Weekend Climbers Ascend Colorado's Independence Monument

This past weekend while walking some of the trails at the monument I saw something I have never seen before inside the Colorado National Monument. Climbers actually making an attempt at going up Independence Monument.

Having moved to Grand Junction at the end of July I have never been in town for a 4th of July climb up Independence Monument. So while taking some photos of it this weekend, I was excited when I noticed some climbers going up as I watch from the overlook on Otto's Trail.

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Watching a Live Climb up Independence Monument in Grand Junction

This was one of the coolest things I've seen yet inside the park. I spotted them on the second landing of John Otto's original pathway up the rock and decided to watch them make their attempt.

These climbers moved fast and with precision. I don't know if they were racing what little rain was coming down or if this was spiderman climbing up those rocks so quickly. I had to rush back up the trail to get around to Independence Monument overlook so I could get a few more photos before they reached the top.

Scroll through the gallery below of photos from Saturday along with some amazing shots of the 4th of July climbs from recent years and see just how amazing this climb is right here in the Grand Valley.

Weekend Climbers Ascend Colorado's Independence Monument

While walking the trails inside the Colorado National Monument we spotted 3 climbers making their way up Independence Monument.

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