Shelf road closure due to shutdown

Because shelf is on blm land does that mean it is closed, since my understanding is that all blm land is closed due to the shutdown?

Would be great if someone could confirm Shelf is open for climbing as well as camping. I know there isn't a fee for climbing (there was a gate however), but there is a camping fee. A quick search online didn't turn up an answer. Anyone know?

I am trying to go to shelf road this weekend and would appreciate any first hand knowledge of its status.

I just tried to call the royal gorge blm office, no answer. BLM websites redirect to the general DOI website so they are of little help as well.

From what I have read it sounds like the campgrounds (fee area, gated) will be closed but climbing may still be allowed? But I am not sure.

Locker wrote:"I just tried to call the royal gorge blm office, no answer." Probably due to the " Government Shutdown". So my original comment is sort of MOOT I suppose...

I don't think it's MOOT, I think it was just WRONG :)

pfwein wrote: I don't think it's MOOT, I think it was just WRONG :)

Why was it wrong?

FrankPS wrote: Why was it wrong?

At the risk of playing Captain Obvious, which generally doesn't endear me to the MP masses--
Locker's "advice" (really more ball busting) was, in effect, to tell someone asking about a government shutdown to call the shutdown government and ask them about it. Predictably, that advice wasn't helpful, and there was nothing wrong with the original post. (John Wilder's comment is consistent with what I've seen, but how this may play out in any given area can be a hard to say, especially to those of us (99%) that don't really have any experience with this.)

There are a few definitions of "moot," but none of them make any sense in connection with Locker's comment.
I suppose if his advice was given before the government shutdown, it may have been good advice then and it may make sense to now describe it as "moot." But that's not the chronology here.

pfwein wrote: At the risk of playing Captain Obvious, which generally doesn't endear me to the MP masses-- Locker's "advice" (really more ball busting) was, in effect, to tell someone asking about a government shutdown to call the shutdown government and ask them about it. Predictably, that advice wasn't helpful, and there was nothing wrong with the original post. (John Wilder's comment is consistent with what I've seen, but how this may play out in any given area can be a hard to say, especially to those of us (99%) that don't really have any experience with this.) There are a few definitions of "moot," but none of them make any sense in connection with Locker's comment. I suppose if his advice was given before the government shutdown, it may have been good advice then and it may make sense to now describe it as "moot." But that's not the chronology here.

Thanks for the explanation!

A group of four climbers including myself were going to head out there to camp and climb Shelf Road this weekend as a last camping trip for the season; does anyone (presumably with a recent past experience in the area) know if any of the roads are gated or require a day pass, payment, etc.? I am unfamiliar with the area (see newbie) and it's a bit of a drive for us to end up at a closed gate. I tried a few phone numbers but had no luck.

Thanks, cheers.

Blaine,
There is a gate on the bank road but I never seen it closed as it shears farming land access so I doubt it would be closed.
and I don't believe there is a gate on the Sand Gulch access. Also Shelf season is just about to start, this is the winter crag (at least for me)!

I think the most reasonable expectation is that the Bank & Sand Gulch campgrounds will be posted as closed, restroom doors locked, etc. This would be consistent with the BLM's published guidance and their actions in other areas:
doi.gov/shutdown/fy2014/upl…

But as far as the climbing itself, it's essentially all on open lands with no gates, etc. So my guess would be climbing is on, camping (at least in the established areas) is off.

Would be nice to get confirmation from someone who has gone out there in the past couple of days!

F the Federal gov't...

Just go climbing. Why should we suffer because our congress is a bunch of rich entitled overpaid babies.

Those bastards don't deserve our tax money.

I'll go ahead and end this discussion now. Shelf is NOT closed. I was just there yesterday climbing. The only thing that seemed to be affected was the camping. Big sign when you pull in The Bank campground that said CLOSED. Although it had no effect as there was several people camping there anyways, just for free now I imagine.

LawHous wrote:I'll go ahead and end this discussion now. Shelf is NOT closed. I was just there yesterday climbing. The only thing that seemed to be affected was the camping. Big sign when you pull in The Bank campground that said CLOSED. Although it had no effect as there was several people camping there anyways, just for free now I imagine.

Were the restrooms locked? If not, I'm assuming they're not getting pumped out during the shutdown. Could get gnarly in there. If so, I hope climbers are responsible enough to bring wag-bags and pack out their own poop.