Lohbo

Black Mountain has no shortage of sweet problems.  One of the ones we sampled was a fun steep climb called Lohbo, which is named for its proximity to another cool climb called Loh's Roof.  I managed to flash both these problems (stroke the ego....) and Prairie would have done Lohbo if she could have taken off her poopy pants.  Next time.

 Prairie eyeballs a long tenuous reach on Lohbo, Black Mountain California

Sticking it

A Little Bit Taller

Prairie found herself wishing she was a little taller on several problems in Black Mountain.  It is undeniable that height can make a huge difference and this makes Prairie even more determined to muscle her way up reachy problems.  Of course fighting genetics isn't always going to be successful.

 "I want that hold"

Determination

On the hold but in the end it wasn't quite enough.  Sucks to be short

The Dreaded Remains

According to most it was long overdue.  Now I won't be mistaken for a Spanish gypsy.  

The Republic

Here are a few pictures from the Republic, one of the many area's at Black Mountain.

 Prairie warming up

A cool arete problem

 Creg mentally prepares for Twilight of Idols.  This problem is one of the best I've done in awhile.  Aesthetically it's hard to beat as this solitary line sits atop a mountain with a great view.  A must do for capable climbers in the region.

Creg dials in the moves of Twilight of Idols.

Creg looked solid but in the end came up just short.  Next time

Sunset

Black is the New Black

My girls have finally arrived in the States and we are hanging out at my grandmothers place in Malibu and climbing local stuff around here.  It's wonderful to have my girls back.
For the time being I'll try to do some catching up from the week before Lina and Nalani arrived.  Here is a little reto-post about Black Mountain from about a week back................

The weather in the States has been freakishly good as areas that are usually snowy and unclimbable this time of year are snow free and warm.  This gave me the opportunity to check out almost any area in California and I opted for one I've long been wanting to visit, Black Mountain.

Black Mountain is an extensive granite area located east of Los Angeles in the San Jacinto Mountains.  It has long been a bouldering destination as many of the the classic moderates where put up by the old Stone Masters but it was the release of Big Up's Rampage in 1999 that really put Black Mountain on the radar.  Since Chris Sharma's tear through area projects in the late 90s Black Mountain has continued to produce high quality problems as a dedicated crew of folks continue to explore and develop.  The potential is endless for those willing to hike and I dare say that Black Mouutain should be one of the States' premier bouldering areas.

For my three days in Black Mountain I was fortunate to have a local tour guide as Creg graciously showed us around.  Creg took us to a newer area called the Republic the first day and we spent the last two days at the main areas around OK Coral and Boulder Basin.  I am now totally enamored by Black Mountain and can't wait to get back.

Here are some pictures with more to come

Potential

Creg hanging out in his backyard

Due to the seasonal locking of the gate we had a 40ish minute hike to the boulders.  Will be nice to come back in the spring and be able to park next to the boulders.

Creg slogs up the road to the boulders

Prairie on a cool mantel problem at the OK Corral 

The super classic Wave

Creg attempts one of his projects, Dark Horse

Prairie on the Hueco Wall

Black Mountain sunset

Joshua Tree's Geology Tour Road

Geology Tour Road was the one area in Joshua Tree I had never managed to check out during my brief stopovers through the years.  It was said to contain a few of J-Trees best problems and provided a reason to spend a day back in the quartz monzonite playground.  Excited to see a new place, I borrowed a bouldering guide and checked out every noteworthy problem listed in Geology Tour Road.

As per usual in J-Tree, you have to sift through lots of choss to find the gems but those that enjoy exploring will certainly appreciate the potential.  Unfortunately I didn't have time to do too much exploring of this mostly underdeveloped sector and spent the day chasing stars from the guide.  It was a good day and I now have a few more problems to recommend to friends heading to J-Tree.

If J-Tree had more problems like Y2K then I'd probably spend more time there

 Prairie just getting started on the classic highball Slashface.

Prairie on Pinched Loaf, which is officially added to my list of J-Tree favorites 

Cacti 

Jump for Joy

My sister Prairie and I jump for joy in Black Mountain.  Looks like one of us needs to work on flexibility

Juniper Canyon and the incredible Stand and Deliver

One of the days I was in Vegas we rallied a small crew to head up Juniper Canyon.  I'd been wanting to check out Juniper since last year but had difficulties finding willing partners as tales of an epic hike deterred most suitors despite the promise of one the "countries best problems".  We'll I kept hearing about how amazing this problem was so our intrepid group decide to make the hike with our primary goal Stand and Deliver.  We discovered that not only was the hike not that bad but the Stand and Deliver would have been well worth walking twice as far.

The promise of Stand and Deliver had me so transfixed that I actually took a rare rest-day before going up Juniper Canyon just to give me a better chance of sending.  I was not disappointed as it is truly an amazing problem.  And Juniper Canyon had plenty more to offer as the Cubical was another amazing problem and we discovered a couple super projects.  Guess I'll have to make that hike again.

 Lisa on Stand and Deliver

 One of the projects I'd like to go back for.  I didn't get a picture of the other project

 Jason on the Cubical

Tom on the Cubical

Make a Wish

For the next week Prairie will be joining me in the Motherload and we'll be heading first to Joshua Tree and then to Black Mountain.  Good times will be had.

Here are some pictures of Make a Wish in Red Rocks.  Make a Wish starts on one of the coolest slopers ever.  The problem is kind of a one move wonder but the sloper alone makes it worth it.  

 Jason milking the sloper

 Big D on the start of Make a Wish

Make a Wish

Gearing up for Another Great Year

I arrived in Malibu just in time to close-out 2011 with friends and family at my grandmother's house on the beach.  It was a wonderful way to end a great year and a perfect place to reflect on the past 12 months.  2011 was an extremely productive climbing year as I established over 100 boulder problems on Sweden's west coast, visited new areas, revisited some favorite areas and managed to stay relatively injury free and tick off projects everywhere I went.

I've got high hopes for 2012 as I'm hoping to make a dent in my list of projects and to discover more to add to that list.  Solklinten was a major area of focus in 2011 and will continue to get my attention on it's way to becoming one of Sweden's larger bouldering areas.  I'm hoping to make several international trips in addition to my annual winter sojourn to the States and hang with friends everywhere I go.  I've got the whole year before me and the possibilities are endless.

Hope everyone had a great 2011 and that big things are in store for 2012.

Happy New Year!

Here are a few of the projects that may go down in 2012