Stop 2: Penitente Canyon and Three Barrel
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| Awesome history to this climbing area. |
Somehow
we’ve managed to live and climb in Colorado for eight years now and had yet to
visit Penitente Canyon down in the San Luis Valley. Maybe the rumors about the
laziness of Front Range Climbers is true. (We do have Eldorado Canyon in our back yard as well as a half dozen
other world-class destinations within an hour or two.) At any rate, we finally
got down to this amazing place; and they have a local craft brewery too! Three
Barrel Brewing Company in Del Norte, CO. Bonus!
The Rock:
Penitente Canyon is an excellent cragging destination for beginners and experts
alike. The volcanic tuff that makes up the rock here provides great friction
and the weathering (or possibly other geologic processes, maybe gas bubbles?)
has created interesting pockets both of which make for excellent climbing. Although rattlesnake warnings abound both in
guidebooks and at the trail heads, we did not have any rattler sightings and
found the canyon to be very family friendly with short approaches, short climbs
