Shell Canyon Climbing

On the west flank of the Bighorns, US Highway 14 winds its way through this majestic canyon with its massive dolomite rimrock, escarpments, and beautiful, deep granite gorge. Shell Creek cleaves through the red granite, forming a tight canyon with walls up to several hundred feet tall in spots. Access into this chasm is limited to the occasional break in the cliffs, or by rapping in and climbing out.

There have been a good number of rock routes established in the granite canyon, but with the challenging approaches and out of the way location, the cracks are not climbed frequently, and many continue to be dirty and unappealing to most climbers. However, for adventurers with an appetite for first ascent experiences, there are many intriguing crack systems which may or may not have ever seen an ascent. There are apparently no published sources of information on these routes.

There are also several ice climbs scattered throughout the canyon. Some of these have been frequented for decades, while others are only recently seeing activity. Again, there is no published source of info, so this is currently the best beta available. The climbing history of the area is sparse; I'm trying to investigate this history more thoroughly, and if anyone else has info please contribute it here!