Wigwam Creek/Lost Creek Wilderness

Does anyone know if this area burned in the Hayman fire????

I assume this is all burned up thanks to our firiends at the National Forest Services. Good job with the background checks guys!!!!

If don't be a jerk is the only guideline, why did you allow a comment like, "I assume this is all burned up thanks to our firiends at the National Forest Services. Good job with the background checks guys!!!!". A lot of good people worked hard on this fire to keep it down to the size it was. Maybe it was a FS employee who started it, but that doesn't make everyone in the Forest Service incompetents and criminals. Furthermore, I doubt any background check would have made any difference. As it stands, the Hayman Fire burned only about 6,000 acres in Lost Creek, none of it in the established climbing areas and little in areas with any climbing potential. The hotshot crews who were in there deserve some thanks for the days of hard work they did with minimal impact on the Wilderness.

I have been back there a bunch. A good trailhead to use is the FS Lost Park camp ground. This is found by heading south out of Denver on 285. Turn left on Lost Park RD just south of Kanosha Pass. If you're into adventure climbing, this is a sick place. Unlimited opportunities. There is a tower back there with an offwidth splitter that you can't take your eyes off. I believe it has been climbed, I'm not sure by who, but at 5.12. It really is an amazing place. I hope not too much of it was destroyed.

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL area to climb in. Hard stuff as well as the easier beautiful McCurdy Park Tower are all still intact after the fire. It got close, but I've been up there and its still gorgeous, except the storms almost every day, do NOT plan on climbing after 1:00!!! I could set my watch on my six day trip.

For climbing, you're pretty much on your own, very difficult to find beta.McCurdy Park Tower (on the right as you walk into McCurdy Park labeled on maps) is an excellent place to take begineers on 3 pitch trad. It is very forgiving, HEAPS of places to put pro and on most routes if you feel nervous about a spot, take two steps to the side and you'll be on 5.easy, and you'll never have to worry about it being to crowded. (I had to repell to escape a storm, came back a year later and found the same gear (couple stoppers and runners) sitting right where I left 'em :) )

The latest issue of Climbing magazine (No 218, Feb 1 2003) has some useful information regarding the present state of this area and the effects of the Hayman fire. It looks like some of this area could possibly re-open as soon as the January 15 2003!! As for the Wigwam Creek area, according to the article, unfortunately things don't sound good.

I was back up in the Wigwam Creek area today and I am happy to report that the majority of this valley was spared from the Hayman fire. Wigwam Dome was untouched and I think it is safe to say the same for Wigwam Tower. However, Rock Island, Bush League Buttress and Bear Tooth Rock did not fair as well. The hillsides surrounding these were torched.

Sorry for adding to the Hayman Hysteria. I don't know if we should thanks fire fighting crews or Mother Nature for leaving this area largely uneffected, but I for one am over joyed to still have these gems as a viable and beautiful climbing destination.

Does anybody out there have any info on Tarryall Tower? I've heard that there are some decent cracks up there.

AC - Not sure about the Tower per se, however, several years ago we put up a two pitch sport route on Eagle Rock, and this had great stone on it. Overall, the climbing at Eagle seemed limited due to the blocky nature of a lot of the stone. Nonetheless, one could find numerous moderate trad lines here. South from Tarryall reservoir, along road 77, one encounters a huge amount of largely untouched stone with much of this being quite large. I would imagine that most of this stone is typical South Platte. In my searches through old magazines and guides, I've not found much that has been recorded from here. Perhaps some of the really old farts might know of unrecorded climbs in this sector. Regardless, the potential is huge and the rock likely excellent. All it needs is the adventurous with a tolerance for hiking.

yeah, just remember that power drills are not allowed in Wilderness areas...

For sure, and too bad at that. Eagle Rock is well outside of the Wilderness boundary. However, a hike into the Wilderness from the North, revealed loads of rock up there as well. Hmmm.... oh well.

Rest assured my friends Lost Creek did not burn. We did a 23 mile loop on the south end and were blown away by the massive domes. Still searching for beta of the area but can't find anything. I am assuming its untouched by climbers but someone has to have scaled the incredible granite.

