The majority of these boulders are located within the Mt Evans Wilderness Area, which is regulated & patrolled by the US Forest Service. Climber MORE INFO >>>
The majority of these boulders are located within the Mt Evans Wilderness Area, which is regulated & patrolled by the US Forest Service. Climbers should be on their best behavior, practice Leave No Trace, and please abide by these requirements:
- Approach Areas A, B, & C via the Chicago Lakes trail (from Echo Lake).
- Wilderness Permits are required for all visitors to any federal Wilderness Area. Permits are free and self-issued. A kiosk is located at the point where the Chicago Lakes Trail departs from the reservoir, at the entrance to the Wilderness Area.
- Group size: travel in federal Wilderness Areas is limited to groups of 15 people or less. If you find yourself in an area, say around the Dali Boulder, where there are more than 15 people, please disperse. There are plenty of excellent boulders elsewhere.
- Minimize creation of social trails. None of the trails surrounding the bouldering area are officially maintained by the USFS. Ample access trails currently exist, please stay on the existing trails, and do not create any more trails.
- Do not destroy vegetation. This is a fragile alpine environment, with a short growing season. It can take vegetation decades to recover from damage. Place crash pads judiciously, and keep brushing to a minimum. Before adding new lines, considered the damage that may be caused by additional foot traffic, pad placement, etc.
- Chalk is un-sightly to non-climbers. Please avoid chalking up boulder problems that are visible from the Chicago Lakes Trail, and in general, keep chalk use to a minimum. Brush all tick marks off after every sesssion. Use containers that prevent chalk spills. If you do spill your chalk, clean it up.
- Stashing crash pads is expressly forbidden by the USFS. Any pads found by USFS personnel will be confiscated.
- Noise: This is a wilderness area (did I mention that?) that is enjoyed by many, mostly non-climbers. The last thing passing hikers want to hear are your self-indulgent f-bombs, I-Pod speakers, grunting, etc. In fact, most other CLIMBERS don't want to hear any of these things either. The easiest way for us to loose access is to elicit complaints from other user groups.
- Dogs must be leashed at all times. Consider others when deciding whether or not to bring your dog, specfically considering that dogs like to scare away wildlife, and most other users would prefer not to have the wildlife scared away. Obviously, clean up after your dog.
Remember that we are guests in this area. Be respectful of other users and the USFS Rangers that manage this area.
This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.
The classic highball "Timeline" V0(++) in the arbi...
Description
This is the first area encountered along the trail, and arbitrarily includes all of the boulders around the Bierstadt Block (including the Willows & Dark Crystal boulders), The Ladder Boulder, Random Progression, the Pink Fink boulder & Peasants into Leaders Boulder.
This is a great are to get started, offering numerous fun warmups like The Ladder, Thing Across From Bierstadt, Crossfire, Dark Crystal, etc. There are also a number of terrifying highballs, mostly on the easy end of the scale, though the classic Peasants into Leaders is sure to inspire fear in the hardiest boulderer. Finally there are a number of testpieces in this area as well, most notably the sequential & insecure Bierstadt, reprotedly V10.
Getting There
Follow the directions for Area A. About 3 minutes after departing the Chicago Lakes Trail, you should run straight into the Bierstadt Block. There are problems in all directions from the Bierstadt Block.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Bierstadt Area:
The Ladder, aka Indian Ladder, is an excellent warmup in the Bierstadt Area. This southeast-facing problem is extremely popular, featuring big moves on huge holds. The problem is a bit harder than it looks, but once you figure out which part of each hold to grab, this line will feel much easier. Begin with a sit start in the bottom of the pit, with hands matched on the big sloper. Pop up to the first rail, and so on towards the top. The holds get much more positive after the long reach at ...[more]Browse More Classics in CO
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