Yosemite Part IV - Tuolumne

The four of us spent the last couple of days of our trip in Tuolumne on the strong advice of our good friend Jens Holsten. It turned out to be the perfect respite from the heat and the crowds that had defined our experience in the Valley. We started climbing at the Gunks, an old-school area named for the resemblance it shares with the blocky roofs of the Shawangunks in upstate New York. This was an awesome area, and though we were all feeling a little creaky and sore, we had a long and enjoyable session here.

Half Dome from Olmstead Point

Me on Cellulite Eliminator

Joel Highballin'

Tenaya Lake from Olmstead Point

Later in the day, we headed over to Puppy Dome to check out Chris Sharma's Thunderbird and play on some of the fun moderates nearby. Though a bit smaller than the Gunks, this area had some really nice rock and hinted at the larger potential that must exist in Tuolomne. I was very impressed with the bouldering up there - the wide open views and vast expanses of granite reminded me of areas in the Enchantments and North Cascades, and made me excited to do more exploration in the Washington Pass area (stay tuned). I would highly recommend a short visit to Tuolumne to anyone on a bouldering trip to Yosemite.

Me on a Fantastic Warm-Up

Joel Sending The Proj

Thunderbird - Crazy!

Joel and Drew Scrambling

Me 'n' Cortney

Yosemite Part III - Valley Boulders

Here are some more pics from our trip to Yosemite. We made a good effort to climb at other areas besides Camp 4, and these photos depict a host of other areas that were both far less crowded and far less travelled: The Sentinal Boulders, Candyland, and Curry Village (well, so much for less travelled). Anyhow, it was really great to get to see a wide variety of problems in an equally wide variety of settings. I'd have to say that Candyland was one of my favorite areas we visited, simply because of its off-the-beaten-path location and relatively fresh feeling stone. It reminded me of Washington, only slightly different. Here are the pics:

Cortney on Zorro Joel on the Perfect Move Drew on No Holds Bard Me on Spanish FlyRoadside Coffee Break Sweet Swimming Hole Cortney on Once Upon A Time Me on The Diamond Cortney Warming Up at Candyland James Lucas is Psyched Joel on Across The Tracks

Yosemite Part II - Camp 4

I took a lot of pictures in Yosemite, so to break them up I'm going to post them by area - starting with the infamous Camp 4, which I'm told is the center of the universe.

We only climbed at Camp 4 for two sessions, but the area was really warm and sunny during the day and we were generally more psyched on checking out more secluded areas. I was still really impressed with the quality of the bouldering in Camp 4. It wasn't as greasy and traveled as I had remembered, and some of the climbs are just out of this world. One climb that I had really wanted to try was Midnight Lightning, but between the heat and my crappy skin I didn't even try it... Like most of my bouldering experiences during this trip, my visits to Camp 4 only whet my appetite for a return trip. Here are the pics.

Classic Warm-Ups on the Wine Boulder

Joel on King Cobra

El Capitan

Joel and Drew on Bachar Cracker

Joel on the Dominator

Me and Joel on Tendons Give

Camp 4 Wildlife

Joel on Thriller

Yosemite Part I

Last week, Cortney and I went to Yosemite for a bit of a vacation before we started school and work this fall. It was a bit warmer than we expected, and even more crowded than we expected, but we still had a great trip and got to climb on some really amazing boulders.

I'm pretty busy this week, so it may be a while before I upload the pics from our trip, but for now here's a video of Joel Campbell climbing The Diamond, a Matt Wilder problem at the recently-developed Candyland area in the Valley. This is just one of many five star lines we saw during our trip. Enjoy!

Leavenworth Article

I'm proud to announce that an article I co-authored with Jackie Hueftle about Leavenworth bouldering has recently been published in Climbing Magazine. My good friend Max Hasson took all of the photos, which feature only Washington-based climbers on the beautiful granite boulders of Leavenworth and Gold Bar. I had mixed feelings about writing an article that would give Leavenworth more exposure and bring more boulderers to Washington, but I think that we did a good job and that's really all that I could hope for. It's my hope that the increased publicity will simply increase the pace of Leavenworth's development, as well as push us "locals" into the mountains to discover more new areas.

