The Arsenal  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  27,478. Good page?    Administrators:  Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Pinklebear on Nov 12, 2001 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event  Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 91° | 52° 90° | 50° 90° | 45° 90° | 46° 90° | 41°

Rifle's most popular venue for hauling jugs on a t...

Description 

The Arsenal is a thug's paradise, and with its park-at-the-base of-the-routes approach represents the finest in convenience sport climbing. While seemingly a total pile upon first glance, this enormous cave is actually very solid -- riddled with cracks, pockets and large blocky pinches that make the super-overhanging routes viable in the 5.12-5.13+ grade range. Many of the routes have succumbed to kneebar technology yet all are long and pumpy (The Colinator, the cave's longest and hardest line, has around 18 bolts of 30-35 degree overhanging climbing).

This is a good evening area, though in the summer the air can be a bit still and buggy at this end of the canyon, turning jugs into slopers and kneebars into torture. Nevertheless, this is one of the best "work-out" crags around -- the holds are big, kind, and the in-situ chain link draws make for a totally low-hassle experience.

Must-do's include: The Pollinator (12a), Debaser (12d), Pump-O-Rama (12d/13a), Sprayathon (13b/c), Slagissimo (12c/d) and Pretty Hate Machine (12c).

Getting There 

Drive into Rifle Canyon. The Arsenal is about a mile up from the mouth of the Canyon on the left. You can't miss it. It's the huge cave on the left side of the road with the long-ass chain-link draws hanging from half the routes. Park either in the cave or back down the road at a designated pull-out next to the river (on the right going up canyon).

The Classics

Featured Route For The Arsenal

Sprayathon 5.13c  CO : Rifle Mountain Park : The Arsenal

This is far and away the best route in the Arsenal and one of the best sport climbs anywhere. Overhanging 45 feet in 80 with multiple cruxes but no holds smaller than half a pad, this stunning line defines endurance climbing. While some have climbed this route with a kneescum below the crux and down-rated it to 13b, I'd say it's an honest 13c without the scum. This route is in the left-center of the Arsenal and starts on the far right side of the long, dirty ledge which runs all the way to [[Pr...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO