Per Castlewood Canyon: there is a new closure for nesting raptors this year: Five and Dime will be closed March 1st through July 31st. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me, Rachel Chaffee (Park Ranger) at dnr_castlewood.canyon@state.co.us or by phone at 303-688-5242. Per
Garrett Garner-Wells:
the current raptor closures, announced by CPW and reported on Denver7:
The following climbing route closures are currently in place:
- Morning Sun Wall is closed March 1-July 31.
- Porky’s Wall is closed March 1 - July 31.
- Vultures Wall is closed March 1-July 31. (per Rachel, CCSP Ranger, dnr_castlewood.canyon@state.co.use or 303-688-5242)
- Shakespearean Theater is closed March 1-May 31.
- Mind Meld is closed March 1-May 31.
As of 2020:
There is a very new and active nest of owls midway up the cliff at the north end of the Neanderthal Wall between Cro-Mag and Up The Red. There is no active nest around the south end of Neanderthal Wall.
As of June, 2017:
The 3 toprope routes at the far south end of Neanderthal Wall (far north end of Allied Wall) have a nesting pair of Snowy Owls. Please stay off these routes until further notice. The park has been notified and hopefully some signage will be put up. The route Rock Rat is included.
As of March 7, 2012:
Shakespearean Theater - restricted March, April, May.
Mind Meld - restricted March, April, May.
Porky's Wall - restricted March, April, May, June, through July 31.
Vulture Wall - restricted March, April, May.
Morning Sun Wall - restricted March, April, May, June, July.
Avg: 3.6 from 5
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Access Issue: Historical seasonal raptor closures with 2023 updates
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denver, colorado
Also, love the photo. Complete with tick marks and a note showing just how high that first bolt is. Heroic. Aug 16, 2011
I have seen pockets actually pulled out (which is bizarre to witness) and cobbles fall off without provocation. While we always enjoyed climbing there, we sometimes jokingly called it the "Chosswood Empire".
So, generally speaking, the stone here isn't well-suited for "bold" ascents. Maybe this route is an exception.... Aug 16, 2011
AnCapistan
mlloyd, 8/15/11:
"I rapped in and checked out this route the other day to find a beautiful climb albeit very dirty. I cleaned it up with a brush and a nut tool, removing lots of loose rock and sand, revealing good rock below. I was interested in leading this climb for the first time (it has only been TR'ed). I have climbed in CWC for years and like the adventury feel of sparse pro and lack of trusty bolts but found no way to climb this route without soloing it. I chose to add a single bolt to protect the 5.12b crux at about the 25-30 ft level to allow someone who is proficient at the grade to climb a wonderful route. Normally a route like this would require 5-6 bolts, but due to my ethics of placing as few bolts as possible, I chose to only place that which is required. Anchors were placed at the top as well because no crack or tree are available without significant restrictions. I hope that climbers enjoy a new/ rediscovered route in the "Wood"."
This is Douchebaggery on numerous levels.
- First and foremost: BOLT BAN!!!!!!
The CWC locals have been working efforts on several levels to re-gain some new route opportunity. Tod Anderson spent tons of hours a few years ago to simply obtain permission to replace 20+ year-old anchors; not to mention the actual work and $ involved. I personally have 7-8 year old permit applications in the works at this very wall. You cannot imagine the roadblocks I have had to overcome along the way.- Bullshit, artificial, R-rated route rap-drilled in the name of "ethics". This is nothing more than a pathetic ego-blast that impresses no one. If you are going to endanger climbing access altogether in the park, you could at least make it a real route.
- Poaching one of Tom's toprope FAs without asking. He is easily contacted. If it weren't for him, you'd have far less opportunity in that canyon.
- Slim said it well about our opinion of your heroism.
Please abstain from any further stunts like this.Rich: et tu? You know as well as any of us that once one of us "exfoliators" works a line, any loose crap there is has snapped off. Wendell Spire needed more cleaning than most, but even then it really wasn't all that bad. Aug 16, 2011
denver, colorado
AnCapistan
We might try again this Winter, but the effort seems greater than the reward. Aug 16, 2011
When you rapped in and decided to place the bolt, you also chose to not be bold. Insisting that the folks in the future be held to your "style" is BS. When you decide to place bolts on rappel, the "ethical" thing to do would be to place the protection such that when future parties do it "ground up" they aren't at a contrived disadvantage.
That's not even considering the whole bolting ban issue. Aug 16, 2011
What I was trying to say was that Castlewood does not seem the appropriate place for runout stuff like this.
Even after extensive cleaning, it would seem that seasonally a route can change with freeze/thaws, etc.
At Wendell Spire, I remember going back there and doing one of those routes a year or two after it went in, and 2 cobbles fell off.
So, in my opinion, new route development at Castlewood would require not only a permit, but should also have at least reasonable bolt-spacing to assure that the route can be done safely.
Rich Aug 16, 2011
AnCapistan
I praise the addition of the single bolt and the bold lead that followed. Aug 2, 2012
Englewood, CO
Denver, CO.