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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Colorado is a Sea of Choss
That’s right, you heard me, I said our state is covered in choss. I know we like to think we have better rock climbing than California (or anywhere else for that matter), but the ugly truth is we are surrounded by less than perfect stone. Don’t believe me? Lets take a look at some of the popular areas around Colorado:
Eldo – This has to be one of the chossiest crags in the state. People have been climbing here a long time and folks are still getting really messed up by loose rock. The locals should have a “get rid of choss” day where they close the canyon and have at the walls with a prybar. I’ve got a big one I can bring.
Lumpy/RMNP – Really good granite, even the alpine stuff is surprisingly clean and solid, not choss.
Garden of the Gods – Super soft sandstone, sometimes I can’t even believe people climb on it. They have to use 4 inch long 1/2” bolts. Crikey!
Shelf Road – Limestone + Colorado = choss. Sure it’s cleaned up nice and everyone has fun on it, but make no mistake, this is choss, maybe even of the splitter variety.
South Platte – The granite here is so good it has been quarried, not choss.
Penitente – Bullet hard stone, this is most definitely not choss. Too bad the routes aren’t a little taller on average.
Clear Creek – But there’s plenty of choss here.
Rifle – Land of the Glue, Home of the Choss.
Black Canyon – The sacred origins of splitter choss. While most of the trade routes have cleaned up nice, head off the beaten path and you’ll find choss a-plenty.
Telluride – Conglomerate and rhyolite, choss for sure!
Colorado National Monument – Pretty much all desert sandstone is choss by nature.
Notice a trend here? If its granite, its probably good. If not, it’s choss! So where is all the good rock? California and the South East it seems, though there is plenty of other high quality stone scattered across the country.
But fear not Colorado friends, because choss is super fun to climb on! Embrace the funk and rejoice that we live in state where folks are willing to persevere through the looseness and create something wonderful for everyone to enjoy!
5 Responses to Colorado is a Sea of Choss
Bulldog Creek Dog Walk (IV WI 4+)
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
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Sorry, it’s all choss in CA too. Including the Valley. The Red looks pretty good though.
The sad thing about the choss in California is that its not quite as tall as the choss in Colorado…
Honestly thought the RRG is excellent but still contains chossy sections.
Temple crag is my only experience with true alpine choss is CA. Takes a gentle hand not to land a rock on your partner.
– Luke
I’d say there’s plenty of choss in California. White Sierran granite is rad and all, but it is exfoliating granite that will peel away whenever it has the chance. One of the largest blocks I’ve heard of a partner pulling off on a route was on the Nose, a climb that has seen a gazillion ascents over the years on supposedly the best rock in the universe.
Give up avoiding the choss and just embrace it instead!
life without choss is NOT fun
South Platte: Java and Bali Domes: to quote someone else’s appropriate description: “kitty litter held together by Rykrisps”. No return trip planned. (Certainly doesn’t help that after getting to the climbs you find someone chopped the bolts halfway up through to the anchors!)