www.StephAbegg.com



Rifle Climbing 2019-present

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!
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.
Rifle.
Carlin at Middle Ice Caves. Steep juggy limestone fun.
Carlin at Middle Ice Caves.
Merry Maids at Middle Ice Caves Like a bolted crack climb.
Ice cave at Middle Ice Caves cliff.
At the base of Feline at Middle Ice Caves.
Doug onsighting Feline at Middle Ice Caves, apparently one of the better 5.11's at Rifle. More fun than catnip and three blind mice, as the guidebook states.
A chalk roadmap on Feline.
An arrow pointing out the key jug at the crux of Feline.

More climbing fun!
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!
Towering limestone cliffs at Rifle.
Our first route: Overstoker (5.10) at Red Dawn Wall.
Jason leading Sam's Route (5.11bc) at Meat Wall.
Looking up Peleliu (5.11d) at Sapper Cave.
Green!

List of Climbs I've done at Rifle

LIST MAINLY FOR PERSONAL RECORD-KEEPING | DATES I'VE CLIMBED THERE ON SECOND TAB

Previous and Next Adventures

(July 2019: First time cragging at Rifle)

Black Canyon (Leisure-Summer), CO
Spearhead (The Barb), CO

Comments Pertaining to this Page / Trip Report

Useful beta. Updated route information. Corrections. Historical notes. Interesting facts. No fluff please.
Please do not put links in your comment, as my spam filter will filter those comments out.
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *