Rifle Climbing 2019-present

Route:

various

Region: Colorado

Elev: ~7,000 ft

Rock type: Limestone

Type:

Date(s): 2019(x1 day), 2022(x1 day)

Partner(s): Doug Hutchinson, Jason T

Rifle is home to some of the best hard sport limestone cragging in North America.

The first time I climbed in Rifle was in July 2019, shortly after I had moved to Boulder. A friend and I were on a tour of some of the climbing areas of the state, and we stopped for an afternoon to crag at Rifle on the drive back to Boulder from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This was my introduction to limestone sport climbing, something Washington (where I lived before I moved) did not have.

On this page, I give photos from climbing at Rifle, organized by date. At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done at Rifle.

Photos

SOME RANDOM PHOTOS FROM CRAGGING IN RIFLE

More climbing fun!

Date: July 8, 2019 (Mon)

Partner: Doug Hutchinson

Climbed at: Middle Ice Caves

I had just moved to Boulder, and my friend Doug from Seattle took the opportunity of me being down in Colorado to plan a 10-day climbing trip to the area. This was a great opportunity for me to check out some of the climbing areas in my unfamiliar backyard with a familiar partner. On our way back to Boulder from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, we stopped for an afternoon session at Rifle. This was my introduction to sport climbing on steep limestone, something Washington didn't have. I'll be back! The following gives a list of what we climbed and some photos.

More climbing fun!

Date: June 1, 2022 (Wed)

Partner: Jason T

Climbed at: Red Dawn Wall, Meat Wall, Sapper Cave

To break up the drive on my way back from a solo trip to check out the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado, I stopped at Rifle for a day and climbed with a guy named Jason who had been looking for a partner on mountainproject. We climbed four routes. I was reminded of the geometric nature of the climbing at Rifle. I really enjoy it and hope to return for a longer trip one of these days!