Purple Drank aka Arete V8
One of the harder problems at Emerald Lake's range of V1 to V11- routes.
- V7+
- grade
- Bouldering Pads
- style
Is Purple Drank aka Arete V8 open right now?
No closures listed
The National Park Service lists no closures for Rocky Mountain National Park.
As of · Source: NPS · Rocky Mountain National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Best time to visit Purple Drank aka Arete V8
Best months: June and September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
30° / 4°
14 wet · 14 snow
Feb
34° / 6°
13 wet · 12 snow
Mar
42° / 14°
12 wet · 9 snow
Apr
49° / 20°
11 wet · 6 snow
May
59° / 28°
12 wet · 2 snow
Jun
71° / 34°
11 wet
Jul
76° / 40°
14 wet
Aug
73° / 38°
15 wet
Sep
68° / 32°
12 wet · 1 snow
Oct
55° / 23°
10 wet · 4 snow
Nov
40° / 13°
11 wet · 9 snow
Dec
30° / 5°
14 wet · 13 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Grand Lake 1 Nw, CO, 9.3 mi away at 8,720 ft. The station sits about 1,400 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
One of the harder problems at Emerald Lake, where the 29 catalogued routes span from V1 to V11-.
Photo of the crag

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
Photo: TexasExplorer98, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Emerald Lake / Tyndall Gorge
~0 min drive
3 alpine climbing routes in Colorado's Emerald Lake / Tyndall Gorge.
Photo: TexasExplorer98, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Green Slab Wall
~1 min drive
Green Slab Wall in Colorado has 9 climbing routes on slab rock.
Revenge Area
~1 min drive
Revenge Area in Colorado has 11 bouldering routes across 9 difficulty grades.
Photo: TexasExplorer98, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Lower Chaos Canyon
~1 min drive
Lower Chaos Canyon in Colorado has 31 climbing routes with 21 difficulty grades.
Photo: TexasExplorer98, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Upper Chaos Canyon
~1 min drive
Upper Chaos Canyon in Colorado has 27 climbing routes across 16 grades.
Creme Fraiche Boulder
~1 min drive
Creme Fraiche Boulder is a 9-route bouldering area in Colorado with 7 difficulty grades.
Hallett Peak - ice/mixed/snow
~1 min drive
Hallett Peak - ice/mixed/snow in Colorado has 8 climbing routes.
Bear Lake Trailheads
~1 min drive
Bear Lake Trailheads in Colorado has 1 climbing route rated at difficulty grade 1.
Bear Lake and Bear's Den
~1 min drive
Alpine Colorado climbing near Bear Lake with solid rock and scenic mountain setting.
Chaos Canyon Bouldering
~2 min drive
Chaos Canyon Bouldering in Colorado has 1 bouldering route.
Also worth it near here
