Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
The Pope's Nose Rock Climbing
Routes in The Pope's Nose
|
Thunder Road T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a A3 |
|
|
Central Buttress T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b A0+ |
|
Chalice Wall T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a A2 |
|
|
Contraceptive Cracks T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b A3- |
|
|
Arkansas Route T 5.12 7b+ 27 VIII+ 26 E6 6b C2 |
|
|
Lulu The Magical Mule S 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b |
|
|
Brain Damage T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
Order Wrong?
Sort Routes
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.
| Elevation: | 10,649 ft | 3,246 m |
| GPS: |
37.57016, -107.40019 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
|
| Page Views: | 25,991 total · 149/month | |
| Shared By: | Ken Trout on Jan 16, 2011 · Updates | |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Colorado's Largest Granite Dome
The Pope's Nose is a bit bigger than either Sundance Buttress on Lumpy Ridge or Big Rock Candy Mountain in the South Platte. Unlike most of the San Juan Mountains, the rock is good.
Convincing anyone that the Pope's Nose is worth thirteen miles of hiking may be cruxy. My aim is to help convince your skeptical friends.
The Yosemite-like smoothness and difficulty of the Pope's Nose tends to surprise the few climbers who visit. It is still a place to bring aiders and maybe even a ledge with a rain-fly.
ROUTE SUMMARY IMAGES
APPROACH
From the Los Pinos River Trailhead, hike twelve miles up one of the longest, flattest, mountain-wilderness valleys in Colorado. A mile before Flint Creek the trail starts climbing. Soon after the left turn up Flint Creek the Pope's Nose can finally be seen (photo above). Less than two miles up the Flint Creek trail there is a nice campsite below the Pope's Nose. Finally, a steep aspen forest must be climbed and slippery slabs dodged on the way up to the base of the wall.
APPROACH MAP
DESCENT
First scramble off the summit. Then descend Fern Gully to the slippery aspen forest (climber's right of summit). One party reported finding a rappel anchor that they could not safely get too (near the bottom). There is some consensus that this descent is awful!
It might be longer, but descending the west side, climber's left, seems worth a try.
ANIMAL ALERTS
Moose and bears inhabit this wilderness. One textbook notes that the Wemminuche Wilderness is the southernmost pocket of grizzly bear habitat.
Convincing anyone that the Pope's Nose is worth thirteen miles of hiking may be cruxy. My aim is to help convince your skeptical friends.
The Yosemite-like smoothness and difficulty of the Pope's Nose tends to surprise the few climbers who visit. It is still a place to bring aiders and maybe even a ledge with a rain-fly.
ROUTE SUMMARY IMAGES
APPROACH
From the Los Pinos River Trailhead, hike twelve miles up one of the longest, flattest, mountain-wilderness valleys in Colorado. A mile before Flint Creek the trail starts climbing. Soon after the left turn up Flint Creek the Pope's Nose can finally be seen (photo above). Less than two miles up the Flint Creek trail there is a nice campsite below the Pope's Nose. Finally, a steep aspen forest must be climbed and slippery slabs dodged on the way up to the base of the wall.
APPROACH MAP
DESCENT
First scramble off the summit. Then descend Fern Gully to the slippery aspen forest (climber's right of summit). One party reported finding a rappel anchor that they could not safely get too (near the bottom). There is some consensus that this descent is awful!
It might be longer, but descending the west side, climber's left, seems worth a try.
ANIMAL ALERTS
Moose and bears inhabit this wilderness. One textbook notes that the Wemminuche Wilderness is the southernmost pocket of grizzly bear habitat.
Classic Climbing Routes at The Pope's Nose
Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
Sun Angles Details:
Weather Averages
|
High
|
Low
|
|
Precip
|
Days w Precip
|
Prime Climbing Season
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
Photos
All Photos Within The Pope's Nose
Most Popular · Newest · RandomMore About The Pope's Nose
Printer-FriendlyWhat's New
Guidebooks (10)
4 Comments