The Coliseum

Description 

The Coliseum lies in the midst of a collection of crags referred to as The Talus Fields in Bernard Gillett's new guide. Climbs on The Coliseum itself are north facing and lay in the shade throughout most of the day making this an excellent summer crag. Established climbs on this feature range from about 5.7 to 5.11 and contain a mixture of traditional protection and bolts. Most routes top out at about 200' and have bolted belay stations.

Although this wall contains some quality climbs, the traffic appears to be limited. This may be due to the longer approach or because of quality walls located nearer to Lyons. Despite being only a 15 to 20 min hike from the road, this wall has a more wild feel - on any one climb, you may find loose rock, lichen and bushy vegetation. But, as Gillett points out, this is just the entry fee for all new routes (most of these routes were established around 2001 and 2002).

Getting There 

To get there, park at the pullout located approximately 7.9 miles from Lyons on the south side of the road. This pullout resides on a curve in the road and is 0.2 miles down the road from the Upper Rest Area (also located on the south side of the road). The Coliseum will not be visible from the pullout. According to Gillett, you should travel about 50 yds up the road and cross near some grey boulders, just above which will be located a cairn marking the start of a "well marked trail" that actually runs between another formation (The Arch of Titus) and The Coliseum. The well marked trail consists of downed branches forming a little path and some cairns (not entirely as obvious as the description would suggest as there are downed branches everywhere). About 200' up the trail, the trail will split - take the left branch toward the now obvious talus field across a ravine. I also found that, being a bumbler, one could also just kind of hack their way up the ravine itself after crossing the river toward the talus field. Either way, once at the base of the talus field the wall should be apparent and one can either traverse the talus itself or cross under the field to approach the wall. With the former option, keep your partners prone to trundling below you as the talus is loose and it is not unlikely that one could knock off fair size block if one is not careful.

The Classics

Featured Route For The Coliseum

Lost in Time 5.10b  CO : Lyons : ... : The Coliseum

The second pitch of Lost in Time is one of the best of its grade for the caynon. The quality is on par with "Upside the Cranium" and "Panic in the Gray Room".P1: The first pitch starts on the blunt arete to the right of the obvious large tree about 80ft up the wall. Place a small cam at the start and clip two bolts along the arete. Low angle climbing and one bolt leads to the tree belay. Let your partner lead this one...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO