Goat Rock is a South facing crag West of Empire and sits just off the road. Sixteen pitches have been established to date, comprising thirteen independent lines. Three are set up as two pitch routes. Goat Rock sits at 9000 feet but has a surprisingly long climbing season in spite of this. We were climbing here in December, for example. Since it is at relatively high elevation, the rock can be variable in quality. Some of it hideously chossy and some is downright bulletproof granite. For convenience in subsequent development, numbering begins on the right and moves leftward along the crag. Additional development on this rock is dubious but possible after extensive cleaning. Some of the adjacent rocks are being developed and will be posted as things evolve. New routes have gone in above the main base crag and these are on high quality granite.
Getting There
Goat Rock is exactly 3.2 miles outside of Empire on route 40 and on the right side of the road. The large pull-out will hold a dozen cars easily. There is a short trail through the talus leading to the base of the rock.
Lower Tier routes from right to left. Ratings are approximate; see consensus ratings for more detail. If you have any corrections, let me know, and I'll correct this list.
Olympic Free Style Goat Toss, 11a. Capra Diem P1 5.8, P2 11+. Empire of the Goats P1 10+, P2 12b/c. Ram, 10c. No Goats, No Glory, 12a. Clan of the Goatmen, 11c. Satyr, 11c. Goat Goes Up, Must Come Down, 10c. Supergoat, 11+. Sacrificial Goat, 12b/c. Bad, Bad Goat, 12a.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Goat Rock:
The Olympic Free Style Goat Toss (Rules specify only that both hands on must be in contact with the horns and both feet must be on the ground when the goat is launched. The set-up, pivots, and choice of throw are open, but no one tosses underhand these days) begins in a short, left facing, pegmatite dihedral just right of the two pitch dihedral route, Capra Diem. Chase a line of jugs through two roof systems to a fingery crux pulling over the second roof (5.11). We found that without using two o...[more]Browse More Classics in CO
What's the very steep route left of Goats on the Fringe that goes up the overhanging arete and has a red tag on the first hanger? Has it been red pointed? Or is it still a project?
A lot of hard work went into prepping this crag (both in trail building and route equipping). This is unfortunate because the rock is some of the worst I have ever seen. We backed off a couple of routes (the best looking two) because of very dangerous and loose features.
It would be helpful to name the routes in the beta photos. I can't seem to correlate #s in the photos to route descriptions. Thanks for putting up some nice lines.
Hey people. Went to Empire today. Good times were had. I have an idea though...why doesn't anyone refer to the numbers listed in the beta pics? The numbers are there...why can't we use them? It just seems logical to me. This happens quite frequently on this site, and although trying to decipher the spray is fun for some, there are people who like myself would rather spend their time pulling down instead of hiking the crag 3 or 4 times before finding a climb. I would also be happy to share photos of the crag with anyone who would like to use them for beta purposes. Take Care, S.
We got a little confused last night trying to determine which formation was Goat Rock. I guess looking closer at how close the power lines are to the formation in the photo makes it kind of obvious now. Just in case anyone else gets confused like we did, do not park at the 1st big pullout. Travel just a hair up the road to the next smaller pullout on the left. You can park directly under Goat Rock (on the right) if need be. We ended up going all the way up to Ra by mistake. It was raining and our first time out to Empire so I'm glad we got lost. Ra looks amazing. Kudos to all the effort put into this area. Has anyone climbed on the tall formation between Ra and Goat Rock? Looks like there could be some fun trad lines over there.
As to teh last comment... That tall formation between Ra and Goat is the Halidome. Richard Wright and Mark Turrant have put a number of routes in on it.
Lower Tier routes from right to left. Ratings are approximate; see consensus ratings for more detail. If you have any corrections, let me know, and I'll correct this list.
Olympic Free Style Goat Toss 11a Capra Diem P1 5.8, P2 11+ Empire of the Goats P1 10+, P2 12b/c Ram 10c No Goats, No Glory 12a Clan of the Goatmen 11c Satyr 11c Goat Goes Up, Must Come Down 10c Supergoat 11+ Sacrificial Goat 12b/c Bad, Bad Goat 12a
Warning - the rock quality here is predominantly choss, decomposed rubble, and dirt. One of the routes on the right side even features a 1 foot square block "glued" in at the crux. Ra is a much better alternative. The day we were there another party showed up and after only one route left the area and headed home even though it was a nice day.
Cantclimb's post, slightly overstated, there is some bad rock, sure, don't be deterred by these statements, there are some fun climbs and good quality rock here. Wear a helmet, and climb to your ability, there is no drama. If you want perfect, no hazard climbing, stay indoors. I caught a falling piece of rock on "Wall of the Nineties, belaying Ten Digit Dialing, do I stop climbing there? No. A few chips come off from time to time, but it's obvious where the rock is suspect, use your judgment, like all safe climbers.
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