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dynobelay
Feb 27, 2004, 5:17 AM
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My vote is Owens River Gorge. But that's mainly because it has hundreds of sport climbs of a grade that I can do; 5.9 through 5.11+. I'm too old or don't care to put out the effort for the harder grades.
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a_scender
Feb 27, 2004, 5:19 AM
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Lets not forget Shelf Road! I think shelf has the best climbing variety, from moderates to much harder, on great limestone. Year round climbing just adds a little bonus. I guess if your looking for fourteens though, then you'll have to hit rifle.
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wonder1978
Feb 27, 2004, 5:55 AM
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Allright,
I know a forum on rc.com is probably not the best place to advertise a less thread upon sport crag than Rumney in New England that's (on top) supposedly better, but I'd honestly really like to know, cause I would go there instead. I have no opinion about the other places, never been to them sadly. But I like Rumney, for what it's worth, sure hope it isn't the best there is, that would be sorta dissapointing. I still really wanna know about these N-E 'secret' sport crags, pretty please?
W.
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rokklym
Feb 27, 2004, 6:07 AM
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I've been to quite a few crags ( see my profile for a list ) and so far I think my favorite so far has been Wild Iris. Its all personal preference though. I just got back from Arizona and we climbed at Mt. Lemmon, Queen Creek and Jacks Canyon and I really didn't care for Mt Lemmon, but thats just me. I'm sure some people have a blast there but I didn't. Its a beautiful area though. And on the other hand, I had a blast at Jacks Canyon, which is an area which alot of people probably hate but I thought it was great.
The places I'd like to check out are Sinks Canyon, absolutely amazing canyon! Didn't get to climb there though.,Shelf Road, City of Rocks, and Spearfish canyon.
So far, heres my favorite Crags ( based on fun factor and willingness to go back )
1. Wild Iris
2. Jacks Canyon
3. Jackson Falls
4. RRG
5. NRG & Summersville Lake
6. Rushmore Needles
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warloc
Feb 27, 2004, 8:19 AM
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We had a forum such like this in the most visited climbing web-page in Spain last year. The result was far from reality, as most of the people said the best crag was the best one NEAR their home... :shock:
I wonder if that will happen or has already happened here
Have fun :wink:
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krga20
Mar 3, 2004, 1:05 AM
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I would have to say VRG and Mt. Clark...Both areas have outstanding, quality routes on superb rock. Damn hard though!!!
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bouldering-bumm
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Mar 6, 2004, 1:49 AM
Post #32 of 71
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I would say either Smith rock, OR, The Black Cliffs, ID, or Rifle, CO.
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mbg
Mar 16, 2004, 12:47 AM
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I'll throw a vote in for Penitente Canyon in SoCo. Yeah, the routes are short and nothing is super steep but I love it there. The crowds are small and the rock is solid; you'll be hard pressed to find better huecoed climbing in the Rockies. It's a mini Smith in a quiet setting. Penitente is simply beautiful place with a casual atmosphere and fun climbing.
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pbjosh
Mar 16, 2004, 1:18 AM
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(I haven't been to all of these, this is a collection of opinions from friends as well as myself):
In no particular order:
RRG
Rifle
Clark
VRG
Charleston
Smith
Runners up:
Rumney
Wild Iris / Sinks
NRG
Red Rocks
I think that Owen's, while popular, is far from the best. And putting stuff like Jack's Canyon or Williamson on a list of best sport areas in America is pretty funny... let's add Otay, New Jack City, High Desert and Malibu Canyon while we're at it...
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pbjosh
Mar 16, 2004, 1:26 AM
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In reply to: And Josh? (You must be kidding!) Though it does actually have hundreds of sport routes now, most are not super steep and they are scattered all about amongst 6,000 trad routes. But, there are some sport routes there that are stellar and unlike most areas, the routes actually involve doing hard moves (not just lots of easy stuff without a rest).
This is definitely true - the best sport routes at Jtree are world class routes, clean lines of weakness through the terrain, not just a line of bolts in a massively bolted cave or face. They are mostly entirely natural (some small use of glue dating back, not on newer routes, very little if any chipping). They tend to feature very difficult cruxes as well, as Randy mentioned, and the variation in climbing from route to route is much greater than at any sport crag I've been to.
