From mid-May through October, the hillside below the left side of Boulder Slips is covered in poison ivy. It is difficult to avoid no matter how you approach the climbs. Better to climb somewhere else during this time. Routes on the center and right side of Boulder Slips are not affected.
From November to early May, the poison ivy is dormant, but watch out for the plants with little light-green berries -- these are poison ivy bushes. Avoid them and you should be OK to climb on the left side of Boulder Slips at those times.
This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.
Boulder Slips is an obscure crag just west of the trail to Boulder Falls. It is right next to the road and has very easy access, but, until recently, I've never seen anyone climbing here. The first route on the crag was Boulder Slips, climbed by Pat Ament and Larry Dalke in 1964.
There are seven routes documented in Rossiter's Boulder Canyon guidebook, mostly old trad routes established in the 80s. None of these was popular, due to sections of poor pro and lack of anchors.
In the fall of 2006, 10 new moderate sport and mixed routes were established, all with good protection and bolt anchors. In the summer of 2007, four more sport and mixed routes were added by Bob D'Antonio and Greg Hand. Boulder Slips is now a worthwhile destination for a fun day of climbing.
L->R:
On the left side of the crag:
A1. Edges and Ledges, 8, 1p, 80', bolts. Steep face. A2. Brand New Bosch, 9, 1p, 85', bolts. Corner to overlap. A3. Party Time!, 9, 1p, 100', bolts & gear. Corner, arete, finger crack, hand/fist crack. A4. Minutia, 8, 1p, 100', gear. Hand crack. A5. Minutia Arete, 9+, 1p, 100', TR. A6. Pumpkin Corner, 9, 1p, 80', gear. B. La Lune, 13a, 1p, 45', bolts & gear. Overhanging thin crack. C. Sunlight Arete, 10, 1p, 50', bolts. D. Useless One, 10, 1p, gear.
In the center of the crag:
E. Colorado Senior Open, 10-, 1p, 60', bolts & gear. F. Family Guy, 11-, 1p, 70', bolts. G. Same As It Ever Was, 11a/b, 1p, 70', bolts & gear. H. Giggity Giggity, 10, 1p, 85', bolts & gear. I. Quagmire, 9+ R, 1p, gear. J. The Throttle, 11 R, 1p, 95', gear or TR.
On the right side of the crag:
K1. The Threshold, 11a, 1p, 100', gear. K2. Threshold Variation, 9+ R, 1p, 85', gear or TR. L1. My Way, 10-, 1p, 80', bolts & gear. Arete, cracks, face. L2. Boulder Slips, 9 R, 1p, 80', gear or TR. Corner, roof, slab. M. Where's Bob?, 10-, 1p, 50', bolts & gear. Face to overhang. N. The Ride, 10a, 1p, 70', bolts & gear. Face and cracks.
On the left side of the crag, at the top of a path, are seven routes: Edges and Ledges, a fun 5.8 sport route up a steep face; Brand New Bosch, a 5.9 sport route up a corner; Party Time!, a 5.9 corner, arete, and cracks; Minutia, a fabulous 5.8 hand crack; Minutia Arete, an arete that can be top-roped. Pumpkin Corner is the big corner right of Minutia Arete, and Sunlight Arete, is a striking arete on the upper tier.
Older routes in this area include La Lune, an overhanging 12d/13a sport route on a striped wall, and Useless One, which climbs thin cracks in a vertical wall about 60' right of La Lune.
Quagmire and The Throttle climb up the poorly-protected face in the center of the crag.
There are six routes on the right side of the crag: The Threshold climbs discontinuous cracks just left of My Way. Threshold Variation avoids the hard 5.11 section of The Threshold. My Way climbs a striking arete. Boulder Slips climbs the big right-facing corner just right of My Way. Where's Bob? climbs the face and overhang 25' right of Boulder Slips. The Ride climbs face and cracks 30' right of Where's Bob?.
Getting There
Go to Boulder Falls 7.5 miles up Boulder Canyon. There is a gravel pullout on the right just past the trail to the falls. Park just beyond the RTD bus stop which is at the beginning of the pullout, or a little farther up the road.
The routes on the left side of the crag are accessed by a path heading up the hill. Follow the path up about 100' above the road to the base of a broken slab (5 minutes). This path is mostly steep loose dirt and is littered with loose rocks -- be careful. In poison-ivy season (May through October), it is covered with the stuff.
The routes on the right side side of the crag are accessed by walking up to a wooded shoulder just above the road (about a minute).
My Way climbs the arete left of the Boulder Slips route. Nice face and crack climbing in an airy position.Start in the huge right-facing corner of Boulder Slips. After 15', move left to left-slanting slot. Clip a bolt and face climb past the slot to the top of a pillar. (You can also grovel up the slot, face up or face down, if you like that sort of thing). From the top of the pillar, move up and right on face holds to a stance just right of the arete. Place a 3/4" cam (green Camalot) in a c...[more]Browse More Classics in CO
Almost hesitant to promote this crag right now as I want it to myself for a while! Easy approach, a sunny south-facing disposition and some quite good (to very good) moderate climbing will make this place a popular destination. Edges and Ledges is certainly one of the best 5.8 sport climbs around and Minutia makes a great 5.8 trad lead. The climbs are close together, making it great for a "social" venue of climbing. I am told that the anchors for most of the routes on the left side can be reached after leading Edges and Ledges if one wishes to set up top ropes that way. One caveat is to be a bit aware of some loose rock potential as this area has not been climbed much yet. Wear your helmet!
I agree with Gary! I almost want to keep this one secret! When Practice Rock is full, and you can't get a lane at the Bowling Alley...head over to Boulder Slips! Some great bolted routes and I bet you could find many new trad lines. Nice! Great on the Sunday with the perfect weather and long lines... No one here.
Thanks for the update, Jason. Just to be certain, how do you know that OSMP owns these crags? Can you post a link to any public records that would establish this? As you know the ownership of land in the Boulder Falls area is often difficult to determine, so it would be good to double check this information.
Chris, I don't have an actual link but I do have a map given to me by the city with all the boundaries, including the county, city, USFS, and private that was taken from the county assessor. I'll try and post the pic tonight. As you know from the emails you've been getting from the Flatirons Climbing Council (FCC), we've been working really hard with the city to work out trail access. The problem has never really been who owns what land (common misconception), but more like which user groups can access what public land from where. The trail to Plotinus starts on city, goes onto county, then back onto city, and then finishes with USFS. The city has concerns about hikers being behind the falls for safety reasons.
While we're on it, it should be noted that the Boulder Falls East and West as noted in Rossiter's book is also not open to bolting.
Phil, the route left of The Throttle (and next to the old trad route Quagmire) is called Giggity! Giggity!. FA by Bob D'Antonio and Greg Hand. It will be documented in Bob D'Antonio's new Boulder Canyon guidebook, due out this summer.
FYI, Quagmire is a character on the animated TV show Family Guy -- one of his favorite sayings is "Giggity! Giggity!". Greg is responsible for the route name!
This should always be obvious, but a warning anyway: be careful when pulling your rope from Party Time and/or Minutia. It can easily get stuck on a rock outcrop where the real climbing begins, requiring an exposed-but-easy solo-scramble (then a down scramble) to retrieve it.
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