BLAIR OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

The well-kept secrets of Blair are slowly being discovered. Blair is the ultimate Klettergarten of Greater Vedauwoo and actually has a climbing history stretching back into the mid nineteen hundreds. It is far off the beaten track and away from the masses. Even today it is usually so quiet throughout the heavily forested area it is cloaked with the ambiance of an empty church. The only sounds one hears are the cries of Falcons, breezes prowling through the trees and an infrequent call of another animal….. ‘off belaaay’. It used to be that seeing another climbing party was a shock, however that is changing, for better or worse.

High quality climbs for nearly every level of climber are found throughout the area, ranging from easy to hard face to a multitude of cracks from fingers to hands to offwidths, easy fives to 5.12s as well as some very provocative bolted routes. Climbers come from all over in search of the most sought after climb in Blair …. ‘Spectreman’. Also, one of the two most difficult climbs in all of Greater Vedauwoo is found here called ‘Son of a Wanted Man’ (13c), a name that evokes the true cowboy spirit that pervades this one-of-a-kind place. Climb this one and you will enter the rarified air of true hardmen capable of such feats. So mount up, dig in your spurs and get ready climb routes quietly put in over the last few decades by talented, experienced ‘locals’ and a few others.

Nowadays, Blair is commonly divided into Lower and Upper Blair, not only for convenience, but because Upper Blair sits about two hundred feet above Lower Blair. Each contains several aesthetic formations which, in turn, contain many routes. You will find Upper and Lower Blair each occupying its own page with considerably more detail than that shown on the ‘overview Beta photos’ shown here. Every route is not located, however many of the popular ones are. From these key points and using one of three guidebooks available for the area or consulting www.vedauwoo.org, you should have no problem finding your destination, much unlike in years past when Blair existed as a nondescript, confusing jigsaw puzzle.

*NOTE: Go to the individual pages for LOWER BLAIR and UPPER BLAIR for more detailed topos of trails, formations, parking and route locations.

Photo description (Blair Overview):

A nearly 3D overview of the entire Blair Area as seen from above. An arbitrary (yellow) line has been drawn to indicate how Upper Blair actually sits about 200′ higher than Lower Blair, making it quite easy to separate the two for identification purposes as well as their inclusive formations.

Abbreviations :

Upper Blair: EC=East Corner, H=The Heap, JT=John’s Tower, LJT=Little John’s Tower, NC=North Corner, SC=South Corner, SMB=Spectreman Buttress, WC=West Corner.
Lower Blair: B1=Blair 1, B1a=Blair 1 Annex, B2=Blair 2, B3=Blair 3, GR=Goldirocks, LB=Little Blair.
#707=USFS Road 707

Getting to BLAIR:

THERE IS NO DESIGNATED TURNOFF FOR BLAIR ON I-80. (While the following directions may sound convoluted, just find the way once and it’s easy from then on.) Therefore, access is by a frontage road that parallels I-80 along it’s west side. IF you are coming from the EAST (ie from Cheyenne), take the Vedauwoo Exit #329, turn LEFT under the overpass and find the Frontage Road. IF you are coming from the WEST (ie from Laramie), take the #329 exit, turn RIGHT and find the ‘Frontage Road’. Head NORTH (right) on the Frontage Road for approximately 2 miles, find another underpass (the ‘Blair Underpass’) on your right and turn east (left) onto a dirt road….this is USFS Road #705 (S. Blair Road).
ALTERNATIVELY, if you are coming from the WEST (ie from Laramie), you can take Exit #323, the Happy Jack Exit. Turn right onto S. Blair Road, go about 3.5 miles and find the ‘Blair Underpass’ (same one as mentioned above) on your left. Turn left (east).

Whichever way you get to the ‘Blair underpass’, follow the winding dirt Road #705 approximately 2.5 miles (eastward) and find the turnoff (right/east) for LOWER BLAIR PARKING. NOTE: See the BLAIR TOPO (roads, formations and major trails)!! If you are going to UPPER BLAIR, continue on #705 for about a mile to a distinct ‘T’. Take the right hand turn and proceed uphill on Road #707 for approx. a mile and find Road #707a on your right. Under normal circumstances, you would follow #707a for a third of a mile, turning towards the EIGHT BALL FORMATION on Road #707af for UPPER BLAIR PARKING. *NOTE: At the present time (2014), the USFS has closed this road to vehicular traffic (see photo), although you can park outside the gate and hike in to Upper Blair using the same roads just described. Alternatively, you can hike into Upper Blair from the Lower Blair parking area, although it’s a long, uphill slog. I’d suggest heading along the trail on the N. side of Blair 3, continuing eastward up the moderately steep slope to the N. side of South Corner and access UPPER BLAIR from there.

BLAIR TOPO (roads, formations and major trails)

Here’s an ‘overview topo’ showing the overall organization of BLAIR, including both Lower an Upper Blair. When viewed with reference to ‘Getting There’, you should be able to navigate the area. Formations are indicated. Major roads, parking areas (orange) and commonly used trails are shown in light blue.

Abbreviations:

Formations: ar1, 2 and 3=Adam’s Ribs (right to left respectively), B1, 2 and 3= Blair 1, 2 and 3, EC=East Corner, gr= Goldirocks, H=The Heap, JT=John’s Tower, LB=Little Blair, LBP=Lower Blair Parking, LJT=Little John’s Tower, NC=North Corner, P?=temporary parking for Upper Blair, SC=South Corner, SMB=Spectreman Buttress, UBP=Upper Blair Parking, WC=West Corner.
US Forest Road designations are in black. The Yellow Arrow indicates the turn from #705 to #707 towards Upper Blair.

Photo description:

Closure of road #707a. The sign says ‘closed because of a beaver dam blowout’…. yes, really. (No, the arrow is not pointing to the “porta-john”. Upper Blair begins about a half mile beyond those trees.)

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