Best Places in Colorado Where a Climbing Guide is Most Worth the Money
Colorado is a world-class rock climbing destination, home to everything from towering alpine spires to desert sandstone towers. But with the sheer variety of terrain, changing conditions, and technical routes, hiring a climbing guide can be the best investment you make on your trip. Whether you're a beginner looking for instruction or a seasoned climber wanting to level up on harder climbs, some areas are especially well-suited to going guided.
Here are the best places in Colorado where hiring a climbing guide is most worth the money — and why.
Garden of the Gods: Beautiful, Accessible…Surprisingly Sketchy Leading
Location: Colorado Springs
Climbing Style: Sandstone towers, adventure sport and mixed climbs with historic hardware
Hazards: Soft rock, fragile holds, minimal protection, confusing routes, high exposure
Don’t let the walk up access and crowds of people fool you. The Garden of the Gods is an old school climbing area where bold ascents, fragile rock, and marginal protection make hiring a climbing guide a solid investment in your safety. Of anywhere in Colorado this is the place you should hire a guide, even as an experienced climber.
Most of the climbs were established in the 60’s and 70’s with over 100 routes. Unfortunately a lot of the hardware from that time period still remains, despite the efforts of local advocacy groups. Guide books will give you some details on the routes but frequently most recent guidebooks will not detail how dangerous a route is. Take The Fixxer for example. A lovely 5.11a that’s about 100ft tall. What isn’t readily obvious is the first bolt is about 40 ft off the ground with some mandatory 5.9 climbing before you do the crux and clip another bolt and then run it out all the way to the anchor on mellow climbing. Guidebooks won’t update if a route is not popular or if protection has not been replaced. Even popular routes like Annaconda are often not done to the top which is only well known when you’re a local.
The joy of hiring a guide here:
Quality Routes and Safety: Our guides are familiar with which Garden of the Gods climbs are worth doing and can keep you away from the sketchy horror fests!
Soft Rock Instruction: It’s a much different kind of rock if you’re not used to desert type sandstone. Our guides can teach you how to climb in ways that respect the rock qualities but still let you find good climbs.
Local Knowledge and Regulations: With permits, falcon closures, and chalk bans, you don’t want to find yourself in trouble. We guide here all the time and have become familiar with all the best climbs in addition to the rules.
Even if you’re an experienced climber, hiring The Colorado Climbing Company is a good way to get a quick orientation to the best rock climbs! Come check out our trips here.
Climbing the Black Canyon: One of Colorado’s Scariest Holes in the Ground!
Location: Western Colorado, near Montrose
Climbing Style: Long, committing multi-pitch trad that starts at the top.
Hazards: Loose rock, runouts, route-finding, committing descents, exposure
The Black Canyon is one of Colorado’s most serious rock climbing destinations where a climbing guide is worthwhile. Even experienced climbers are familiar with its fearsome reputation. While that reputation softens after your first time it is not a casual climbing area.
Even experienced trad climbers get in over their heads here and rescue in The Black is pretty desperate. Even popular routes like Maiden Voyage, Casual Route, and Escape Artist demand respect. All climbs begin with a few rappels or hiking down into the canyon so you either climb out or do an arduous walk of shame. This means once you’re down you’re committed to the climb. Not a great place to go if you’re not feeling 100% (ask me how I know). While the grades are a little old school they don’t necessarily feel sandbagged. If you feel confident at the grade then it’s worth checking things out but the runout nature of the pegmatite can make you wish you’d gone sport climbing.
Why a guide in The Black is worth every penny:
Approach and Route-Finding: With an almost alpine feel, routes in The Black Canyon are not obvious and often feature some scrambling to get to the actual climb that makes it really hard to find. With all the knowledge and experience our guides can take you right to the base of all but the most obscure climbs in The Black Canyon and save your time and energy for the fun part.
Rock Quality and Judgement: Even some of the most popular routes can have a little loose rock here and there. Colorado Climbing Company guides can give you a heads up and recognize some of those issues as well as assess your skills before committing to a route, making sure it’s epically fun instead of just an epic.
Backup Plans: Sometimes it’s hot or you’re not feeling up to it that day. We also guide in Unaweep Canyon and Colorado National Monument not far away which can be good options to try the same difficulty of climbing without committing to such a big day.
The Black Canyon has its reputation for a reason. Whether you’re just wanting to do your first grade IV or just want to make sure you’re efficient, our guides can give you mentorship and assistance in a place where small errors can cause big problems. If you’re ready to get scared in The Black check out our climbing trips here.
Eldorado Canyon: Beautiful and Brutal on your Ego!
Location: Just south of Boulder, Colorado
Climbing Style: Traditional, runout face and crack climbing, multi-pitch
Hazards: Sandbagged grades, sparse protection, complex route-finding, polished holds
A mecca of old school classic climbs, Eldorado Canyon, or Eldo, is rich in climbing history. With beautiful sandstone walls and colorful lichen the towering walls are full of exposure. To be clear though, for the most part, Eldo is not a beginner crag.
The style of climbing takes a little getting used to. It can be a little cryptic or you can get sucked into following the protection when the climbing is just hiding nearby. The rock type requires a bit more subtle movement and can be polished as well. Its reputation for sandbagged grades is not totally undeserved (West Face of the Bastille might be the hardest 5.9 I’ve ever done til I found ‘The Move’). While there are plenty of well protected routes there are also some classic routes that aren’t for the faint of heart. It’s also just a big, complex area where hiring a guide can save you a lot of time.
Get your confidence for climbing in Eldo with a Guide:
Stellar Route Finding Skills: Although we’ve not guided every route in Eldo we have done a lot of them and some more than we can count. We’re familiar with the ebb and flow of the crowds. Not only knowing how to get there but also the variations (some of which are great). You won’t need to worry about being off route with our guides.
Timed Entry: Nothing ruins a climbing day like getting turned around by a ranger. We’re happy to help you through the process so you know exactly what to do. We’re also familiar with other climbing regulations like falcon closures and which trails are fastest.
Gear Placement and Mental Coaching: When you’re learning to lead and do multipitch climbs Eldo can be the best and worst place. A “casual” outing up The Bulge could be a beginners nightmare but the conga line up Bastille Crack isn’t as obvious as you’d think and has had plenty of accidents. Knowing how to meet clients on their level is what makes us excellent guides.
The old school history and ethics make judgement paramount. We’re happy to take people out and start swapping leads after getting some familiarity before taking the training wheels off. We’re always happy to hang if you want to book a trip here.
The other important times to consider a guide:
Every climber wants to get the most out of their climbing days. Often you can get things done quick, good, or cheap and you can pick two.
If you're a new climber or learning a new skill, a guide from The Colorado Climbing Company can really help you learn a lot in a short amount of time. We can hone in on the skills you have and where you're struggling to make the most of your time out. We can adjust on the fly to make sure you're getting the most return on investment.
If you're short on time or partners. Sometimes you just didn't plan ahead or don't have time to do a bunch of research or vet a new partner. It can be sketchy to find a partner online and be surprised when their skills aren't up to snuff. Even some climbing guides are sub par when it comes to their qualifications. We require guides meet minimum AMGA certifications and experience standards for the terrain they're working in to ensure they can provide a positive experience. With a dozen guides we're able to be more flexible and meet your needs in a variety of locations most guides or partners couldn't.
Pushing your limits. If you're wanting to really try hard or get on something you're not sure you can do a guide can not only be supportive but they can also give key beta if it's needed or have the rescue skills if you bit of more than you could chew.
It can feel a bit intimidating to spend a bunch of money on a stranger. Nobody wants to feel like they got dragged up something. Working with a guide from the Colorado Climbing Company is the best way to have a great experience and you'll feel more like an advanced climbing partner than the quid pro quo kind of carnival ride you might get at another guide service.
