A Little Moab Bouldering Video: Three Classics at Big Bend

While in the States Hammie and I did a quick stop at the Big Bend boulders outside Moab, UT.  The area is small but has an impressive concentration of good problems and has the added bonus of being roadside, a big plus when rolling with a 4-year old.

I hadn't been through Moab in some years and I was reminded of how much potential the area has.  Other than Big Bend the bouldering development has been limited as the region draws mostly trad climbers but there are endless boulders to be explored underneath those splitter cracks.  One of these days I'll have more that just a couple hours and actually see what's out there.  Until then, here's a little video of 3 classics from Big Bend



Moab Bouldering: Big Bend from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Two from the Tablelands

Here's a little video of two problems from the Sacred Boulders



Two from the Tablelands from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Tableland Bouldering in Bishop, CA

Damn, it has been awhile since I posted.  My hiatus is most likely due to a potent cocktail of low-motivation,  injury, family and work.  It's crazy that those things all join forces while on an extended road trip but I guess life happens even when living the dream.  Anyways, I'm back in Sweden now after 2.5 months of van living in the States and I'm already missing the t-shirt weather as my tan is living on borrowed time.  The good news is that now I'll have a bit of time to sort through some pictures/videos and I'll get the blog rolling again.

Here are some photos from the Sacred Boulders in Bishop, CA.  This little area is definitely inferior to the Happy and Sad Boulders (and therefore far inferior to all the granite areas) but it has a few gems scattered amongst the choss.  If the Buttermilks are snowy and you are a seasoned Bishopite looking for something new I'd recommend spending a day at the Sacreds.

 Robert on a sweet problem at the Sacred Boulders.

Nick on the Wave, one of the problems worth doing.  The standard beta for the problem involves a high knee-bar at the crux but Nick opted for the the less scary (and slightly harder) option.

Matty on my favorite problem from the area.  Anyone know the name of this one?

Prairie looking shaky on another sweet problem from the Sacreds

The Beard vs Angel Dyno

Nalani and I have been joined by our Swedish friend Robert who escaped the Nordic winter for some bouldering in the sun.  His first day in 'merica we took our jet-lagged friend to the Kraft Boulders where he proceed to attack the stone with reckless abandon.  He managed to avoid bleeding but his tips took a beating on the classic Angel Dyno, which almost went down (several times over).
 

 Robert on the opening moves of the Angel Dyno.  It's hard to see but he is rocking an impressive beard.

Robert so close to holding the big swing.  He did that over and over.

The Angel Dyno.

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.

Vegas Baby Vegas

The freezing temperatures in Colorado and Utah chased us to Las Vegas where we've been hanging for a week.  It seems like this happens every year or two and even though I'm not psyched on the climbing in Vegas you can't beat the weather as we've been working on our tans while the highs in St George (just 1.5 hours away) only recently starting creeping above freezing.  

Fortunately it looks like things are starting to warm up at other areas and in a day or two we'll be motoring ourselves toward the giant granite boulders near Bishop, CA.  

Here are a few pictures from Las Vegas. 

This is what we were escaping from.  This is roughly an hour north of Vegas and illustrates one of the great things about the Western United States, if you don't like the weather just drive an hour.  

I've spent a bit too much time in Vegas and I'm so unmotivated that I even went sport climbing one day just to remind myself why I boulder.  At least Hammie thought it was fun.

The biggest selling point of hanging in Vegas has been the presence of family as my sister Prairie and our dad have circled the vans.  Been awesome camping with them.  Here Hammie takes Fart-Fart (aka grandpa) bouldering at the Kraft Boulders.

There are certainly some good problems in Vegas.  Here Prairie climbs Pork-chop, one of the gems that shouldn't be missed.

Jake of All Trades has some of the coolest hold in Vegas.

Prairie got very close on Jake of All Trades but in the end had to pack it up after nearly throwing a wobbler. 

 The Pearl is one of Vegas' best know problems.  This one tends to get bagged on by lots of climbers after their ego gets blasted falling off this polished gem.  Masumi eventually sends after a bit of a struggle.

Joe gets painfully close on the problem left of the Angel Dyno.

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.