Colorado National Monument

Ah November. That magical time of year when the sun is low in the sky, the day’s are short, and the weather is fickle. One day it’s 60 and sunny, the next it dumps a foot of snow. It can make road tripping a little cruxy, as it’s typical to have a weekend with one day of nice weather and the other day crap. Committing to drive to Moab or the Creek under such conditions feels like a gamble at times, but thankfully there’s another option that’s closer to home, and a simple day trip for many in western part of the state: Colorado National Monument.

This little slice of the Colorado Plateau sits just south and west of Grand Junction, and offers the full array of desert climbing experiences: big towers, splitter cracks, and sand…lots of sand. It’s the same rock you find around Moab and the Creek, Wingate, but for some reason it tends to be less varnished and more exposed on the tops of the towers. For this reason, there is a certain element of “funk” you can find on many routes there, but overall it’s still quality climbing.

On the tower front, you can start with one of the desert’s easiest offerings, Otto’s Route on Independence Monument, a mellow romp up an old piece of history. Other classic tower routes include the excellent Fast Draw on Sentinel Spire, the five pitch Long Dong on Kissing Couple and the burly Medicine Man, also on Sentinel Spire. Approaches range from low key hikes up canyon floors, to rappels from the rim with return via tyrolean or jugging back up your fixed line.

As for cragging, there’s several worthwhile zones, some that offer climbing reminiscent of Indian Creek. A nice combination is to hit a route on Independence Monument, and then some of the cragging pitches that line Monument Canyon. If you’re looking for splitter-esque routes, try Liberty Cap and Tiara Rado, both of which have sunny exposure and are good on colder days. We spent an enjoyable day of cragging at Liberty Cap last December, and temps couldn’t have been nicer.

Despite press in national mags and guidebooks, the area still remains relatively quiet. Many folks will keep on driving, to the classics (crowds?) further south. But for those who want to try something new, and maybe with a little more adventure, the Monument is a fine crag well worth checking out.