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Monitor Rock Sport Climbing, Independence Pass, Colorado

June 19 and 20, 2010

Author: Larry Earley.

Participants: Larry Earley and Don Taylor.

Mountain Project Route Guide: click here.

When its summer and all the climbing areas are hot then think Independence Pass Colorado. This area is never crowded and most approaches are short. There are many campgrounds and the scenery is hard to beat too. The largest area is Monitor Rock.

This is my third trip to Monitor. The approach is 5-10 minutes and there is a lot of nice granite. You can sport climb or try a couple of long trad routes. The climbs face west so its cool in the morning. Don't start before 10am. It was 36 degrees for a low on June 20. The high temperatures hit 70 degrees with afternoon sun. Views up to 14er La Plata. What more do you want. Parry Peak Campground is 5 minutes away. There is also free camping across the road from Parry Campground. There is also the cool creek that flows through the campground.

Don and I did lots of sport climbs. This is smooth granite so stay on the edges. Smearing is not recommended. Try Baby Doe 5.8 for a warmup. Little Flatulence 5.8 is longer and more exciting. Don passed on this one. Lots of hidden holds save the day. It looks like a 10 from below. There are a lot of 10a climbs. Squid Kid is great, Wild Flower is a sandbag while Grave Line is my favorite. You can top rope Slip...Not! 10d for a really great challenge. Crux is short and right off the deck so a clip stick is recommended for leading. Printer Boy 10a is interesting with route finding a key. We thought Prospector 10a had a few hard moves and some intimidation factor.

Try Monitor Rock on any trip to Aspen.
 


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