Northern California Bouldering The Best 50 Areas

by

Chris Summit Kevin Swift

Chris McNamara

N O R T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A B O U L D E R I N G : S U P E R T O P O S

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Oregon

Nevada

Mt. Shasta

Yosemite

Pacific Ocean

Mt. Lassen

101

51

580

80

99

140

120 

4

4

88

108  395

29

20

1

101

5

99

36

32

44

299 

139  

44

395

97

5

299 

20

101

101

80

395

199

50

89

99

80

San Jose

Oakland StocktonSan Francisco

Santa Rosa

Sacramento

Ukiah

Willits

Williams

Napa

Lodi

Sonora

Auburn

Yuba City

Oroville

Chico

Red Bluff

Leggett

Arcata Eureka

Redding

Weed

Crescent City

Susanville

Quincy

Burney

Reno

Carson City

Placerville

Truckee Lake Tahoe

Alturas

See the book “Yosemite Valley Bouldering: SuperTopos” by Matt Wilder

See the book “Tuolumne Meadows Bouldering: SuperTopos” by Chris Summit

30

50 49

28 29

1

27

26148

47

2022 21 18 19

12 13 14

17

16

11

9 8 7654

3

2 1

B

3433 3635 37

39

32 31

41 40

42

44 43

46 25 2445

A

B

A

10

38

15 23

Northern California Overview Map

F O R C U R R E N T R O U T E I N F O R M A T I O N , V I S I T W W W . S U P E R T O P O . C O M

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Contents 27. Feather River 113 28. Lassen, Eagle Peak 115 29. Lassen, Devastated Area 119 30. Castle Lake 121 31. Vacaville 123 32. Putah Creek 130

Bay Area/Wine Country 33. Berkeley-Indian Rock 134 34. Berkeley-Mortar Rock 140 35. Berkeley-Remiliard Park 142 36. Berkeley-Grizzly Peak 143 37. Glen Canyon 144 38. Castle Rock 148 39. Ring Mountain 162 40. Mickey’s Beach 166 41. Stinson Beach 174 42. Goat Rock 178 43. Fort Ross 187 44. Salt Point 192 45. Clear Lake 198 46. Squaw Rock 202 47. Dos Rios 204 48. The Falls 210

North Coast 49. Moonstone Beach 216 50. Houda Point 218

Appendix 20 bonus areas 220 100 suggested classics 222 About the author 223

Introduction 7 Gas/Food-Gear/Gyms-Camp/Lodge 8 History 14

Sonora Pass/East Side 1. Columbia College 16 2. Columbia State Park 20 3. Pump Rocks 22 4. Donnell Vista 24 5. Chipmunk Flat 26 6. Sonora Pass Boulders 28

7. Switchback Boulders 30 8. 395 Boulder 33

Central Sierra/Tahoe 9. Bear Valley-Hell’s Kitchen 34 10. Kirkwood 40 11. Momma Cat Boulder 43 12. The Secrets 44 13. Lover’s Leap 51 14. Flagpole Peak 56 15. Pie Shop 60 16. Bliss 64 17. Old County 72 18. Castle Boulder 77 19. Donner - Split Rock 80 20. Donner-Grouse Slabs 82 21. Donner-The Saddle 88 22. Rainbow 93 23. Loon Lake 95 24. The Bar 102

North East/Central Valley 25. Rocklin 104 26. Bald Rock 110

N O R T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A B O U L D E R I N G : S U P E R T O P O S

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Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport in which severe injuries or death may occur. Relying on the information in this book may increase the danger.

When climbing you can only rely on your skill, training, experience, and conditioning. If you have any doubts as to your ability to safely climb any route in this guide, do not try it.

This book is neither a professional climbing instructor nor a substitute for one. It is not an instructional book. Do not use it as one. It contains information that is nothing more than a compilation of opinions about bouldering in Northern California. These opinions are neither facts nor promises. Treat the information as opinions and nothing more. Do not substitute these opinions for your own common sense and experience.

Assumption of Risk

There may be errors in this book resulting from the mistake of the authors and/or the people with whom they consulted. The information was gathered from a variety of sources, which may not have been independently verified. Those who provided the information may have made mistakes in their descriptions. The authors may have made mistakes in their conveyance of the information in this book. The authors cannot, therefore, guarantee the correctness of any of the information contained in this book. The topographical maps, photo-diagrams, difficulty ratings, protection ratings, approach and/or descent information, suggestions about equipment, and other matters may be incorrect or misleading. Fixed protection may be absent, unreliable, or misplaced. You must keep in mind that the information in this book may be erroneous, so use your own judgement when choosing, approaching, climbing, or descending from a route described in this book.

