Climbing Forecast › Eldorado Canyon › The Bastille

ELDORADO CANYON · FOUNTAIN SANDSTONE

The Bastille climbing conditions

Poor — wet, too windy or closed

Right now

Temp79°F
Wind10 mph
Gusts16 mph
Humidity28.1%
Rain 48hdry
Last rainNone recent

Assessment

1.8mm rain forecast
Hot — fountain-sandstone slabs may feel greasy

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Monday 24 August
Poor
Temp81°F
Rain0.07 in
Wind9 mph
Gusts16 mph
Humidity26%
1.8mm rain forecast
  • Hot — Fountain slabs can feel greasy
  • Sun-exposed Fountain walls dry within hours; shaded lower walls take longer
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
15:00 79° dry 10 — 28.1%
16:00 83° dry 8 — 22.9%
17:00 85° dry 7 — 21.4%
18:00 86° 0.04 in 10 — 21.2%
19:00 81° 0.03 in 9 — 33.2%
20:00 81° 0.01 in 9 — 31.3%
21:00 79° dry 12 — 33.6%
Tue Tuesday 25 August
Poor
Temp66°F
Rain0.1 in
Wind7 mph
Gusts—
Humidity52%
3.3mm rain forecast
  • Sun-exposed Fountain walls dry within hours; shaded lower walls take longer
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 64° dry 9 — 57.3%
07:00 63° dry 9 — 57.8%
08:00 63° dry 9 — 55.3%
09:00 62° dry 9 — 56.5%
10:00 60° dry 9 — 59.3%
11:00 59° dry 9 — 64.2%
12:00 58° dry 9 — 67.2%
13:00 59° dry 9 — 64.3%
14:00 70° dry 7 — 49.9%
15:00 79° dry 4 — 30.3%
16:00 81° dry 5 — 27.6%
17:00 83° 0.02 in 7 — 25.8%
18:00 80° 0.01 in 4 — 31.8%
19:00 84° dry 8 — 25%
20:00 84° 0.07 in 10 — 25.8%
21:00 71° 0.02 in 10 — 69.2%
Wed Wednesday 26 August
Poor
Temp63°F
Rain0.09 in
Wind6 mph
Gusts—
Humidity63%
2.2mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for Fountain sandstone
  • Sun-exposed Fountain walls dry within hours; shaded lower walls take longer
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 59° dry 8 — 81%
07:00 59° dry 9 — 77%
08:00 59° dry 7 — 75.4%
09:00 58° dry 7 — 72.7%
10:00 56° dry 7 — 76.9%
11:00 56° dry 7 — 72.6%
12:00 57° dry 7 — 69.6%
13:00 58° dry 8 — 64.7%
14:00 67° dry 6 — 53%
15:00 71° dry 4 — 51.2%
16:00 72° dry 5 — 55.1%
17:00 73° 0.00 in 6 — 51.9%
18:00 75° 0.01 in 6 — 47.5%
19:00 76° 0.01 in 5 — 47.9%
20:00 74° 0.02 in 7 — 44%
21:00 72° 0.01 in 9 — 52.7%
Thu Thursday 27 August
Poor
Temp55°F
Rain0.05 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity73%
1.2mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for Fountain sandstone
  • Sun-exposed Fountain walls dry within hours; shaded lower walls take longer
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 57° dry 7 — 89.5%
12:00 55° dry 4 — 72.8%
18:00 77° 0.01 in 6 — 41.6%
Fri Friday 28 August
Poor
Temp61°F
Rain0.02 in
Wind9 mph
Gusts—
Humidity54%
0.5mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for Fountain sandstone
  • Sun-exposed Fountain walls dry within hours; shaded lower walls take longer
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 61° dry 8 — 66.5%
12:00 60° dry 9 — 54.4%
18:00 86° 0.02 in 4 — 25.4%
Sat Saturday 29 August
Poor
Temp57°F
Rain0.02 in
Wind7 mph
Gusts—
Humidity61%
0.4mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for Fountain sandstone
  • Sun-exposed Fountain walls dry within hours; shaded lower walls take longer
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 64° dry 7 — 51.9%
12:00 57° dry 7 — 60.9%
18:00 90° 0.02 in 6 — 16.4%
Sun Sunday 30 August
Poor
Temp63°F
Rain0.01 in
Wind8 mph
Gusts—
Humidity56%
0.3mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for Fountain sandstone
  • Fountain sandstone dries fast in the sun — adularia-cemented arkose behaves like granite, not desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 65° dry 9 — 49.5%
12:00 62° dry 8 — 55.5%
18:00 86° 0.01 in 3 — 20.7%
Mon Monday 31 August
Good
Temp59°F
Rain0.00 in
Wind3 mph
Gusts—
Humidity59%
Should be dry
  • Good friction range for Fountain sandstone
  • Fountain sandstone dries fast in the sun — adularia-cemented arkose behaves like granite, not desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 64° dry 8 — 46.7%
12:00 60° dry 3 — 59.2%
18:00 71° 0.01 in 5 — 45.3%

About The Bastille

The Bastille is Eldorado Canyon's most-photographed formation — a west-facing Fountain arkose tower rising directly from the roadside 100 feet from the parking area, the first thing every climber sees on entering the park. Its namesake route, Bastille Crack (5.7, five pitches), is described by *Climbing* magazine as "probably the most frequently climbed route in Colorado" — the first recorded ascent of any Eldo route, done by two Army climbers in 1954, and now a rite of passage for every Front Range trad leader. The Bastille itself was originally called Chimney Rock and was renamed by Stan Shepard in 1957 (per Pat Ament's *High Over Boulder*). The classic tick list on the west and north faces: Outer Space (5.10c), March of Dimes (5.10b), Werk Supp (5.9), and Northcutt Start (5.8). West aspect gives afternoon sun so it stays climbable through the shoulder season; adularia-cemented Fountain arkose dries within hours of a shower. No active peregrine closures. Roadside — climbing shoes on within a minute of leaving the car. Shares Eldo's weather cell with Redgarden Wall. For per-route beta, climbers use Steve Levin's *Eldorado Canyon: A Climber's Guidebook*.

Region
Eldorado Canyon
Rock type
Fountain sandstone
Aspect
west-facing
Altitude
5873 ft
Exposure
medium
Seepage
low

Other crags in this region

Redgarden WallWest Ridge & Rincon WallWind Tower