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.

Rocktown Video

Here's another little video from my time in the Southeast.  For the most part I prefer making videos that are more than simply setting a camera on a tripod but that's all had the energy/time to do.  So if you want some beta and to get an overview of some of the classics in Rochtown you might enjoy this.




Rocktown Bouldering: Classics from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

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

Little Chris in the Dirty South

While in the South I had the pleasure of having one of my best friend along for most of the trip.  Chris Schaefer (aka Little Chris or Dreamboat) is not only a fantastic friend and climbing partner but is also godfather to Nalani.  Chris is also coming back from injury and it was nice to see his shoulder holding out.  If I have one criticism of Chris it's that he has a poor choice of clothes when it comes to taking climbing pictures.

Chris, like it says on the jacket

The Godfather giving Hammie a ride 

Chris on one of Rocktown's best, Golden Shower

Chris blending in with the rock on Blue in Rocktown

Milking the slopers of Little Bad in Rocktown

Chris finds his own beta 

Who's the man?

Bouldering with a 4 year old in Rocktown

Most people that have been climbing with me recently knows that 4 years ago my essential climbing gear grew substantially and has been growing every since.  Of course I'm talking about my daughter Nalani (aka Hammie).  Quitting climbing has never been an option for me so when Nalani came into my life it meant packing up that little bundle of joy and heading out to the rocks.  Sure it takes a bit more effort and there are some areas that aren't practical (although I still managed to stuff Hammie in my crashpad and hump it up to Chaos Canyon) but having Nalani along makes life better.  More than a few times a big hug from my little girl has made me let go of some climbing frustrating and just enjoy the day.  Hammie is a pretty amazing crag kid (while nearly perfect she does have her moments) and resentfully has even shown an interest in climbing herself.  We'll see what comes of that but I'm hopefully.

Here is a little video of some bouldering in Rocktown where Hammie made her presence known.



Rocktown: Bouldering with a 4-year old from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Rocktown

Rocktown had been my favorite area from my trip to the South 10 years ago but after this trip I'm not sure if I prefer the climbing in Rocktown or LRC.  Both area are roughly the same size but Rocktown is a bit more spread out and the climbing tends to be steeper.  The thing that might give Rocktown the edge is that you can camp there and it is cheaper (there is still a small fee to climb).  It was nice to not need to drive and there were multiple problems I failed on those many years ago that I was excited to finally finish off.  We climbed 3 consecutive days and after making short work of the old projects I ran around ticking as many other classics as I could.

Chris and Hammie hanging in the parking before heading out to the boulders

 Golden Shower is a beautiful problem.  The problem to the right is called Golden Harvest and is one of the problems I'd like to go back for.

Center Croc Block is an awesome highball and should be high on the list for anyone visiting Rocktown.

Aaron on Standard Variation.  The iron bands in the the sandstone served as the grips and make for some awesome aesthetics.

 Aaron on a cool highball.

Brown Eye Left had some awesome shapes and pleasing movement.  This wall was one of several that offered a slew of variations.  We opted to climb the most straight forward lines and skipped the linkups.

Little Rock City

Chattanooga is one of those cities climbers flock to as there is endless rock scattered around.  There is still tons of potential and while most of the areas are small there are a couple that are more substantial, with Little Rock City (aka Stone Fort) being the largest and most popular.

Little Rock City in some ways is a model for access as the boulders are located on a privately owned golf course.  Yes, you have to pay $5 to climb but it beats having the place shutdown and as a added bonus the folks at the club-house (where you park and pay the fee) are super nice.  And of course the climbing is good enough that you'd gladly pay to sample some of the sweet sandstone.

The rock in LRC is generally bullet and the climbing offers something for everyone from beginners to hard-men.   While it is perhaps Chattanooga's largest area it is still pretty small and you could easily see everything in a day (though it will probably take more that a few days to climb everything).  The approach is short and everything is pretty easy to find which is why there was always people climbing there.  Pretty much everything is fun to climb on as the stone has awesome shapes and is skin friendly.  Fortunately for those driven by aesthetics there are also several amazing lines to get worked up about.

We spent 4 of our 8 climbing days in LRC and every day I climbed on awesome problems and met good people.  I just wish the area was a bit larger.  Here are a few pictures and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Celestial Mechanics was one of my favorite problems from 10 years ago.  It was as good as I remembered.

Super Mario is one of those popular climbs that seems to always have pads under it.  Fun steep climbing with a slew of "choose you own adventure" variations.

Bedwetters is a long steep climb with the crux coming at the end.  This wasn't a problem a was initially drawn to but when you find pads under a problem it can be hard not to partake and I was glad I did.  Here Niko eyeballs the crux hold toward the end of the climb.

Cheech fingering the "good" hold on The White Face.  This rig is a crimp fest and one of the few problems in LRC that will wreck your skin.  After a couple good attempts I decided to save skin for other climbs but I'd like to come back for this one.

Walter gets oh so close on Shiver Me Timbers Direct.  This one is also a little sharp and but is a great line.

This was one of the most beautiful pieces of stone I saw in TN.  Deception is the awesome climb that climbs right up the middle.