Monster Island

As an obsessive boulderer I usually shy away from taking trips that don't include a considerable amount of climbing and wonder what I would do if my parents lived somewhere like Florida or Denmark.  It's safe to say I would not go home quite as often.  But fortunately for me I don't have to choose between slighting relatives and going through climbing-withdraws as Pie Town has quality bouldering about 15 minutes away.

The rock around Pie Town is a volcanic tuff with quality varying from kitty-litter to super solid.  Fortunately the solid rock tends to be concentrated together and saves folks the trouble of sifting through choss.  The heavily featured rock makes for steep powerful climbing and the high altitude and beautiful setting provides a welcome respite from the scorching dessert only an hour away.

Here are a few pictures from Pie Town's most developed and easily accessible area,  Monster Island.

The collection of boulders that is Monster Island.  The bottom half of the large cliff in the background is choss but luckily the boulders came from the solid upper half

 Kim on the classic Frankenstein Left

 Lina gets oh so close on the Frankenstein dyno

 Vampire Roof is quite popular as it offers several steep lines and a slew of variations

Kim on Piss-Ant