Biggest Alpine Face in Colorado

[Kyle the climber]

Hey guys i just recently got in an argument with a co-worker about which Colorado peak has the largest face. I said Longs but hes was set on Capitol. Does anyone have the answer?

[Prairie Native]

Longs prolly has the the biggest face by surface area, but for a cool factor I would say Pyramid.

[Jim Davies]

It depends on your definition of "face". The east face of Pikes Peak is pretty huge, but not as steep as Longs.

[Aubrey]

Good question. Don't know the answer, but Blanca's south face might be a contender.

[BIO_KNEE]

Ormens Buttress, 5.6 2000ft, good contender!

[ajkagy]

i know it doesn't count but the black canyon has some awesome long 2000ft routes

[Scott P]

Hey guys i just recently got in an argument with a co-worker about which Colorado peak has the largest face.

The title says alpine face, but the above says just face, so I guess it's OK to point out that the highest faces aren't necessarily alpine. I assume you are speaking of cliff faces rather than what someone else pointed out, such as Pikes Peak.

The highest cliff in Colorado is said to be the Painted Wall in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It is 2300 feet high. It’s not a peak though. Here is a photo:



The highest cliff face on a peak that I know of is probably the south face of Peak 7071 in Dinosaur National Monument. It’s about 2000 feet high and about 1½ times higher than the Diamond on Longs.





As far as Capitol vs Longs goes, the face on Capitol is higher, but the Diamond on Longs is steeper. The face on Capitol is almost as high as the one on Peak 7071.

[sgladbach]

I don't have the biggest face, but it recently won for the cutest. I held a vote here at the house. I captured 100% of all repondents (the kids weren't home and Cooper abstained.)

[rijaca]

The east face of Monitor Peak supposedly has some unclimbed lines.

[its_not_a_tuba]

By big do you mean greatest elevation delta? Greatest difficulty / danger? Or do you mean just serious alpine climbing sickness packed with great history recognized by, and attracting the World's greatest climbers to get a piece of it? By the first there are a lot of contenders as has been mentioned above. By the second nothing in Colorado touches Lizard Head, or so I hear (I have no intention of finding out on my own). By the later, Longs' EF reigns supreme in Colorado and is second only to El Cap in the lower 48.

That said, next weekend some friends and I are going to be dropping a top rope off of Kiener's to run laps on the Casual Route. We have a lot of rope and I'm a really good belayer. I even just traded in my Fig 8 for a new ATC. Any takers?

[Scott P]

By the second nothing in Colorado touches Lizard Head, or so I hear

If interested, Lizard Head is the hardest 13er, but at "only" 5.8-5.9 isn't even close to the hardest peak in Colorado.

[its_not_a_tuba]

By the second nothing in Colorado touches Lizard Head, or so I hear

If interested, Lizard Head is the hardest 13er, but at "only" 5.8-5.9 isn't even close to the hardest peak in Colorado.

Have you done it? I have not but that 5.8 - 5.9 has the magic (or tragic) "R" after it. From the folks I have talked to that have been up there the consensus is it should be more of an "X". Take your pick, but that rock is as crappy as it gets. 5.8 R (or x) standard route on loose rock... show me a 14er that has a standard route that is more difficult than that? Oh you can't? Neither can I. Hmmmm maybe it is the hardest peak in Colorado?