However this just means that there are handful of excellent sport routes at Jtree. It's still a joke as far as sport climbing destinations go :)
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xscimmiax
Mar 16, 2004, 3:47 AM
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I don't really sport climb all that much, but from where I have been Owen's has been my favorite.
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granut
Mar 17, 2004, 7:11 AM
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I'd have to say that Jack's canyon is on my list of favorites. I'm not a big fan of the steap routes there and stick to the vertical stuff... which are not drilled or glued from what I saw.
I think that Rifle is somewhat overated. You might as well be climbing at a gym with all the chalk and greased up holds.
Charleston is a beautiful place to climb but I could see how people could be sensitive to the drilled holds.
I'd say my favorite is Owens. You have everything from suberb 5.8's to great 5.12's. And many 5 star routes at all grades.
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kalcario
Mar 17, 2004, 7:24 AM
Post #38 of 71
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*This is definitely true - the best sport routes at Jtree are world class routes,*
There is not a single world class sport route anywhere in Southern California, let alone RubbleTree...I'm a sport climbing fanatic and I never go there, there is literally *nothing* overhanging which is the first requisite of a decent sport route
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reedcrr
Mar 29, 2004, 8:06 AM
Post #39 of 71
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Ok the best is hard to determine for me...
Depends on my mood and my cash flow for the trip! Top Ten in no order, all of the different...all of them good!
1. Owens - Fun and loaded!
2. The Red - Good climbing, great pizza!
3. Rifle - I just like the area.
4. Charleston - Not the Hood though! Look around carefully and you can find new development on limestone that is 10 times better then the hood! This cliff band is on the mountain and has roughly 35-50 routes on it, all single pitch and "classic" ranging from 5.9 to 5.12d! Plus they are all natural...no drilling. I can't tell you exactly where it is but find a topo and go looking it is worth it! Just don't tell the drill and glue happy moron from Vegas where it is located....no names mentioned but his initials are JB...(Joe Brooks, damn did I type that in...) He has destroyed many routes on Charleston and other local Vegas areas trying to get 14's out of the rock. Outdoor gym anyone? Nuff said! You are not a rock star Joe, knock it off or we will start chopping every one of your routes! A pic in R&I every now and again does not give you the right to comfort a route to suit your taste!
Ok just had to let that go! It just makes me mad! The Hood was at one time a good cave and fun to climb, now it has been changed in to an international outdoor gym where R&I and Climbing mag hangout to get pics of their favorite pocket drillers chasing 15's, of course they won''t tell you that the new routes are created monsters not natural beauties! God forbid sales numbers would slip if they did that!
5. American Fork- The drinking laws suck, but the climbing is good!
6. Jack's Canyon - Winslow....such a fine place to see!
7. The Shelf - Good for beginners
8. Virgin River - Noisey and smelly but fun and hard!
9. Red Rocks - Good for the ole' ego! Fun place, lots of routes!
10. Smith - I like climbing tuft for some sick reason! Go figure...
Have fun and climb hard!
By the way "Best location for sport climing is not in the US, but we have some good stuff...go find it and have fun!"
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sarcat
Mar 29, 2004, 4:20 PM
Post #40 of 71
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Registered: Jan 22, 2004
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"The best place it the one right out your back door."
American Fork is 5 minutes away.
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jbeta
Oct 26, 2004, 3:12 PM
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Registered: May 20, 2002
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I think each of the "top tier" areas has something to offer. If you like endurance routes, the Red is your place. If you want your ego massaged, then Maple is for you. If you want to get your ass kicked on polished routes while hanging with the glitterati of sport climbing, then you should go to Rifle.
I like Rumney, a lot. Here is a place where climbers of all abilities can climb near each other, on the same cliff. Just the other day, I flailed my way up a route while, next to me, a friend of mine worked on Livin Astro. We were all just hanging out for the day; we were all of different abilities; yet we all acted as equals. This attitude is lacking in big name crags out west, and in my opinion makes Rumney the best crag in the country.
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moeman
Oct 26, 2004, 3:54 PM
Post #42 of 71
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In reply to: I'll throw a vote in for Penitente Canyon in SoCo. Yeah, the routes are short and nothing is super steep but I love it there. The crowds are small and the rock is solid; you'll be hard pressed to find better huecoed climbing in the Rockies. It's a mini Smith in a quiet setting. Penitente is simply beautiful place with a casual atmosphere and fun climbing.
