Three Sisters Guide?

I've been to Three Sisters a couple times and really like the park and rock. I tried using the MP database and found a few cool areas, but aside from printing out descriptions for the entire area, I found that doing what I did maybe wasn't the most useful option. (I should say though, that the MP database for this area and others is a phenomenal resource, and I think everyone who compiled the three sisters info has done a fantastic job.)

So I'm wondering if any guide or mini-guide to this area exists. Colorado Bouldering 2 is apparently sold out, and someone ripped the three sisters section out of the gym copy (and whoever did that sucks donkey balls.) I'm not even sure how helpful that would be anyway.

Is there any other sort of compilation for this area?

Thanks!

I just flipped through my copy of Colorado Bouldering 2 and there are only 5 pages on Three Sisters. It seems pretty minimal.

The areas they cover include Brothers Boulders (Left and Right block) The Blockhead, Energy Crag, and The Eggs (Trailside, West Crack, In Between, White, and Upper)

If you want 'em let me know and I can scan and email them to you pretty easily

Doug

Second what DFrench said (re: CO Bouldering 2). If you're serious, PM Luke Childers or Jables. They would probably be happy to give you a tour.

Its easy to get lost there, but if you're patient you will find what you're looking for eventually.

I've found Luke's beta to be really good, once you find the proper boulders, which can be challenging.

Yeah Colorado Bouldering 2 and Bob Horan's Bouldering Colorado only have a few of the easier to find areas within their books but overall not as useful as the website.

The main areas covered in their books are:
The Eggs: mountainproject.com/v/color…

Energy Crag: mountainproject.com/v/color…

For Three Sisters when I began checking out new areas I just checked in detail for a certain location and then wandered around trying to figure out everything. For the most part everything on the West end of the park is really easy to find and some of the stuff on the East end is hidden in the woods and well off of the trails.

I printed out a few things but mostly I would go through and print out a few of the boulder topos with the general directions and was able to find stuff really easily.

Here are my recommendations if you haven't already checked out these areas:

West end: Gilligan's Island, Pirates Cove, and Tortuga are all in the same general location with Gilligan's having an approach <5min from the car. It is easy to find all of the boulders due to the relatively flat landscape and close proximity of the areas. There are some great classics in the area.

East End: The Eggs are the easiest to find and offer a lot. Most of the problems are pretty easy to identify without having a book. Sisters/Fawn Area is also really easy to find and it is worth printing off a few of the boulder topos that Luke has created.

The other areas in the East side of the park are off the trail quite a bit and require much more bush-whacking. Virtually none of these are in a guide-book today (except Energy Crag) so your only option is Mountain Project.

Lastly, I generally get lost following guidebook directions to any place, however Three Sisters terrain is much easier to explore on foot than most other areas. You can virtually cover every listed climbing area on foot in a day if you wanted to just have a day to explore.

Hopefully that helps. Also you may want to list the areas you have visited and what you are looking for.

Awesome, thanks guys. Basically, the times I've been there have essentially been hiking/exploring with a crashpad on my back (shoulda left it in the car haha). But it's a great setting and if I have to keep exploring, I can certainly live with that. I think once I find the actual boulders, I can use the (excellent)beta photos and descriptions on here to piece everything together.

Ironically, I managed to stumble upon all of the boulders I was looking for in Castlewood Canyon - I have no idea how I found all of them - but had more trouble finding the ones in Three sisters. Pure dumb luck in Castlewood I guess.

Edit: thanks Andy, here are the areas I've been:

- Gilligans, although I only remember seeing the stuff near ground level (couldn't find anything on the upper tiers)

- Pirates Cove. Also a couple smaller boulders just east and west of pirates cove.

- Tortuga (I think). Is this the large rock formation similar to the gilligan's formation? My girlfriend and I scrambled up it, but couldn't find any problems on or around it, except for a smaller boulder near the south west corner of the large rock formation. It had a few chalked up holds but didn't seem like it got a lot of traffic.

- Sisters/Fawn boulders. I remember the elephant one and the arch boulder right next to it. I couldn't find anything else off the trail, but now am pretty sure I was looking too far north, i.e., towards the sisters.

I am pretty sure I am going to aim for the eggs next time, thanks for the suggestion. Looks pretty easy to find and with a lot to offer.

Ben Cassedy wrote:I managed to stumble upon all of the boulders I was looking for in Castlewood Canyon - I have no idea how I found all of them - but had more trouble finding the ones in Three sisters. Pure dumb luck in Castlewood I guess.

Wow that is dumb luck. It took me forever to find certain boulders in castlewood but virtually no time at Three Sisters.

Anyways the Eggs are a great way to check out some of the really established problems and worth checking out. You cannot miss them on the hike in.

Sisters/Fawn area is easy to find, but the Work and Play area is the area you should visit as well. It is a great spot for beginners w/some moderate grades as well such as the really cool "Guiding Light" problem. When hiking up the trail as you start the switchbacks you should be able to see some of the with the rest hidden in the trees. Worth the visit for sure.

Tortuga is kind of spread out and sounds like you were in the right area, but the Black Pearl boulder is the key boulder which is just downhill and West of the formation you are talking about.

Did you use this map?

It seems like this should get you pretty close to mast areas, though I don't know how well signed the trails are but you could always count trail junctions.

Thanks again for all the replies - can you guys give me any more beta for finding energy crag? I scrambled up the ravine just south (like 20 yards) from the Pachyderm and arch boulders. (I actually ended up scrambling down right next to those boulders.) I think I was in the right area, even found one boulder with chalk on it, but nothing resembling energy crag. Which direction does it face and how far is it up the hill? I think I hiked 90% up to the ridgeline.

We made it up to the eggs last week and found everything. The dihedral problem on trailside egg rocks!