Grand Junction Bouldering Video

Here's a little video from my time in Grand Junction.  Hopefully it will inspire some folks to get out and develop the "new" area (which is much better than most of the local stuff).  We only got that one half day and I'm psyched to go back if I'm still in the States when the snow clears.


Grand Junction Bouldering from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Pay Dirt: Grand Bouldering

A couple years ago when I first explored Unaweep Canyon just outside Grand Junction I was impressed with the amount of rock and disappointed with the overall quality.  If only there was a canyon like this that wasn't 90% choss.....  

Well last year I headed south of Gateway on Hwy 141 a mere hour from Grand Junction and noticed the rock type changed from the disappointing Dakota to the much better Wingate sandstone.  Due to time restraints and a sleepy 3 year old I was limited to only a quick inspection of roadside blocks but I saw enough to know I needed to come back.

So this year I was back in the hood and excited about seeing what this area had to offer.  It only took a few hours of running around boulders before I saw enough to last multiple days and I had only scratched the surface.  The rock was good and formed awesome features that make for great lines and climbing.

Super psyched I recruited Matty and I went back for a half day of brushing and further exploring.  We put up two great problems and left 3 sick projects and I became even more excited about the area.  I was even thinking I could spend a couple weeks in Junction developing when the weather gods decide to shit on my plans and make the entire USA a snowy icebox.

It's been a week now since I last climbed (weird to go that long between climbing while on a climbing trip) and while I've left for warmer temps I can't help but wonder why people haven't climbed in that canyon.  The boulders are super obvious with approaches that are laughably close.  Only one hour from Grand Junction I don't see why boulders haven't been flocking there.  I saw almost no signs of climbing and I later learned that what little chalk I did see was attributed to a friend (and kindred spirit) that lives 5 hours away (he was also dumbfounded by the lack of established bouldering).  Seriously, Grand Junction boulders should drive past the choss in Unaweep and get to work.  The rock is way better and there are gems of every grade sitting a stone's throw from the road.

Anyways, if I'm still around when the snow clears I'd love to head back.  And I'd love to hear if anyone else has actually checked this place out.  Amazes me that it is practically untouched.

On a side note, Saint George is covered in snow and it looks like we'll be heading to Vegas as it seems the only place with pleasant temps.  Here are a few pictures from the "new" area.

Matty on the best problem we put up, a striking arete with a technical sequence.  It took some time to work out the subtleties and we called this one Pimps Don't Cry

Matty on Pimps Don't Cry.  It required almost no brushing.

We thought this one would be a moderate but we couldn't do the first two moves and decided to move on.  Deceptively difficult. 

A sweet problem on perfect rock.  Matty got super close to this one.  I called it Plain Sight.  

I was hoping to go back to this one.  Directly behind Plain Sight I wanted to clean the top with a rope before going for it but it's probably under a bunch of snow now.  You can see how far the approach is.

Another roadside block.  I managed to unlock a sequence using improbable holds but daylight ended the session.  Would love to go back.

Medusa's Knees

So I've talked a little trash about the local climbing in Grand Junction but I've also tried to make clear that there is some good stuff to be found.  It might require a little guidance (or a lot of time sifting through choss) but one can actually climb on some pretty sweet problems.  One of these quality problems is found at the Dynamite Shacks and is called Medusa's Knees.  The rock is good (by Junction standards) and the movement is awesome.

Prairie uses the first of two drop knees after climbing the opening steep section.

The crux revolves around two slopey crimps.  Here Matty grabs the first crimp  

Both Matty and I could grab the first crimp without a drop knee but all 3 of climbers had to use one to grab the second crimp

The second drop knee

Prairie does the crux dead-point to a slopey jug.  A pretty sweet problem.

Grand Junction Bouldering and the Arctic Front

After leaving the Dirty South my little family hopped over to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving in Grand Junction with my family.  I'd been through Grand Junction a couple times over the years and explored a bit of the climbing.  There is tons of local bouldering which is unfortunately mostly choss but if you are willing to explore there is gold in them hills.  Between stuffing my face, hanging with family and tending to a vomiting princess I managed to get out for some quick local sessions and also found a serious gold mine (I'll post more on that later).  Unfortunately any further attempts to climb were shut down as an arctic front moved in, dumped snow and lowered temperatures to below freezing for the foreseeable future.  Dawn the weather gods.

We're planning on escaping the snow and embarking toward St George/Las Vegas in the next day or two as the gold mining in Colorado will have to wait.  Here are a few pictures of some local Grand Junction bouldering.

Grand Junction at first glance looks like a bouldering mecca, until you realize most of the rock is choss.  But it sure is fun hiking around looking for the rare gems.

Amongst all the local choss a handful of decent climbs can be found.  We spent a few hours at one of the local spots called the Dynamite Shacks and not only enjoyed ourselves but found a couple climbs worth doing.  Here Matty on a slopey arete.

Another fun little arete that took more effort than anticipated.  

This slab was actually super cool.  Notice Matty using a mono.

A fun problem with a crux dyno at the end.  Matty tried to use his height to reach but still came up short.

This problem wasn't anything special but still fun to climb on despite the soft rock  The nice thing is that next year it'll be a different problem as the holds are ever so slightly crumbling with every attempt.  Got to find the upside to choss

The Grandest Junction in the West

The spray I'd heard on Unaweep Canyon just outside of Grand Junction was so bad that some years ago I drove right by without even stopping. Admittedly, this is not like me but it was at a time when I'd seen almost none of the climbing in Colorado and I didn't have an adorable 9 month old limiting how far I could hike to boulders. This time when we rolled through GJ to visit my sister Heather the idea of chossy boulders a stone's throw from parking seemed appealing and worst case scenario I'd cross one more place off my list.

Maybe it was the total lack of expectations but I was fairly impressed with Unaweep. Yes, there is a lot of choss, but there is also some high quality rock to be found with a little effort and perseverance. The sheer quantity of the boulders ensured that some gems could be found and in my brief wandering (only a couple hours) I found some amazing things just waiting to be climbed. It just goes to show that spray is not to be trusted and most people are too lazy to adequately explore and assess an area.

Here are a few pics of some of the developed climbing.

The Plethora boulder was the best single boulder that I saw that had been developed. Lots of fun steep problems and unlimited variations for the board locals. This one was my favorite problem on the boulder.

Tommy on the Plethora boulder.

Lina also on the Plethora boulder

Some cool verticalish face at another area

One of the better things I found that appeared to be climbed on. Felt hard and I wonder is it's done.