All Locations > Colorado > Gunnison > Hartman Rocks

The Bonsai Zone Bouldering

Climbing Area Map

Routes in The Bonsai Zone

L › R R › L A › Z

	Aerial Roots V2 5+
	Commitment V4 6B
	Eggcellent V3- 6A
	Eggman V1+ 5
	Green Beard V3 6A
	UFO V0+ 4+
	Walking On Eggshells V6 7A
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Elevation:	8,468 ft	2,581 m
GPS:	38.45582, -106.95412 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	383 total · 13/month
Shared By:	J rat on Aug 13, 2023
Admins:	Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

The Bonsai Zone is a hidden bouldering area perched on top of a small mountain of rock. The feature is know by many names, Rabbit Rock in the Maloy guidebook, The BLM calls it the Boobie, etc. It is characterized by solid, featured stone with incut edges, splitter cracks, and generally less "crumblies" than front side Hartman's Boulders.

The area is interspersed with many ancient juniper trees of astounding grace and a few nesting bird sites. Please be careful to move around the trees, and respect the area's flora and fauna at all costs.

There are many moderate bouldering routes possible and a few choice lines in the upper grades. It is likely that many of these routes have seen previous ascents. If you know the first ascensionists and dates of their ascents, please make a comment under the route in question, and I will make a prompt change.

There are a few bolted lines of unknown origin.

The Egg Boulder is separated from the main Bonsai Zone area by about 200m. The boulder is located about 100m north (right side as you drive up) of the road which accesses the campsites and parking for the Bonsai Zone. You can see it most easily from the last campsite at the end of the road. It is a very round boulder with flat ground at the base and looks like an egg on a countertop. You will have to do some light bushwhacking to access as there is no trail.

Getting There

From the base area, drive 20 minutes.

Head up Kill Hill, and take the second left after cresting the pass.

Drive up "main street" (BLM 3525) past the popular roped climbing areas such as Tiger Wall until its terminus around the start of the Rattlesnake mountain bike trail.

Turn right heading up a small hill, then continue along this road (BLM 3570) until it intersects with the power line road (BLM 3550), make another right crossing a cattleguard, and continue a short distance to meet a 4-way junction.

Turn left at this junction, then continue up this road (BLM 3580) passing the Bambi's Trail terminus. Locate the small mountain of rock to the looker's right as you drive up this road.

Once near this outcropping, turn right on side road (BLM 3580a), which provides access to two campsites offering low impact parking access for this climbing area.

Approach: hike 5 minutes.

You will need to scramble up some low angle terrain to access the main density of bouldering routes generally on summit/upper steps of the outcropping. Look for the Juice Box and UFO boulders.

If coming from the first campsite, head right along the side of the outcropping until you find a small drainage on the left allowing easy access to the center of the mountain.

Be careful to move left around the ancient trees at the second step of this drainage.

Many moderate routes exist on short (<20 feet tall), but wide cliffs on the summit of the outcropping providing great warm-ups and traverses. The harder routes are generally more distinct.