Colorado · Rock climbing · Penrose

Vatican

Vatican in Colorado has 7 sport climbing routes spanning 7 difficulty grades.

VaticanPhoto: Jacob Montgomery, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
7 routes
5.6 – 5.11a
Sport

Best time to visit Vatican

Best months: May–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

    49° / 18°

    4 wet · 4 snow

  2. Feb

    50° / 20°

    4 wet · 4 snow

  3. Mar

    58° / 26°

    5 wet · 3 snow

  4. Apr

    64° / 33°

    7 wet · 2 snow

  5. May

    73° / 43°

    8 wet · 1 snow

  6. Jun

    85° / 52°

    8 wet

  7. Jul

    89° / 59°

    11 wet

  8. Aug

    87° / 57°

    11 wet

  9. Sep

    80° / 48°

    7 wet

  10. Oct

    69° / 36°

    5 wet · 1 snow

  11. Nov

    57° / 26°

    5 wet · 3 snow

  12. Dec

    49° / 19°

    4 wet · 4 snow

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Canon City, CO, 7 mi away at 5,378 ft. The station sits about 800 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Vatican is a climbing area on Bureau of Land Management land in the Royal Gorge Field Office in Colorado, about 7 miles from Canon City. The surrounding area is a cluster of climbing spots, with several named walls and a dispersed campsite within a mile. The most comfortable months for a visit are typically May and September. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Canon City show May highs around 73°F and September highs around 80°F, while July and August average in the upper 80s. That station sits about 840 feet lower than the climbing area, so temperatures up high run cooler. Bud Wall and Tall Green Wall are both about 0.4 miles away, and Roadside is about 0.6 miles away. For an overnight stay, the Dispersed Campsite is about 0.8 miles off.

Routes (7)