Colorado · Rock climbing · Gypsum

Surgery Buttress

Surgery Buttress in Colorado has 3 sport climbing routes ranging over 3 difficulty grades.

Surgery ButtressPhoto: kahunapulej, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
3 routes
5.10a – 5.12a
Sport

Best time to visit Surgery Buttress

Best months: April–June and September–October. 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.

  1. Jan

    36° / 15°

    10 wet

  2. Feb

    43° / 20°

    10 wet

  3. Mar

    53° / 28°

    10 wet

  4. Apr

    61° / 35°

    11 wet

  5. May

    71° / 44°

    10 wet

  6. Jun

    83° / 51°

    7 wet

  7. Jul

    89° / 59°

    7 wet

  8. Aug

    87° / 58°

    9 wet

  9. Sep

    79° / 50°

    8 wet

  10. Oct

    65° / 38°

    8 wet

  11. Nov

    49° / 27°

    8 wet

  12. Dec

    36° / 16°

    9 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Shoshone, CO, 5.8 mi away at 5,992 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Surgery Buttress is a climbing area on Bureau of Land Management land in Colorado, within the Colorado River Valley Field Office. It sits close to Glenwood Canyon, a well-traveled part of the state's climbing and hiking country. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from the nearby Shoshone weather station show May highs around 71°F and September highs near 79°F, with July the warmest month at about 89°F. That station sits about 600 feet lower than the buttress, so temperatures up high run cooler. Main Wall, another climbing area, lies just 0.4 miles away. The Glenwood Canyon Trail and the Hanging Lake hike are both about 3 miles off. Coffee Pot Springs Campground, roughly 5 miles away, offers a place to stay nearby.

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