Bouldering RMNP/Fort Collins beta July 27-Aug 1

Hello all. I'm visiting Colorado for the 1st time for a conference in Fort Collins and was hoping for good bouldering beta to aid logistics.

1a) I am planning some afternoon bouldering at RMNP after arriving Saturday morning; the drive to from the airport seems viable, or am I overlooking a tourist packed nightmare?

1b) Will I need to stop to rent a crash pad (is the Spot in Boulder my best bet?) and guidebook, or will there be tons of friendly people at all the good problems with crashpads everywhere?

1c) Is Chaos the place to go if I have a day or two?

2)Since I'll be in Fort Collins, is bouldering at Horsetooth even vaguely fun this time of year? I've heard it was hot... are morning or evenings plausible? Anywhere nearby that isn't as scorching.

3) anywhere else I should be considering? Hoping to boulder primarily in the V3-6 range, maybe trying safe problems up to V7-8.

Thanks,
Sam

1a) Sat can be kinda crazy up there, mostly finding parking. Do-able but not as easy as during the week. Don't forget about Emerald and the classic "Kind" v4/5.

1b) There will be plenty of people up there for your first day. But you will want the freedom of your own pad I bet.

1c) Lower Chaos and Emerald Lake are must-see areas if you have limited time.

2) H-tooth has gotta be a real early session this time of year. After 10am its probably getting too hot there.

3) Poudre Canyon areas are worth a trip, most are about 1+hour from Fort Collins.

Have fun!

1a) The parking lots for Chaos fill up by 8:30am-ish, so you have to take a shuttle up from one of the lower/larger lots. Its a pain especially if you have crash pads. They have also been doing road work on the road up, so have been closing the road for everyone but the shuttle at 9am. This is as of last week or so, so maybe things have changed.

1b) Like Ben said, you probably want your own pad. I think The Spot still rents them, but you might want to call and double check. They also have guide books sitting out on the counter now so you can check out the area before you go.

1c-3) I agree with Ben.

Don't forget the free guidebooks on nococlimbing.org/ thanks to Ben Scott and the rest of NC3.

PM me for details on renting a crashpad through the Colorado State University Rec Center.

you can borrow my pad and book if i am at lumpys. otherwise il be at chaos if you're tryin to pal around

The road is open all day for all traffic on the weekends now, last year this wasn't so.
You will probably just be hitting up the classics and both Emerald and Lower Chaos will have plenty of people and pads around the main areas on the weekends. But if you want your pad the spot does rent them and Neptune does as well, there are probably places in Denver and Estes that rent pads but I don't know them.
Even if you arrive after 9am the signs will usually say that the lot is full but drive up to the lot anyways and you can usually snag a spot as someone is leaving, tourist come and go through out the day.
Probably a good idea to bring bug spray as well.

Thanks Ben, dseltzer,Andy and Steve. Much appreciated. The online guides look great.