Bighorn Sheep Canyon?

I drove down to Cotopaxi from Salida Saturday and I couldn't help but wonder if anyone has ever climbed between Salida and Canyon City. Does anyone know? If not, I would think this area would be ripe for development, if you could figure out some property issues, I'm sure.

Yes, there's a bit of climbing in the canyon. The Ark Valley guidebook lists some of it around Cotopaxi, but there is more to be found. Private property, the railroad, and the river, all tend to make climbing on the north side pretty tricky. But I bet that some of those cracks up there that you saw are worth it. The south side has a couple of areas near the road that are worth checking out. And continuing south from Texas Creek towards Westcliff is worth a look too.

I wonder what the rock quality is like. I grew up in Salida, and my parents still live there, but I wasn't there before I "found my climbing eyes". Some of the stuff on the north side looks great, and I would love to get down there and throw a rope up. There seems like plenty of crags to explore, and as the railroad seems to be largely disinterested in their right-of-way, I would imagine access and private property may seem like a bigger deal. May be worth a trip to investigate.

Since you're down there, you know if there's anyone who's checked out the rocks and boulders in the Browns Canyon area?

I would guess that some of that nice looking granite up higher on the north side of the canyon is S Platte, based on the formations and the surrounding rock. Generally pretty good quality. And you're right that generally, the railroad isn't bothered with their entirely unused right of way. As far as Brown's goes, there's a whole mix of rock back there. Some nice granite, some volcanic choss. I've actually found some decent looking columnar basalt. If you stop into Cafe Dawn in Salida, the owner, Philip, does a lot of bouldering around the valley. I'm sure that he could give you some good info. I've accessed Brown's Canyon wilderness from Turret and from Nathrop, but there's a lot of rock to explore beyond that.
Let me know if you find anything interesting!
Mike S