Photos by valeberga

Driving through Joshua Tree on the way to Tucson, we stopped at this pullout coming from the West Entrance, so I climbed around while my dad took pictures of the place.

A crimper (ok, jug to some) that I free-formed using a clay mold, and a mixture of polyester resin and silica sand. No dye was added, the mix just came out this dull green color. The hold is quite nice, but differs from commercial holds in that it is heavier and less abrasively textured. I suspect that hold manufacturers use a different type of sand, and perhaps add a foaming agent to the resin to make a less dense, more highly textured hold. Of course this is just speculation. Experimenting with another homemade hold, I found that fracturing one of these resin/sand holds with a chisel makes for very natural-feeling crimper with a nice crystalline texture.

The guidebook said "look for a finger pocket above the roof," it turned out to be a marble-sized depression and a balance mantle onto a slab.

This rough diagram of the upper ledges of the Oyster Dome is work in progress, and serves mainly to show the arrangement of the first set of routes near the top (i.e. "The 5.9+"...)

This climb heads up the rooves in the middle of the Oyster Dome Wall. I have yet to witness a climb of it. There is a chain anchor about halfway up the wall (and according to comments here, there is a second pitch.)

Wall Street, Oyster Dome. The ramp is highlighted in red. The first pitch heads left up the face, the second pitch follows the left buttress up to the top.

This is just a profile photo, yeah there is a little bit of rock in there. This is in Mt. St. Helens, winter 2005.

This lower crack is slightly overhanging. I like to shimmy up on a lieback and press my feet to the blank left wall. I suppose you could jam it if you wanted to. Note that the height of the main crack is only about 10 feet...

A couple of stacked cracks make for a nice climb that feels more like two pitches of bouldering. Personally, I like to call it "Sand In Your Crack" because the upper crack usually has a lot of sand stuck to the surface.

See section description for details. A decent low-angle slab, good for footwork practice. Photo taken from my sea kayak.

See the section description for details. Two decent but short finger cracks right on the beach. Photo taken from my sea kayak.

Nice little sandstone crack with a pumpy start. Photo taken from my sea kayak.

Short bolted face near the top of the Oyster Dome.