Check it out, and let me know what you think!

New Leavenworth Stuff

I’ve been climbing in Leavenworth a lot over the last few weeks and I thought I’d provide a brief overview of some of the new development that's occured over there. It has continued to be really warm, which has driven us to the river’s edge during the hottest mid-day period... the results have been wonderful.

One especially notable climb is “Annie’s Climax” at Muscle Beach in the Icicle. This moderate top-rope route starts off of the large ledge mid-cliff that most people use as a place to hang out and drink beer, or leap off of into the deep blue pool below. On a tip from Jens Holsten, our crew of monkeys recently re-discovered that this climb offers an ideal deep-water solo: it’s scary, easy, committing, and safe to jump off the top of. I’m still too chicken to even jump off the ledge, let alone the top, so I might wait until I can do the route on top-rope first. But it has been awesome watching Joel, Johnny, Drew, and others climb (and fall from) this route, especially when it’s ninety degrees out. It’s worth noting that the climb receives zero stars in Viktor Kramer’s Leavenworth guide... he must not have put it up. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics of this one.

Another worthwhile new find is Joe’s Boulder, found by my good buddy Joe Treftz this spring. Hidden in a small alcove on the other side of Icicle Creek, Joe’s Boulder offers a couple of tall, clean faces that sport some of Leavenworth’s most striking new lines. The holds are Gold Bar-like horizontal seams with just enough of a gritty edge to grip. I posted a video of a line on this boulder earlier, and I’ll post directions whenever I’m at liberty to do so.

Joe's Boulder

Perhaps the most notable recent first ascent is Johnny’s climb on the looming roof at the Carnival Boulders that I posted about earlier. The name says it all: Big Happy or Legs Go Snappy. It was especially impressive watching Johnny cut his feet and campus the high crux moves because he was concerned about swinging if he fell from the lip...

The FA of Big Happy or Legs Go Snappy

The final recent development I’ll mention regards some new climbs in the upper Icicle. I posted about the Grandview Boulder earlier this spring, which at 12+ miles up is probably the furthest established boulder problem in the Icicle. Just downhill from the parking area is The Sloping Lady, a fun, juggy slab right at the water’s edge. The name is fitting, as the climb vaguely resembles the Sleeping Lady, but is just barely fifth-class.* Two weekends ago, Cortney and I explored a spot just down-canyon and found a large swimming hole and a promising little rock face. We returned this weekend with ShickD and Max and, after a bit of swimming, cleaned and climbed a new line. It’s not huge or insanely hard, but it was tricky enough to be rewarding, and I think it’s quite pretty. I named it Mighty Mouse, in honor of my favorite childhood cartoon. Photos and video below...

Drew on Grandview Cortney on The Sloping Lady Mighty Mouse The Swimming Hole The FA of Mighty Mouse

* This is the first grade that has ever been mentioned here on NWGranite, and does not represent the beginning of a trend. The authors of NWGranite would like to assure you that, despite this isolated incidence of flagrant grade-oriented spraying, this website remains a grade-free zone.

Big Happy or Legs Go Snappy

I was out in Leavenworth this weekend and got to witness Johnny doing the FA of the longstanding roof project at the Carnival Boulders. If you've ever been to the Carnivals, you've probably noticed the huge looming roof on the largest boulder. You have also probably been disappointed to see the total dearth of holds, save for a large rail stretching sideways across the base of the overhang. Adam Healy recently rapped down and cleaned a line on the left arete that follows an incipient seam to top out at the edge of the roof. This Saturday, we brought a ton of pads up there and Johnny gunned down the FA - flash. It is clear to me that this line represents a distinctly new-school Leavenworth line. The crux moves are 20+ feet over jagged boulders, and the climb would probably not have been possible without Adam's rappel cleaning. Adam has been cleaning several other lines of equal height and quality, and I'm sure that this Fall will see the opening of more tough and committing lines like this.

I'll have some pictures to post in the next couple days, but for now, here's Scott Mitchell's video of Adam on the second ascent of Big Happy or Legs Go Snappy. Enjoy!