout the remarkable limestone canyons of one of America’s leading sport climbing destinations. Rock Climbing Shelf Road (FalconGuide) - If you climb Shelf, you need a new guidebook. However, after you’re cozy outside, there are a lot of routes to get excited about. Under BLM Agreement L12AC20483 . Local Tip: Crack climbing at Shelf Road is a painful, sharp experience. 11 offers from $64.95. This edition features more than 1200 routes—an increase of more than 100 new routes over the previous edition. However visiting for the first time, I had the hardest time orienting myself to the crags and specific climbs. It’s a beautiful area featuring limestone cliffs, so expect lots of pocket-pulling. She'd rather be dirty than done up. Know the regulations and special concerns for the area where you plan to climb. Shelf Road climbing access is well-developed and easy to navigate. Some of the first bolts are dizzyingly high here. Shelf isn’t exactly the ideal place for your first outdoor lead. Please try your search again later. For this sun-lover, it’s simply heaven. Download MJM & RAMM's rock climbing PDF's below. This is the worst guide book I've ever used. Shelf Road Colorado. Please try again. Alternatively, offer up your rope and bring along a more experienced friend. Paperback. Canon City built this toll road back in 1892. This is considered to be one of the best sport climbing areas in the state. There was a problem completing your request. That means if you click on some of the links and purchase something, I get a small kickback at no added cost to you. Her mission is to get you out on your greatest adventure. The trails to the crags are some of my favorite. Gen X ation aka Musso Route (5.10d) provides sustained 5.10 climbing on a great face. Shelf Road climbing is the best in the fall, winter, and spring. There are over 1,000 routes in this book. 115455 Features: Specifications: Pages: 256 ISBN-13: 978-1450711647 Publisher: K Daniels Associates Cover: Paperback. The area is split into a few different walls which face different directions, making it easy to seek out shade or sun. The limestone cliffs offer more than 1000 established routes, divided among several areas/crags and ranging from 5.4 to 5.14. It’s not uncommon to find me here on the weekend. It is free to walk the bridge itself, and you can also pay for a gondola or zip line ride. The Gallery is made up of Menses Prow, The Far Side, and Mural Wall. A crack climber stuck in a sport climbing area will feel right at home on I Claudius (5.11a). Get the FREE Colorado trip planning checklist and get the inside scoop on hiking, camping, climbing, and more in the great Centennial State. A short drive north of Cañon City on County Road 9 will lead you to some of the best, most challenging rock climbing in Colorado. Freeform (5.12a) is a fantastic route that requires both strength and technique. Tits Up (5.12b) rewards fancy footwork while The French Are Here (5.12c) is more powerful. Shelf Road can be reached by US 50. 60-degree sunny days are a common occurrence. 1.0 out of 5 stars 1. The Bank campground was expanded with an entirely new loop in 2019, nearly doubling the sites available. As an absolute outdoor PRO (seriously, I get paid to write about the outdoors) and Colorado local of over 12 years, you've found the best outdoor blog on the internet. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. ;). It gets the job done. Local Tip: Take your battered body and sore muscles to soak in one of the two hot springs nearby, Desert Reef Hot Springs in Florence or Dakota Hot Springs in Penrose. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. For the uninitiated, near-vertical walls with high first clips are a bit intimidating. Shelf Road, and even Clear Creek Canyon, you can rock climb in Colorado year-round. The good news is, falls are generally clean, so Shelf Road is a safer spot to really push yourself. Arrive early if you want to hang at Menses, most of the routes fill up quickly. Take the exit for Cañon City, and once you get to town, go north on Raynolds Avenue. With well over 1000 routes, it has something for everyone. It’s best to use this guide to Shelf Road rock climbing and pick up a comprehensive guide book – Shelf Road Rock. Rifle Mountain Park, Colorado / G3, Section M, The Funny Face, Kubricks Rock Climbing Guides . Horseback These 30-140 foot cliffs were deposited in the Helena Canyon area around 500 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. This area is for the adventuresome familiar with Colorado's unpredictable, ever changing climate. You’ll find two main campgrounds at Shelf Road – The Bank and Sand Gulch. It seemed great, but somewhat confusing maps/photos. The four-hour “Vertical Limit” climbing trip offers lots of climbing, and is tailored to any skill level for beginner through advanced climbers. This is the most complete guide ever published for Shelf Road, and will guide you to countless, incredible days climbing in this magical limestone paradise. For more, see the Fox in the Forest Privacy Policy. Turn right on Fields and head north for 13 mi (21 km). Cañon City is the closest town to Shelf, and though it’s pretty small, you can totally find some yummy places to eat or grab a beer. All suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Meg aka Fox is a 30-something who's born to explore. The color pictures help find features to identify the actual climbs, though this challenge is always part of the fun. Paperback. The overview map of the area lists main walls but doesn't show the individual sections as they are organized in the rest of the book. Freelance Writing, Travel, and Life Skills. I love hearing from my community about all the badass adventures. Please make sure that you are posting in the form of a question. GAMAGO Adhesive Bandages - Set of Individually Wrapped Self Adhesive Bob Ross, 18 Count, Happy Little Accidents: The Wit & Wisdom of Bob Ross. Crystal (5.11b) is super aesthetic, and The Raw and the Roasted (5.11) is a long route with awesome moves and varied climbing. Pueblos Gringos (5.10a/b) is super polished but super fun, while Menses (5.10d) lets you test your sloper technique. The crisp limestone cliffs boast high friction and every style of line; from juggy overhangs, to technical edging test-pieces, to some tenuous slabs, and even a few jam cracks! $31.70. You can always double-check with good old MP, but typically the info to get you oriented is sparse at best. From November through early May, Shelf Road comes to life. The Access Fund recently purchased land which contains 100+ routes that weren't open as recently as 1999. Welcome to the updated version of Shelf Road Rock. Three-Quarter Ton (5.10b/c) is a fantastic flaky climb that a 5.10 leader will love. Had no problem finding trail heads and walls. While you're waiting why not follow me on socials? The Sand Gulch campground has the trailheads for Sand Gulch, The Far Side, and Menses Prow. The two campgrounds are far enough away that you will need to drive from one to the other. This is considered to be one of the best sport climbing areas in the state. For climbs in the 5.11-5.12 range, The Gym is the place to be. From November through early May, Shelf Road comes to life. Shelf Road Rock Climbing Shelf Road is one of the very best sport climbing destinations in the country. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Long bands of limestone tower above the road and line the rims of nearby canyons. The Bank and Cactus Cliff see more traffic and many of the 5.8s and lower get pretty slick. This one, however, is confusing and difficult to use. I absolutely love the full color photos, and the fact that everything has been photographed. It twists north from Canon City along Fourmile Creek through valleys and canyons. One of Colorado’s largest sport climbing destinations, Shelf Road offers a multitude of stellar rock climbs on some fascinating Limestone cliffs. However, the best times for climbing fall between April and October. If you need a rest day from climbing, but still want to spend time outside, visit Royal Gorge in Cañon City. The road through the canyons invol… 10/10 would purchase again. Our favorite way of ending a great weekend of climbing at Shelf, is to follow Shelf Road on up through the canyon to Cripple Creek. Nearby campgrounds make overnight trips easy and fun! Psst…I’ll let you in on a little secret. About this Guide to Rock Climbing in Colorado. Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2014. Sometimes I come here just to be a top rope hero (especially while I was recovering from my climbing accident). Shelf Road is very dog-friendly, so bring your furry crag buddy along! Never mind all the incorrect (or missing) grades on routes; that can happen in any guidebook. Check your inbox for instructions on your FREE Colorado packing list. And The Lost Cajun is great on a cold day when gumbo, jambalaya, or lobster bisque will really hit the spot. Routes vary from 5.7- 5.13 mostly bolted routes with lots of untouched rock! Rock Climbing Colorado: A Guide To More Than 1,800 Routes (State Rock Climbing Series) Stewart M. Green. Maybe the most classic climb at The Bank is Number 1 Super Guy (5.11a) which has an incredible – and photogenic – roof section. Shelf Road Recreation Area . This limestone mecca has so much to offer that you can always find excellent rock climbing at Shelf Road. There was a problem adding this item to Cart. Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2012. The Access Fund recently purchased land which contains 100+ routes that weren't open as recently as 1999. And with thousands of routes, I’ve spent several years investigating the best Shelf Road rock climbing. My personal favorite area is "The Gallery" and "The Bank." chucky We are planning a 4 day trip to CO towards the end of may. It’s been a decade since the last Sharp End guide to Shelf Road was published, but the wait has been worth it! Shelf Road has two scenic campgrounds that operate on a first-come first-served basis and have a nightly fee. Suburbia is a stellar climb (5.10b/c), but be solid at the grade because the bolting can be heady. also what are the best/recently updated guide books for these two areas? November 19, 2015 . Climbing Guide Books Neptune has one of the most extensive offerings of rock climbing guide books in the country. Most of the cliffs are vertical with pocketed limestone but you will find one or the other crack (and even some trad or mixed routes) in between.