We've spent a couple days climbing at a sector at Sweetwater that's new to us. Some the rock is naturally very clean, so it's hard to say with certainty that all of these lines are new. But I didn't see any evidence of prior bouldering in the area so I'll call these first ascents until I hear otherwise. This sector has a lot of walls and boulders that I'm interested in climbing, and is incredibly scenic. On our first day of climbing a strong wind kept us on the eastern side of the formation until it calmed down in the late afternoon. We did a few short lines on a sheltered boulder. The best and most difficult was this V5 SDS done by Ashley.
She still hasn't settled on a name.
When the wind stopped we walked a short distance to what I'm calling the Ocean Boulder. It's the centerpiece of the area, and now has three classic problems. The first line I put up goes right up the center of the face from an obvious sit start jug.
"Another Toe in the Ocean" V4.
I put a few tries into a dyno to the left, but we had to go before I finished it.
It wasn't long before I returned with Jesse. He did the dyno from a stand start, and also added a line up the left side of the right arete.
"Debaser" V2/3
I managed to figure out the dyno from the stand. And before we left I linked into it from the sit start jug.
"What Goes Boom" V6
It looks like good weather and more new discoveries will be converging soon. I'll let you know what develops.
Access Note: The access situation at Devil's Kitchen seems sensitive right now. The reservation has put up new signs, and it's possible that they could close the two-track access road if they decide it's getting too much traffic. If you're planning to visit the Lander area to boulder this Fall, I recommend erring on the side of caution and not visiting Devil's Kitchen this season. The Rock Shop and Sweetwater are great alternatives and have good conditions this time of year. Please don't be the climber that gets the Devil's Kitchen closed for everyone. If you do decide to visit Devil's Kitchen despite this warning, please make sure you have a Fishing Permit, keep a low profile, carpool, be friendly, and go up in a vehicle with Wyoming license plates if at all possible. Fair or probably not, out-of-state plates attract extra attention. Three Wyoming plates go past, no one notices. Three Colorado plates go past and suddenly people remark on how much traffic there is. Thanks for understanding, and helping preserve access up there.
2 comments:
Looks great as always! Would love to join whenever you go out.
Went out to Southern Smoke with Jesse and put a really good sit start to it making it around an 8. The crimp ear got ripped off by Jesse while making the cross to the sloper. Definitely made the problem harder.
Hope all is well.
Thanks!
I'm excited to see the new sit start, but a little sad about the crimp. That was key to my ascent last Summer. I'll give your new sit start some effort when I get back out there. I'll need to try and repeat the stand start without the crimp at the very least.
Hopefully we can get some good weekend weather at Sweetwater soon! I'll let you know about our next trip out there.
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