Grope, Grasp, Slip!

With the recent spate of hot weather here in LA things have gotten pretty grim at Stoney. Problems out here are often condition-dependent, and the session today involved lots of racing the slip-clock while desperately trying to stay on long enough to move to the next hold. The upside of this is that after a summer of working out on rock that sweats as much as you do, when the cold and wind come your project will feel like a gym 5.5, straight juggin' yo! I'll leave you with another picture to look at:

This is Brandon working it out on Blockhead (v8), a real eye-catcher and a beast of an arete problem. Brandon is rolling out to Thailand tomorrow to live the dream; let's all let out a collective "lucky fucker" and send him off on a good note!

Get Stoney

We are having absurdly nice weather again in LA and a Stoney sesh was in order.
















Here is Nick starting Rodeo Style (v3)

Chris shows you how to use your heel topping out the same problem

Now for the business. This is a sequence of Chris on Frequent Flyer (v6?) up in the summit area. These problems are near Umma Gumma (v6/7), a Bachar first ascent and another Stoney classic. The summit area is probably the least developed at Stoney, with a decent amount of new lines. If you feel like exploring or just doing something other than the Boulder 1 to Turlock shuffle check it out up top, you'll probably be alone and the views on a clear day are delightful.

This slopey crimp is pretty terrible looking. Chris is strong.

Putting it all out there while throwing for the sweet sigh o' relief hold











Heading up to the Bay Area this weekend for a bit of a different look. Hopefully we'll make it out to Castle Rock and sample some of that Northern sandstone. Thanks for stopping by and remember, keep the mind state Golden. Peace!

A Day With the Jack and the Rainy Queen

Its raining in LA today, but Chris and I are working on a semi-secret project (more on this in the hopefully near future) and we figured today would be a good day to get some photos:

burn baby burn. a car fire on Topanga across from Stoney 9AM

Chris feels things out while Jack keeps watch

Working out the moves on one of many Crankie Queenie variations

 This is Chris working out another start to the graffiti-ridden Queenie, a cluster of problems that with slightly different conditions would be far more classic. An unfortunate thing about urban bouldering is areas being robbed of many classics.

           

 

It was my first day back at Stoney since I fell and it felt nice being out there, rain and all. Thinking over possible sequences on Crankie Queenie with Chris reminded me of what I love about climbing.

On Stoney and rain:
Like any sandstone/conglomerate type stone, the rock at Stoney is highly vulnerable to rain and as such should be avoided for at least 3-4 days after a good soaking. This is the disclaimer but as a mad climbing addict I know that asking this is nigh impossible. While I wholeheartedly sympathize with those that simply cannot wait to get back on the rock it is frustrating watching classic problems rapidly erode. The wet season thus far has been particularly brutal on Stoney, with classic problems like Crowd Pleaser v2 losing key holds, and it is irritating because it can be easily avoided. Stoney offers many options for rainy-day climbing so you can avoid the gym and the destruction of classic problems. Tuna is the obvious choice, but the backside of jamrock stays dry too and for those willing to explore many other options exist. So help Stoney stay strong and keep off the plastic this winter!