From the 3 days I spent there this summer, I thought it was a superb area. Fun, technical, and diverse climbing, with some of the best sport-slabs I've ever climbed, and plentiful vertical-slightly overhanging routes as well. Its not your standard thuggish roof sport climbing, but rather tends towards precise technique. This is a great place to improve your footwork. This, plus minimal crowds, camping a five minute walk from the crags, and an excellent, remote setting make for my personal favortie sport area.
My one quibble would be that the moderate (5.10 and under) routes, while superb, are somewhat limited in number. This is not to say that there are none, but you could climb out the moderate options there in less than 2 weeks. This makes Penitente a great place to visit, but it can not match the lifetime-quantity of routes found at other areas (such as Smith).
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athena
Oct 26, 2004, 3:55 PM
Post #43 of 71
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Registered: Oct 25, 2004
Posts: 25
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I really like Rumney in the fall but Maple Canyon is also really unique and endless. Plus, after a tough day of climbing, you can go skinny dipping in the lake if you're willing to hike a bit!
8^)
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joeschmoe
Oct 26, 2004, 6:01 PM
Post #44 of 71
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Registered: Aug 4, 2003
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While not the best it is out my backdoor and has some outstanding routes, the Obed. You can usually find a nice semi-quiet area to play around and there's plenty of steep workable routes.
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therealdeal
Oct 26, 2004, 6:23 PM
Post #45 of 71
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Registered: Oct 29, 2002
Posts: 250
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Rifle/Red...pretty much tied in my opinion. Both are great in different ways...while Rifle is more interesting, there is just so much more of the Red.
VRG
Owens (below 12c)
Mt Clark
Maple (even though I'm sick of it)
Lander...no one crag has enough climbing to be on the upper echelon, but the entire area just might make it.
I'm sure there are others...
AF and Smith both pretty much suck...but should almost make the list for historical significance.
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petsfed
Oct 26, 2004, 6:28 PM
Post #46 of 71
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In reply to: If you want to get your ass kicked on polished routes while hanging with the glitterati of sport climbing, then you should go to Rifle.
Ain't it the truth. An old partner lives in Glenwood Springs. When I talk to him, if he isn't spraying about his super-proj ("and then you hit the double knee-bar ear hook!"), he's dropping names like a washed up actor ("so this one time, I was chillin' in the Arsenal, and who rolls up but..."). Its sickening sometimes.
My votes:
Wild Iris - Short, steep, powerful
Rifle - longer, steep, powerful
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oasis27alh
Oct 27, 2004, 3:18 PM
Post #47 of 71
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Registered: Oct 15, 2004
Posts: 65
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I don't have much experience climbing but even with my biased opinion, I'd say Smith Rock State Park is the best. It seems that central Oregon doesn't get any credit because it's just that, central Oregon, nobody wants to go to Oregon. It seems like you all live south and back east, so you have quite biased opinions too.
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jbak
Oct 29, 2004, 4:33 PM
Post #48 of 71
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In reply to: I'll throw a vote in for Penitente Canyon in SoCo. you'll be hard pressed to find better huecoed climbing in the Rockies. .
Well you could just head south and slightly west about 300 miles. I remember doing a route called Pocket Plethora at Penitente. It had a few pockets, but not really very many. I told my partner "If you want to see a REAL plethora, let's go to Datil !".
Several people have mentioned Wild Iris. I love Wyoming, and Iris is pretty and has decent climbing, but no where near "best area" status.
For single-pitch sport climbs, I have to go with the 3 "uhls"...Rifle, Maple, Datil.
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kalcario
Oct 29, 2004, 4:55 PM
Post #49 of 71
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*For single-pitch sport climbs, I have to go with the 3 "uhls"...Rifle, Maple, Datil.*
Rifle's only the best if you climb mid 13. Best overall is RRG in Kentucky, the entire Enchanted Tower (Datil) area (which I've been to a couple times and recommend highly) is not as good as one crag (the Motherlode) at the Red, and there are dozens of other great crags at the Red too...Maple is ok but mostly because you can go there in the summer when there are few other options, it doesn't really compare to the Red either...
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ben87
Oct 29, 2004, 4:57 PM
Post #50 of 71
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In reply to: Plus they are all natural...no drilling.
I don't get it... I guess I know less about sport than I thought I did. I thought all bolts were drilled...
or is all this talk of drilling and glueing about manufacturing holds, not placing bolts......is that more common that I realized when putting up sport....?
what's the deal?
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