So yesterday we went to Moore's (AGAIN). Its amazing how many times I've been there, and yet I can have a whole day where I do nothing but new problems (for me). Its a testament to how big the area is. My understanding of the volume of boulder problems to climb has really exploded this year. I think the new warm up area we've been exploring is quite exciting, as it offers a number of high quality problems in the V2 to V6 range. Though it has been previously developed, its new to us and its been a blast!
I was feeling a spring in my step so I did some serious trucking up to the fire road, only to be greeted by a ranger asking for my climbing permit! GARR! Even for just bouldering! Yes! No! I didn't have one! I dropped my pad and trucked it right back down to the kiosk to get a permit, and ran right back up the trail, smoking myself in the process. I kept it going though and made it to the warm ups within a breath of losing consciousness. Make sure to get a permit when you go to Moore's to climb or boulder!
Before we got down to any serious business, Adam led us up to the big boulder on the right side of the fire road, which is a couple hundred yards before the Sentinel Buttress trail. On the back side of this boulder there are some good tennis shoe warm up problems, and the wall can be traversed in tennies. It was a good way to get the blood flowing and get the body warmed up a bit, and it prepared us for some moderate pulling.
The real climbing started at the New Warm Up Area. Though I had proposed the name of the Satellites, since its kind of a satellite area, I think New Warm Up Area is more logical and thats what we've been calling it. Adam, Taylor, and myself started on the first arete you come to when walking over to the boulders. There's kind of a narrow overhanging face which you walk right up to from the trail. The right arete of this face goes at about V2 or V3. Starting from around the corner a bit on the left, there's a big flat undercling jug. Move off of this jug to the face and up the pinches and top out straight up for about a V5 or V6.
We then moved over to the big boulder, which has tall vertical lines on its left side, and a short roof on the right/trail-facing side. The short roof seemed to have several lines, but we started with the obvious one. A bit of a left to right traverse on obvious chalked holds, then a really hard top out! Adam was able to bag this one, its probably about a V5. With a little beta and slightly better temps the top might not feel so hard.
The next goal was Governing Dynamics, and the rail problem to its left, before ending with the North End. None of us had ever done Governing before, and we came into the problem having heard two things about the it - its totally sweet, and its totally horrible. We first did the V4-ish rail to the left, which I found to be quite fun, and a great warm up or training problem. You can make it as hard as you want, using a lot of tension with the feet and core.
On to Governing, the problem starts with obvious underclings on a block about waist height. You plant two bad feet then go up left hand to an edge, then somehow move out right to slopers and then a jug. I thought the tension in the first move alone was worth doing the problem, very cool. Folks use a lot of different beta to get out right, but I think we all settled on a heel-toe cam as the best beta. I don't know about V6, might be more like a 5, but its still a cool problem. Here's a shot of Governing from 0friction.
So after finishing there, we attempted to bushwhack straight to the North End. Let me just say that I do not recommend this! If somebody were feeling industrious, they could blaze a total of about 100 yards through rhodos to link up with a faint game trail above and to the left of the Vandal boulder. As it stands, its not a super fun hike, but passable. Start from the opposite side of the Vandal boulder problem, facing the big wall, take a straight left, then go up where it looks thinnest (good luck spotting that). Head up and kind of left, the trail goes right into a 4 foot high boulder, climb the boulder and just above is the game trail, take this all the way up to the main trail, and be happy its all over! With all the bushwhacking and hiking we did, we were totally beat by the time we got to Plafond Deceiver, and nap time was on.
It was amazingly peaceful laying on our crash pads gazing up at the circling buzzards, and the peregrines performing mid-air acrobatics! We only caught glimpses of their brilliant flying abilities, but I was impressed, nevertheless. It was a bit hot, but in the shade and laying on a crash pad, and with the mid-air entertainment, the scene couldn't have been more serene. It was a wonderful day.
We finished by running laps on the roof section of Plafond, sick moves! I'd never been down here before and I'm super psyched to come back. What's the line on the left side of the roof called? That thing is rad! Gotta get back!
I was feeling a spring in my step so I did some serious trucking up to the fire road, only to be greeted by a ranger asking for my climbing permit! GARR! Even for just bouldering! Yes! No! I didn't have one! I dropped my pad and trucked it right back down to the kiosk to get a permit, and ran right back up the trail, smoking myself in the process. I kept it going though and made it to the warm ups within a breath of losing consciousness. Make sure to get a permit when you go to Moore's to climb or boulder!
Before we got down to any serious business, Adam led us up to the big boulder on the right side of the fire road, which is a couple hundred yards before the Sentinel Buttress trail. On the back side of this boulder there are some good tennis shoe warm up problems, and the wall can be traversed in tennies. It was a good way to get the blood flowing and get the body warmed up a bit, and it prepared us for some moderate pulling.
The real climbing started at the New Warm Up Area. Though I had proposed the name of the Satellites, since its kind of a satellite area, I think New Warm Up Area is more logical and thats what we've been calling it. Adam, Taylor, and myself started on the first arete you come to when walking over to the boulders. There's kind of a narrow overhanging face which you walk right up to from the trail. The right arete of this face goes at about V2 or V3. Starting from around the corner a bit on the left, there's a big flat undercling jug. Move off of this jug to the face and up the pinches and top out straight up for about a V5 or V6.
We then moved over to the big boulder, which has tall vertical lines on its left side, and a short roof on the right/trail-facing side. The short roof seemed to have several lines, but we started with the obvious one. A bit of a left to right traverse on obvious chalked holds, then a really hard top out! Adam was able to bag this one, its probably about a V5. With a little beta and slightly better temps the top might not feel so hard.
The next goal was Governing Dynamics, and the rail problem to its left, before ending with the North End. None of us had ever done Governing before, and we came into the problem having heard two things about the it - its totally sweet, and its totally horrible. We first did the V4-ish rail to the left, which I found to be quite fun, and a great warm up or training problem. You can make it as hard as you want, using a lot of tension with the feet and core.
On to Governing, the problem starts with obvious underclings on a block about waist height. You plant two bad feet then go up left hand to an edge, then somehow move out right to slopers and then a jug. I thought the tension in the first move alone was worth doing the problem, very cool. Folks use a lot of different beta to get out right, but I think we all settled on a heel-toe cam as the best beta. I don't know about V6, might be more like a 5, but its still a cool problem. Here's a shot of Governing from 0friction.
So after finishing there, we attempted to bushwhack straight to the North End. Let me just say that I do not recommend this! If somebody were feeling industrious, they could blaze a total of about 100 yards through rhodos to link up with a faint game trail above and to the left of the Vandal boulder. As it stands, its not a super fun hike, but passable. Start from the opposite side of the Vandal boulder problem, facing the big wall, take a straight left, then go up where it looks thinnest (good luck spotting that). Head up and kind of left, the trail goes right into a 4 foot high boulder, climb the boulder and just above is the game trail, take this all the way up to the main trail, and be happy its all over! With all the bushwhacking and hiking we did, we were totally beat by the time we got to Plafond Deceiver, and nap time was on.
It was amazingly peaceful laying on our crash pads gazing up at the circling buzzards, and the peregrines performing mid-air acrobatics! We only caught glimpses of their brilliant flying abilities, but I was impressed, nevertheless. It was a bit hot, but in the shade and laying on a crash pad, and with the mid-air entertainment, the scene couldn't have been more serene. It was a wonderful day.
We finished by running laps on the roof section of Plafond, sick moves! I'd never been down here before and I'm super psyched to come back. What's the line on the left side of the roof called? That thing is rad! Gotta get back!
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