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The Monastery Rock Climbing
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| Elevation: | 7,795 ft | 2,376 m |
| GPS: |
40.4531, -105.3689 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
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| Page Views: | 395,072 total · 1,686/month | |
| Shared By: | Richard M. Wright on Sep 22, 2005 | |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Access Issue: Access issue - Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc. - open since 2023
Details
Update: per Bruce Hildenbrand: the area has been open since 2023.
Per JF M: as of May 2022, there is no signage on-site, nor information on the USFS webpage for the Cameron Peak Fire (nor on their published map of closures) that indicates the area is closed.
Per Bruce Hildenbrand: it appears that the Forest Service has closed access to all the climbing areas accessed via Storm Mountain Road (Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc.) until they can clear all the dangerous dead trees from the Cameron Peak fire.
I worked this issue with Eric Murdock at the AF, and it looks like the Forest Service picked Devil's Gulch Road as the southern boundary even though all the climbing areas on MP.com were not burned.
Per JF M: as of May 2022, there is no signage on-site, nor information on the USFS webpage for the Cameron Peak Fire (nor on their published map of closures) that indicates the area is closed.
Per Bruce Hildenbrand: it appears that the Forest Service has closed access to all the climbing areas accessed via Storm Mountain Road (Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc.) until they can clear all the dangerous dead trees from the Cameron Peak fire.
I worked this issue with Eric Murdock at the AF, and it looks like the Forest Service picked Devil's Gulch Road as the southern boundary even though all the climbing areas on MP.com were not burned.
Access Issue: Area closure - now lifted. Previously: Storm Mt./Cedar Park road is reopened to all
Details
Per Kurtz: The Monastery is open again! fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO….
Per Julie Nelson: the forest is closed due to after fire concerns in this area until June 30, 2021. There is a sign at the trailhead about the closure. See the US Forest Service website for further updates.
Previously: per Bruce Hildenbrand: Storm Mountain Road is open to all.
Per Hank C: the Storm Mt./Cedar Park area is closed to locals-only traffic for the time being due to wildfire concerns. We were turned away by a park ranger this morning (9/12/2020).
Per Julie Nelson: the forest is closed due to after fire concerns in this area until June 30, 2021. There is a sign at the trailhead about the closure. See the US Forest Service website for further updates.
Previously: per Bruce Hildenbrand: Storm Mountain Road is open to all.
Per Hank C: the Storm Mt./Cedar Park area is closed to locals-only traffic for the time being due to wildfire concerns. We were turned away by a park ranger this morning (9/12/2020).
Description
Once the scene of some of the most bucolic climbing in the Front Range, The Monastery looks now more like the Tora Bora. The crags at The Monastery lie between the Galuchie and Bobcat Gulches just adjacent to the Hyatt Mine and therefore were the scene of terrific devastation by the Bobcat fire in June of 2000. The whole area comprised of Spruce Mountain, Cedar Park, and Bobcat Gulch burned in one of the worst fires of recent memory, consuming over 5,000 acres of pristine meadow and forest. However, the fires left most of the crags untouched, and restoration of the access trail is largely complete.
Climbing at The Monastery is on igneous granitic pegmatite and some schist and gneiss. It is steep and edgy or slabby and on great friction. Alligator skin is common on the steeper walls. Many of the dozen or so crags have excellent South faces that remain dry for a large part of the year; however, they are located at 8,000+ feet and can get cold on a cloudy day, or snowed in in mid-winter. As probably everyone in Colorado knows, most the routes were established by Mike and Tommy Caldwell, so you can expect some hard climbing. Don't be put off by the bulk of difficult routes; plenty of excellent bolt-protected 5.9s and 5.10s exist.
The routes here are documented in Bernard Gillett's Estes Park Valley guidebook.
Climbing at The Monastery is on igneous granitic pegmatite and some schist and gneiss. It is steep and edgy or slabby and on great friction. Alligator skin is common on the steeper walls. Many of the dozen or so crags have excellent South faces that remain dry for a large part of the year; however, they are located at 8,000+ feet and can get cold on a cloudy day, or snowed in in mid-winter. As probably everyone in Colorado knows, most the routes were established by Mike and Tommy Caldwell, so you can expect some hard climbing. Don't be put off by the bulk of difficult routes; plenty of excellent bolt-protected 5.9s and 5.10s exist.
The routes here are documented in Bernard Gillett's Estes Park Valley guidebook.
Organization of Area
Eds. addendum: This is a complex area for which a bit of organization could help, as evidenced by folks wandering through with guidebooks trying to figure out where specific climbs are located.
Joell's excellent aerial photo does help with the general layout. Gillett's fine guidebook to the area does choose single names for the crags & landmarks here. For the purpose of clarity, we'll use these names.
The general organization of the area could be split into 3 rows/areas of crags with 2 approx NE-SW corridors (The Vestibule (southern) & The Catacomb (northern) separating these. The southern edge of the crags here is called the Outer Gates. In addition there are narrow subcorridors, with routes inside, separating some of these southern-most crags, some of which have separate names. These subcorridors are: unnamed, unnamed, The Balcony, Hallowed Hall, & Inner Sanctum. For the purposes of organization, routes within this subcorridors will be organized in the The Vestibule section. Note, routes on a formation can be located in different subareas in this database depending upon which face they lie.
The southern-most row of crags are: (NE-SW) The Den, Not So Hairy Pin, The Guardian, perhaps Tower of Evolution?, The Abbey, The Chapel, Magical Mystery Tower, The Steeple, The Vestry, The Whine Cellar. Note, SE of these are the Basilica & Belfry. Also, The Den, Not So Hairy Pin, Basilica, & Belfry are lumped together as Bear's Lair.
Somewhere in here is the Tower of Evolution.
The middle row of these crags are: (NE-SW) unnamed, unnamed, The Boneyard, with the obvious free-standing plate/pillar The Altar, and unnamed.
The northern-most row/collection are: (southern-most) The Sepulcher, The Nursery, Lion's Den, Wedding Rock, & Barnacle Rock. This area has likely the most room for development.
Joell's excellent aerial photo does help with the general layout. Gillett's fine guidebook to the area does choose single names for the crags & landmarks here. For the purpose of clarity, we'll use these names.
The general organization of the area could be split into 3 rows/areas of crags with 2 approx NE-SW corridors (The Vestibule (southern) & The Catacomb (northern) separating these. The southern edge of the crags here is called the Outer Gates. In addition there are narrow subcorridors, with routes inside, separating some of these southern-most crags, some of which have separate names. These subcorridors are: unnamed, unnamed, The Balcony, Hallowed Hall, & Inner Sanctum. For the purposes of organization, routes within this subcorridors will be organized in the The Vestibule section. Note, routes on a formation can be located in different subareas in this database depending upon which face they lie.
The southern-most row of crags are: (NE-SW) The Den, Not So Hairy Pin, The Guardian, perhaps Tower of Evolution?, The Abbey, The Chapel, Magical Mystery Tower, The Steeple, The Vestry, The Whine Cellar. Note, SE of these are the Basilica & Belfry. Also, The Den, Not So Hairy Pin, Basilica, & Belfry are lumped together as Bear's Lair.
Somewhere in here is the Tower of Evolution.
The middle row of these crags are: (NE-SW) unnamed, unnamed, The Boneyard, with the obvious free-standing plate/pillar The Altar, and unnamed.
The northern-most row/collection are: (southern-most) The Sepulcher, The Nursery, Lion's Den, Wedding Rock, & Barnacle Rock. This area has likely the most room for development.
Getting There
Getting to The Monastery is easy to do but complicated to describe. Going up for the first time one might want to go with someone who has been here. That said, the directions can be followed. Take US 34 West, out of Loveland. After passing through the Big Thompson Canyon, you will come to the town of Drake, set the odometer. Take a right onto County Road 43 West of Drake several hundred feet. After 0.3 miles turn right onto Colo 128 (Storm Mountain Dr.), this will take you to Combat Rock after 1 mile. Continue on 128 to a T-intersection at 2.5 miles - go left. At the Y-intersection go left again and stay on 128 until the odometer reads about 5.1 miles. Pull into a camping area on the left and park. Walk about [150] yards up the road to the switchback and the trailhead on the left. Do not park at the switchback by the trailhead; this is posted as a No Parking area.
You will be near the Hyatt mine. The trail head runs left of the road and will take 45 minutes to one hour to hike, go left at the fork in the trail. The trail has a steep downhill section at the start and a steep uphill section afterward. Be prepared for the hike out; it's as difficult as the hike in, and takes just about as long.
The first major formation you come to is The Guardian.
You will be near the Hyatt mine. The trail head runs left of the road and will take 45 minutes to one hour to hike, go left at the fork in the trail. The trail has a steep downhill section at the start and a steep uphill section afterward. Be prepared for the hike out; it's as difficult as the hike in, and takes just about as long.
The first major formation you come to is The Guardian.
Classic Climbing Routes at The Monastery
Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
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Photos
![A topo draft. Feedback is welcome. This is draft #2. There northern crag identification is not definite. Thanks, [[Joel]]12939, for the photo!!!](https://mountainproject.com/assets/photos/climb/105856562_smallMed_1557864203.jpg?cache=1707800073)
All Photos Within The Monastery
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