Clear Creek
More Clear

Eldorado Canyon West World
West Ridge
Cloud 9
Rincon Boulders
Physicals
The FreightTrain
Hazard County

The FlatIrons
Elephant Rock
Terrain Boulders
The Ghetto
Satellites
The Gutter

Boulder Canyon
Dome Boulder
The Patio
The Strip Mine
The Clocktower

Lyons/St. Vrain
Big Elk Meadows
Dragon's Den
Lion's Den
North Shore
Ape City
Elysium

Reads
Articles
Interviews
Short Stories
Message Board

Miscellaneous
Slide Show
Photographs
Animated Beta
Archives
Video of Week
Rock Gyms
Links/Weather
What's New
Contact Us

Ape City, South St. Vrain
Ape City is a cool little spot to chill in the summer because it faces north. Sometimes the river is hard to cross. Do not try to cross the river if the water is too high or running too fast. Some problems are tall so bring pads and spotters. Most problems have seen only a few ascents so they may seem a little dirty. The granite is similiar to Double Trouble and the problems are from 10 to 18 feet tall. Grades are all ballpark! Watch for the poison ivy in the summer. Many other problems have been done, but only the best ones have been listed here.

Getting There:
From Lyon's Highway 7 to Allenspark drive up the South St. Vrain Canyon for about 5 miles. Park at Mile Marker 28 dirt pullout on the south side of the road. This is also the parking for Infirmary Slabs. Follow a faint trail below the left side of the parking area and cross the creek wherever possible. Pick up the trail behind the nice boulder hidden in the trees. Work up the draw for about 5 minutes. The first boulder is Rehab Rock.
A. Rehab Block
1. V2/3. Start low on jug, move right to arete & up face.
2. V4/5. Start on opposing gastons. Move to layback edge, then long move to edge out right.
3. V1. Move up slab to top.

B. Semian Block
4. Sargeant Fury V2/3. sds at the flake. Pullover bulge.
5. Campus Problem V4. Standstart move right along the lip and finish Srg.Fury.
6. Semian Adventure V5. Start with left hand on crimp pinch & right on sidepull. Get heel then to good jug. Surf left, then lunge to flake. Top straight up.
7. Proj. Up ramp and over.

C. Jabba The Hut Rock
8. Jabba V4. Stand start.
Move up and right.

D. Gunslinger Block
9. Gunslinger V7. sds. Left crimp, right sidepull. Move up arete to R. hand jug, then out left to jug.
Up prow, move left to top.

Mike F. sends Jabba V4

Kevin M. sends Semian Adventure V5

Mike F. on Gunslinger V7

APE CITY AREA UPDATE  In the fall of 2004, Marcelo Montalva and Justin Jaeger spent a number of days playing around at this small area trying to fill in the gaps between the developed classics. Many of the problems described below are variations to existing lines, developed in the most part by John Servold and Jason Beausoleil, though some are entirely new. The grades given are estimates, as neither Justin or Marcelo can be trusted to give an accurate rating due to their unique styles, dementia, and idiosyncratic physical characteristics [Justin's 6'7'' height and +9 ape index; Marcelo's legal dwarf status]. If I gave a name/FA credit to a line you did, please send such information to FRB to make the necessary modifications. GUNSLINGER BLOCK ILLEGAL COWPOKE V7/8. Essentially a variation: start sitting as for Gunslinger and use crimps, slopers, and gastons to build your feet and ascend the slabby face tending to the right of the arête. The arête itself is not 'off'; one must naturally avoid the holds on the left face. SIMIAN ADVENTURE BLOCK SEE NO EVIL V8ish. Start at the bottom of the obvious diagonal rail and slap and slope your way up to the terminus of the feature, pick out some tricky feet, and power out left to a juggy sidepull meeting with the top out of Simian Adventure. Variation: V7ish Do See No Evil starting on the natural cheater block. LIZA'S LOCKOFF V?? [FA: Charles Fryberger] Climb the 'rail' problem proper-style, from the lowest start through the direct top out. Sticking and matching the lip is the crux, though it has been said that wishing chuck's kid sister a happy birthday will bring good luck. A good edgy gaston out right will help you roll over with confidence. This problem should be a clean bet for even the most egregious dabber. SIMIAN ADVENTURE [variation] V7ish. Do Simian Adventure by starting with both hands crimping the sloping glom. Campus to the jug immediately above and don't spin off! 200LB. GORILLA V7ish. [FA: J. Beausoleil] Start as for Simian Adventure but after gaining the middle jug, climb left on a leaning blocky hold, bust out further left to the boulders' lip, and continue the lip traverse all the way to the Sgt. Fury top out. Variation: V8ish Do the 200lb. Gorilla link-up, though starting with the crimpy campus start to Simian Adventure. BANANA SLAP V7/10ish. [FA: Marcelo Montalva] A few feet right of Sgt. Furry, start standing at a good left sidepull and a sloping crimp and dyno through this steep overhang to the sweet spots on the sloping lip. Top out straight or by traversing a few feet to the left. The grade will depend highly on your height and dyno ability. THE BIG SEXY, AKA, MM28 This big and beautiful block lies directly at the start of the trail up to Ape City proper. It sits on relatively flat ground one level above the streambed. SPRAYPAINT SILVERBACK V7ish. On the stream-facing side, start on the right arête with your right hand on a decent sloper at 7 feet and left hand out and lower on a foot-hold-like crimp on the face. Tension and slap up and left on the arête until reaching the sloping but blocky top of the feature. Mantle and top out the rest of the slab slightly right of the arête. The holds are still dirty up high, but are all there-be careful and consider taking a brush with you. Variation: PROJECT Climb the entire right arête, starting nearly sitting from an obvious low edge on the lip. ANGERBEAST V7ish. Just right of the very blunt left arête of the stream-facing side, start with a high reach to the crimpy not-so-sweet spots on the highly sloping rail directly in front of two small saplings. Stacked pads may be helpful to reach these crimps. Find a tiny crystal foot of your choice, set, and dead point to the obvious sloping feature a couple feet above. Ascend the obvious ledges straight up, using friable sidepulls over the left side of the high arête [careful!] to eventually gain small stabilizing holds with your right and good 'thank-god' holds on the left side of the arête with your left to pull the easy mantle. Note: this problem was originally done by jason b. by exiting towards the right arête-another choice for the climber, because here at ape city, we want you to have it your way. Variation: PROJECT At the same starting holds, crimp, slope, and slap your way diagonally across the face via the cool sloping rail until reaching the right arête. Top out as for Spraypaint Silverback. BIG SEXY SLABS V0-V? Many large undercling and side pull flakes exist to ascend the compelling downstream face of this large boulder. Again, bring a brush to clean holds in situ, though the most obvious features have been cleaned. BIG SEXY ARETE, AKA, COCONUT BRASSIERE V0/1. Layback the sharp arête that points directly upslope/away from the river. CURIOSITY KILLED THE GEORGE, jump problem. [FA: Marcelo Montalva] On the blank upstream face, sprint and scramble up the steep slab, catching an unlikely but ok sloping hold on the bottom edge of the obvious dip in the center of the face and match to mantle out. While this hold seems more unlikely to hang than the more squared sections of the boulder's lip, the six less inches of vertical needed to obtain these grips seems critical.