Things turned around on Saturday. The entire day was devoted to climbing, conditions were good, and I really enjoyed it. Davin was in town, and he gave me a tour of some bouldering on the Falls trail. He had already given me a topo of the bouldering, but I had missed a couple of the best problems and wasn't sure where other lines went. Davin showed me exactly where the problems are, where they begin, and where they end. I quickly realized what a difference that can make.
Nice weather and colors.
We established a warm up, bouldered on a project, and began development of a new boulder.
After Davin had to go, I spent an hour hiking the south side of the canyon, and then returned to the trail in the afternoon to boulder with Ashley on the problems Davin showed me.
Ashley climbing "Rio's"
Pulling on without using the small boulder to the left is the crux, followed by long moves to good holds on a tall face.
Davin's problem "Silver Spoon" is an area classic that I highly recommend. Slimpers, slopers, and insecure pinches lead to a fun top out.
We both completed the problems, and really enjoyed them. Thanks Davin!
We ended the day by bouldering in the talus field nearby. We found a few good problems, and I'm excited to get back in there to explore the area some more.
Saturday demonstrated the difference that a tour can make. Topos work well when there are trails to the boulders and the holds are chalked. Without tracks to follow, a topo can be very difficult to interpret. I was beginning work on a bouldering topo to part of the Source bouldering area. But now I fear that even if I finish a really good topo, people still might get lost trying to find the best problems or be frustrated by not knowing where the lines go when they do find them.
I'd like enough traffic up there to keep the holds clean on established lines and some help developing new problems. So I'm offering a tour of the area open to anyone interested in bouldering up there. My current plan is to meet at the Wild Iris climbing shop at 4:00 pm on Saturday or Sunday this upcoming weekend. The weather looks good either day. Please send an e-mail to davlloyd3@yahoo.com, leave a comment, or bring it up with me at the gym this week if you are interested, and let me know which day you would prefer. Lots of great problems are already established, and some of the best still need to be done. It's a good time to be up there.
1 comment:
Nice Post! It is very true about how hard it is to find boulders with no trails or chalk. You should try drawing your maps over satellite images. It is the GIS method and very effective. You can highlight features such as creeks, trees, ridges, whatever and line in boulders and trails over that. Good luck and good exploring!
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