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Located in Mesa County, Unaweep Canyon is unique in that it has two creeks that exit the canyon, one flowing south and one north. Highway 141 is the main access route following the canyon between Whitewater and Gateway. The canyon is the only one in the world with a divide in the middle and streams exiting from both ends. The Nine Mile Hill Area, with it's 18% grade, was the original wagon road from the uranium mines in the West End to the mills in Grand Junction.
Unaweep Canyon, with over 1,000 routes, gives climbers both sandstone and granite, with a range from 5.6 to 5.13. Prime climbing is from Spring into the fall each year. The Nine Mile Hill Boulder Area offers hundreds of options ranging from V) to V12. Once reaching the main canyon, climbers find themselves into a zone that is solid metamorphic rock, with cliffs from 150 feet to over 900 feet in height.
9 Mile Hill Boulder Area:
1674 Routes
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Main Canyon:
299 Routes, 148 Sport Routes
The Access Fund owns Sunday Wall, Fortress Wall, and Hidden Valley Wall. The central part of Unaweep canyon is made up of metamorphic rock, granite and quartz monzonite walls. This metamorphic rock is some of the oldest in the state, between 1.4 and 1.7 billion years old. The granite in Unaweep is thought to be the same base rock that is found in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Many of the clifs on the south side of Hwy 141 are on BLM property, the land on the valley floor is mostly private which provides access challenges for climbers.
Unaweep Granite:
273 Routes, 110 Sport Routes
Access Fund Trail Head:
109 Routes
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Mighty Mouse Wall:
38 Routes, located on the south side of Hwy 141, 1.8 miles past Divide Road.
Mothers Buttress:
85 Routes, located 3.1 miles past Divide Road, with lower, middle, and upper crags. This property is owned by Western Colorado Climbers Coalition
Gateway Vacinity, aka The West End:
32 Routes
Traveling along Hwy 141 through Unaweep Canyon, past the granite cliffs of the main canyon, the highway opens up into a large valley with sandstone cliffs in all directions.
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