Federal land managers are weighing a policy to prohibit fixed anchors in wilderness, stirring protest from climbers and legislation from lawmakers
rock climbing
Posted inSports
USA Climbing returns to Denver for national competition, seeing sold-out crowds
Athletes participating were a mix of past and potentially future Olympians
Posted inNews, Outdoors
As more people turn to extreme sports, Colorado doctors are rethinking how they treat athletes
Doctors took a look at Ian Mitchard’s body four years ago and assumed his career was over. That’s why Steph Davis brought him along to a talk she gave to doctors: She wanted them to see what was possible. To be fair, it’s probably the conclusion many would reach after Mitchard crashed while paragliding alone. […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
It’s not just Colorado’s mountains: Outdoor industry brands, climbing routes also targeted for name changes
The shifting consciousness behind the renaming of peaks is spreading into marketing and other aspects of the outdoor culture. “It’s interesting, when we hear people talk about the stories of the land they never are telling the original story of the land,” said Renee Hutchens, a Denver mountain biker of Navajo descent who recently started […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Environment, Health, News, Outdoors
Front Range kayakers, rafters blast Jefferson County’s extended coronavirus closure of Clear Creek
Jefferson County, like the rest of Colorado, reopened restaurants and loosened restrictions on people’s movement this week. But Clear Creek, one of its most popular draws, will remain closed. Sheriff Jeff Shrader extended a ban on all swimming, tubing and kayaking in the creek that bisects the 580,000-resident county. That troubles the Front Range kayaking […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, News, Outdoors
Coronavirus is forcing a whole new social contract on Colorado’s city sidewalks and suburban open space
Gov. Jared Polis’ instructions about when to wear a mask upon leaving home were pretty all-encompassing: “At all times,” he said. And Coloradans mostly have accepted that the governor meant we should wear masks to the grocery store, the pharmacy, to pick up dinner or while zipping through Home Depot. (Whether people do it is […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
In the zen zone high above Minturn, slackliners traverse the state’s longest highline
MINTURN — Ben Donnelly basks in his creation, admiring a web of slings, carabiners and ropes strung between a trio of trees atop a towering cliff above this former mining and railroad town. “This is my art,” he says. “It’s meticulous and beautiful and elegant. It’s a masterpiece.” Far away, his friend Mauro Poletti’s arms […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors
As climbing skyrockets, so has its environmental impact. “We really have to step up.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — On a cold Saturday morning in Garden of the Gods, a bit too early for tourists, Bosier Parsons passes out homemade breakfast burritos to a group of volunteers. The founder and president of the Pikes Peak Climbers Alliance, Parsons organized a group of 10 people to repair the eroded trail to Rainbow […]
Posted inColoradans, Culture, Outdoors
Climbing gyms are hot, but longtime climbers worry gym rats aren’t learning basic real-world safety
Long before Marcus Garcia had scaled the frozen faces of some of the largest mountains on Earth, he was an 18-year-old kid in a Dallas climbing gym. A fit athlete with little adventure climbing experience, Garcia was approached by an experienced climber who offered to take him on a trip to Eldorado Canyon, near Boulder. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, News, Outdoors, Water
Ouray’s iconic ice park has a plan for its future that could be a blueprint for other troubled Western wonders
OURAY — The glassy tentacles of blue ice are ready. The cantilevered finish line — with some American Ninja-type obstacles to challenge the world’s top ice climbers — teeters over the edge of the frigid Uncompahgre Gorge. Not only is Ouray and its ice park ready for this weekend’s 24th running of its celebrated ice […]