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General Climbing Discussion

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Rack for U.S west coast. 12-Nov-2005 At 2:01:23 AM mrbumble

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Rack wise i'd go with the cams, one rack of nuts + micros + offsets. Hexes are cool, but not common or necessary with the rack of cams your new partner will have....

Yosemite is a zoo in may, if you can try mid september through october - the 1 week limit disappears then, and the rangers are too burnt out to chase you properly. And the weather was fan-bloody-tastic for me then. Snake dike is not to be missed. Another hot tip around that area is to get to the needles. I didn't manage it, but mates of mine said it was the best climbing on the west coast.

J-tree is special, just be prepared to be a bit scared. Everything seems to be flared and feels tough for the grade.

Red rocks is a better option if your grade floats around the 17-18 mark. Shite camping but awesome climbing with heaps of options for both hot and cold conditions.

Owen river gorge in bishop has some really fun sport climbing up to around 24.

I'd leave indian creek for a later trip unless you're happy onsighting at least grade 21 (.10d) crack. Despite what people say, it really starts at 22-23.

If you're passing through smith rock, don't miss the basalt in the lower gorge. A mix of nice crack routes and different sport routes.

Squish (it's called that for a reason) is soft up to around the grade 20/21 mark and then all of the sudden can get very real from the grade. There is a very big gap between the grand wall (mega classic 21/22), and the next major route on the progresion, freeway (light version at 23 - we didn't even make it to the crux pitch.) I general, climbing there will be periodic (and with wet cruxes) in late winter/early spring when dry spells hit. There are a couple of very steep sport areas which stay dryish though. Try to finish there around july/august if you can. One of the best areas for moderate trad that i visited.

Like anywhere, the locals will give you a good indication on the must do's of the area.