Night Climbing at Castle Rock (Boulder Canyon)

Just curious who's ever gone out there for a night session. I realize parking from dusk until dawn is not permitted but with the dirt road that wraps around Castle Rock one could park their vehicle completely off the main road and keep it pretty much out of sight/traffic.

Any thoughts?

Hi Clay,

I haven't tried it myself, but I have gotten there in the morning and seen cars with tickets there from being left overnight. I'm not sure when they might check for this, and I would think they might notice people climbing with headlamps, but you never.

Jasmine

Thankfully, Boulder County has recently taken over the management of this neglected area, which is a section of the old pre-highway road in Boulder Canyon.
Along with that, there is more enforcement of county regs which prohibit camping and parking overnight in Boulder Canyon...which has helped with the problems from short-term and long-term transient camps at Castle Rock.
Why not have someone drop you off for a few hours and come back and pick you up after your climb?

Dave Hurst wrote: Why not have someone drop you off for a few hours and come back and pick you up after your climb?

You get out of here with your good ideas and logic. This is the internet.

Go on...Get!

Seems like they don't want people to camp, why not just leave a note on your car which says that you're climbing right there and will be leaving?

Dave Hurst wrote:Why not have someone drop you off for a few hours and come back and pick you up after your climb?

Thanks for the response Dave, it has crossed my mind. Asking someone to either hang out at the crag while we climb, drive up to Ned where everything will be closed for any sort of entertainment, or drive all the way back to Boulder and back after only an hour or two is asking a bit for my friends.

I'm more tempted to just leave a note like Hiro said. Won't take long to get up and down, just don't want to feel rushed.

Hiro wrote:Seems like they don't want people to camp, why not just leave a note on your car which says that you're climbing right there and will be leaving?

Actually, they don't want any parking there after dark.
bouldercounty.org/os/parks/…

"Parking is free."
"Open space is open from sunrise to sunset, unattended vehicles left after dark will be ticketed or towed."

BCC (or was it the Access Fund?) worked extensively with BoCo to improve the situation up at Castle Rock for climber access and etc. It would be a shame if all that work was cast aside by climbers and others disregarding the minimal parking regs.

If you left a note on your car after dark saying you were climbing, it could potentially cause an unnecessary rescue response to be initiated.

History:
bouldercounty.org/property/…

Dave Hurst wrote: Actually, they don't want any parking there after dark. bouldercounty.org/os/parks/… "Parking is free." "Open space is open from sunrise to sunset, unattended vehicles left after dark will be ticketed or towed." BCC (or was it the Access Fund?) worked extensively with BoCo to improve the situation up at Castle Rock for climber access and etc. It would be a shame if all that work was cast aside by climbers and others disregarding the minimal parking regs. If you left a note on your car after dark saying you were climbing, it could potentially cause an unnecessary rescue response to be initiated. History: bouldercounty.org/property/…

That pretty much gives me my answer, thanks for the thorough response Dave. Last thing I want to do is cause any friction between climbers and Boulder County. Daylight ascents only.

Dave Hurst wrote: BCC (or was it the Access Fund?) worked extensively with BoCo to improve the situation up at Castle Rock for climber access and etc. It would be a shame if all that work was cast aside by climbers and others disregarding the minimal parking regs.

It was the BCC.

And yeah, don't do anything silly and it probably won't be a problem. The popo are not looking to bust a climber for climbing, but they are trying to cut down on the real problems that were occurring. We actually had a sherrif's officer come out in uniform and work with us that day. Not to police us - but to contribute. I spoke to him at some length and it was clear what their actual concerns were.

As for climbing at night there, I've done it. I was not worried about getting busted or making trouble for people. I wasn't camping or painting Grafitti, and nobody bothered us about it.

So, yeah, plenty of classics there go by night. Just take your headlamp and don't set up a situation that makes it look like you are causing trouble or need a rescue. Getting a ride to/from is probably a good idea. Parked cars beside the road might evoke fears of drowned fishermen, and that's resources and alarm... get a ride to/from.

Ivan, following a late ascent of Athlete's Feat: