The Guide
Independence Pass is located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, just east of the famous ski town of Aspen. The Pass is a beautiful alpine environment with something to offer everyone. While not the most extensive of bouldering areas, it has plenty to offer, from the novice to the seasoned veteran.
This guide is for everyone and should be looked at as a work in progress, if you have better/different/new beta for any problem/area described let us know! Also, this online guide is meant to be an additional resource to boulderers, not a complete, all knowing guide to The Pass. We highly recommend the two existing printed guide books to climbing on Independence Pass: Independence Pass Rock Climbing II by Tom Perkins and Colorado Bouldering by Phillip Benningfield, both of which are available in Aspen at the excellent Ute Mountaineer.
Special Thanks
I also want to extend a special thank you to Greg Loomis for all of his info and help with the guide. Greg has been an active developer of bouldering on the Pass, cleaning over 50 first ascents in the past couple of seasons, including the Treeline area, Mirror Pond area, Wild Rock Project Wall, Husky Boulder, and many problems in the World of Hurt, Upper Boulderfield, Sunset Boulder, Cubism area, and Camp 5 boulder. Respect. Check him out on the web at www.gregoryloomis.com
Climbing Season
Because of its high altitude and severe winter conditions, Independence Pass is closed from approximately mid-November until Memorial Day (conditions permitting) for the latest conditions and closures click here. Depending on the snow levels, the boulders are anywhere from completely buried to ready for climbing on opening day, as a rule of thumb the higher up you are, the more snow there is later in the season. In general, late Spring through Fall offer great temps and conditions. Afternoon thunderstorms are always a possiblity and can come up quickly! Be prepared for any weather conditions and remember that a talus field is no place to be in a lightning storm!
WARNING
Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport in which severe injuries or death may occur. Relying on the information on this website may increase the danger. When climbing you can only rely on your skill, training, experience, and conditioning. If you have any doubts as to your ability to safely climb any route described in this guide, do not try it.
This website is neither a professional climbing instructor nor a substitute for one. It is not an instructional book. Do not use it as one. It contains information that is nothing more than a compilation of opinions about bouldering on Independence Pass. These opinions are neither facts nor promises. Treat the information as opinions and nothing more. Do not substitute these opinions for your own common sense and experience.
Assumption of Risk
There may be errors on this website resulting from the mistake of the authors and/or the people with whom they consulted. The information was gathered from a variety of sources, which may not have been independently verified. Those who provided the information may have made mistakes in their descriptions. The authors may have made mistakes in their conveyance of the information on this website. The authors cannot, therefore, guarantee the correctness of any of the information contained on this website. The topographical maps, photo-diagrams, difficulty ratings, protection ratings, approach and/or descent information, suggestions about equipment, and other matters may be incorrect or misleading. Fixed protection may be absent, unreliable, or misplaced. You must keep in mind that the information on this website may be erroneous, so use your own judgement when choosing, approaching, climbing, or descending from any route described in this website's guide.