Dear Mr. "I could not help but ponder why you would assume that no one has climbed on any of the domes and spires in the Lost Creek Wilderness. I can't fathom how, in the year 2004, that no rock climber had ever set foot on any of the spectacular trails that traverse this "urban" wilderness area, located less than 50 miles from the largest city in Colorado. Could this, in fact, be the reason so many old Platte routes seem to be getting retro-bolted nowadays? "Surely, I must be the first to have ever ventured here!" Not likely, given the proclivity of those who have gone before us (surely you have heard of a guy named Layton, or hey, what about those Briggs brothers, not to mention Webster, Trout, Prandoni, Bell, Williams, Shoephlin and about a zillion other very resourceful and prolific climbers who didn't bother to hype their every accomplishment). Suffice to say that, yes, there has been quite a bit of climbing done in the Lost Creek Wilderness; some documented, but most of it not. Indeed, I know of a few climbers (old geezers really) who are still quite active in the area. I would suggest that the next time you take a walk in Lost Creek, you might bring a good pair of binoculars. You may, in the coarse of observing the many eagles and other raptors that nest in the area, discover an old sling or other relic on a route or two that you never knew existed. Rest assured, it probably consists of scary run-outs, drilled on the lead, with __ bolts, and - God forbid - dreaded Leeper hangers; on 5.10 (or harder) feldspar knobs and crystals, which have a nasty habit of snapping off at the most in-opportune moments. Indeed, the one bit of beta I can offer is that several parties have tied off knobs with 1/2" webbing in order to get pro. The really great thing about climbing in Lost Creek is that there is no info...it really is adventure climbing at it's truest form. You will need to rely on your wits, common sense, and experience in order to climb there. To be sure, there are still many FA's waiting to be done, but you will need to do a little reconnoitering first, and if it is a good looking crack, you should probably assume that it has already been done. And please don't forget to leave your battery and gas powered drills at home - they are illegal in federally designated wilderness.

Unabashedly not anonymous,Pete Gallagher - Manitou Springs, CO

I climb in the Tarryalls and Lost Creek areas a lot, and Pete is certainly right. There is an amazing amount of quality stone and a handful of geezers, old farts and even a few young farts occasionally cranking up them.

The area is wild, long approaches are typical, information is scant, fixed pro is rare.... and thats exactly what makes the place so special. Past climbers have made a special effort, I believe, to maintain the wild character of the Tarryalls and Lost Creek Wilderness.

It is truly one of the last great places in Colorado for wilderness-style climbing. Sure the route you climb may have already been done, but chances are there will be no sign of a previous ascent. With any luck, it will be this way indefinitely. It's just you, your partner, and the rock (Good rock, too!)

If this type of climbing appeals to you, and if you don't mind long hikes and self-reliance, then you will enjoy climbing here and you should come check it out. While you're here, you may come across some other wierdo scoping routes up one of the unnamed domes or spires ...but not likely.

Mark BeardsleyFairplay

If you are headed back too keystone buttress or wigwam tower you might as well not even look at the topo or read the directions in Hubbel's book. To clarify, it is 6-8 miles to the base of these rocks and you take a left across the creek instead of a right as the topo shows. But from the point where the trail splits you can easily see these magnificent towers. I would love to spend a week back there exploring so it's definitely worth the hike if you got the time. This is probably some of the most magnificent and remote climbing the splatte has to offer!

The Hayman Fire did burn alittle of the Lost Creek area but the majority of the damage was done by the Topaz and Buffalo Creek fires that started off the year of the Hi Meadow Fire, and if anyone was curious the Tarryall Range has seen a signifigant amount of unpublished climbing, there are a few locals up there putting up lines and a ton of boulder problems.

I do know a little about the TARRYALL TOWER. This is the tower found about three miles down the trial from the Lost Park Campground.

My neighbor, Bob Witters, led the first ascent, about 1961. The route takes a crack from near the "saddle" side. He said it was really run out crack climbing because bongs were not availiable yet, nevermind hexes or friends.

The splitter offwidth, that faces directly down valley, has been attributed to Jim Dunn (First solo ascent of a new route on El Cap; Cosmosis). But since it is a secret crag of sorts, I neither contacted anyone to find out for sure if it has been done nor put it in my book. It certainly looks like one of the best off-width routes in Colorado.

The other steep multi-pitch cracks, left or west of the offwidth, were climbed by Kirk Miller, Strappo Hughes, and some others who I'm not real sure about. Noel Childs was probably ivolved in a major way (hard or run out leads etc).

Twice I've hiked in to gawk at the Tarryall Tower's potential. When the aspen are turning, this place is outstanding.