As is the usual with my climbing posts, this is split into two sections: the storytelling portion, and the technical climbing section. This is the technical section

Saturday, 21JUL12

Blackjack Boulders

Unfortunately, I don’t know the names of any of these climbs, so they’re listed under the very creative names I thought up at the time

• Layback – V1 – A very fun route off to the side, by a neat little cave. Honestly, I spent half the time I was working this route just relaxing in its shade.
• Dihedral – V0 – The first route you see when you walk up to this set of boulders. Easy at first, but it gets progressively harder as you move up and the crack tapers out. Very fun though.
• Inner Cave – V1 – This… was… AWESOME! I was doing a bit of exploring, and found this whole system of enclosed rock, formed by the boulders laying on top of one another. This route took me from the sand floor all the way up between two boulders, finally exiting via a tiny shaft of light streaming down into the cave.

The Meadows

• 5.4 – A “standard Rumney” route that we warmed up on. Lots of semi-good holds, but more of a balancing problem – as most Rumney routes are.
• 5.7 – Again, same as above except a bit harder. This one, if I remember correctly, followed a slightly strange line up the rock, requiring some interesting foot-work to get up. Fun 🙂
• Mr. Popular – 5.10a – Tough one, and one that actually hurt me a good bit – the first move tweaked a nerve in my finger, leaving part of my hand numb for the next two days. Aside from that though, definitely a challenge – the first move is the hardest, and it’s got a second crux right near the top to keep you on your toes.
• 5.8 – our cool-down route. Simple, clean, and fun… but nothing really to write home about.

Sunday, 22JUL12

The Meadows

• 5.8 – our warmup route, just one of my “go to” routes who’s name I have no idea. Very balancy, but with a few nice “hallelujah” holds that let you take solid rests.

The 5.8 Crag

• Romancing the Stone – 5.10c – Ohh man. Ohh man this route. This route. Ohh man. I love it. Tough and burly, yet delicate and balancy, it’s definitely a well-rated 5.10c. Alex started it, but couldn’t get past our stick-clip, so I sent out into the void, finishing 5 out of the 6 clips. At the end though, my endurance (or lack thereof) won out and I had to raise the white flag.
• Terrace – 5.8 – Gah. What. Just… damn man. This route is tough. It’s very simple, except for the crux in the middle, where… what? There’s just nothing to do – the trick is this tiny little crystal that you snag way out left, that gives you just enough pull to move up to a big rail. But that crystal’s the only way. So annoying.
• Snakeskin – 5.7 – This one was fun, a good counter-point to Terrace. It’s full of solid layback holds, and the climbing is really fun and positive, if a little bit scary at times due to bolt placements.
• ??? – 5.8 – Again, much like Snakeskin, I really enjoyed this route. It’s got positive holds, even though some of them aren’t super-obvious. A bit more burly than a normal rumney route, but definitely excellent.
• ??? (to the right of the gully) 5.9 – this route was really fun as well, though it was very burly with little emphasis on balance. Foot placement was key though, as was shown when I climbed it. I climbed after another group had given up, and by placing my feet a bit differently I was able to break through the crux that they hadn’t been able to send.