Colorado National Monument

Climb in the iconic Colorado National Monument with the Aspen Expeditions team!

Colorado National Monument offers splitter crack and tower climbing on Wingate and Entrada sandstone. The main attractions are the Independence Monument and Sentinel Spire. A classic route of the Independence Monument is Otto’s Route. This 5.8+ route ascends the north face of the Monument in four pitches. On the first ascent, John Otto drilled many holds into the sandstone which allowed for passage up the otherwise blank faces.

Sentinel Spire holds the challenging classic medicine man at 5.12 crack climbing. This route can also be a good mission for the 5.10 crack climber with short sections of aid or rope ascension. Other routes of varying difficulty exist on these and other formations for the adventuresome tower climber. The Colorado National Monument is a great area to link on a multi day climbing trip in the spring or fall with Unaweep Canyon, The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, or on the way out to Moab and Indian Creek.