DO NOT USE THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU [AND YOUR ESTATE] PROMISE NEVER TO TRY TO SUE

US IF YOU GET HURT OR KILLED.

Disclaimer of Warranties

THE AUTHORS AND PUBLISHER WARN THAT THIS BOOK CONTAINS ONLY THE AUTHORS’

OPINIONS ON THE SUBJECTS DISCUSSED. THEY MAKE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED

OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PURPOSE, OR OTHERWISE, AND IN ANY

EVENT, THEIR LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY OR CONTRACT WITH RESPECT

TO THE CONTENT OF THIS BOOK IS LIMITED TO THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE BOOK. THEY

FURTHER LIMIT TO SUCH PURCHASE PRICE THEIR LIABILITY ON ACCOUNT OF ANY KIND OF

NEGLIGENT BEHAVIOR WHATSOEVER ON THEIR PART WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS OF

THIS BOOK.

Warning

F O R C U R R E N T R O U T E I N F O R M A T I O N , V I S I T W W W . S U P E R T O P O . C O M

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to these people for their help making the book:

Jeanie Anderson-Saludes, Bony Saludes, Valentine Cullen (imagealteration.com) and her beautiful and smart daughter Holly Anne Grinnell, Chris McNamara (supertopo.com), Victor Copeland (up to date Rocklin/Tahoe beta) Richie Esquibel, Charlie Barrett, Marcos Nunez, Jordy Morgan, Sean Brady, Kenny Ariza, Jerry Dodrill (jerrydodrill.com), Ryan Smith, Kevin Jorgeson (kevinjorgeson.com), Tom Slater (slatervision.com), Aaron Johnson (mtadventure.com) Jesse Bonin, Bruce Morris (morcommpress.com), Rob Behrens (sonorapassclimbing.com) Randy Spurrier, David Safanda (safanda. com), Steve McNamara, Joe Puryear (cascadeimages.com).

Special thanks to these climbers for their first ascents (in no particular order):

Russ Bobzien Charlie Barrett Victor Copeland Dave Nunley Marcos Nunez Richie Esquibel Randy Puro Sean Brady Tim Medina Ben Pope Kevin Jorgeson Travis Klawin Jesse Bonin Noah Kaufman Chris Sharma Chris McNamara Kevin Swift Mark Nicholas John Sherman Bonnie Hedlund Kenny Ariza Charlie Barrett Ryan Smith Ryan Tolentino

Steve Francis Hiko Ito Mike Papciak Jim Thornburg Greg Loh Dave Hatchett Mike Hatchett Dave Wallach Andrew Wallach Paul Crawford Paul Barraza Scott Frye Jay Sell Jordy Morgan Frankie Ocasio Tom Herbert Dustin Sabo Aaron Rough Mark Howe Mike Eadington Frank Lucido and anyone else who did first ascents in Nor Cal. If I left someone out please let me know for the next edition. - Chris Summit

Written by Chris Summit, Kevin Swift, Chris McNamara, Victor Copeland Photos by Chris Summit (unless otherwise noted) Edited by Steve McNamara, Chris McNamara Layout by Chris McNamara Overview Map by Joseph Puryear

Cover Photo: Kevin Jorgeson does the 1st boulder ascent of Stony White Boots Johnson, Salt Point. Photo by Jerry Dodrill Back Cover Photo: Posemaster General on Bunny Arête, Bald Rock. Cover Design by David Safanda Design Solutions. www.safanda.com

Book Credits

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F O R C U R R E N T R O U T E I N F O R M A T I O N , V I S I T W W W . S U P E R T O P O . C O M

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A

Introduction

As a proud Northern California native I am a bit partial to my local stone so I will try not to go on and on about how indescribably wonderful I think it is – rather I will just state the facts. For starters, we’ve got the rugged and wild Pacific Coastline that stretches the entire length of Nor Cal. Starting just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, you will first come to a variety of different rock types on sandy beaches at Mickey’s and Stinson Beaches in Marin County. Traveling further north, you find the solid schist around Jenner. Just north of Jenner, where the San Andreas Fault Line crosses the Pacific Coast Highway, the variety of rock type stops and only sandstone is found all the way up into the central Mendocino Coast. Two of the best of these sandstone areas are the popular Fort Ross and the vast Salt Point with its endless miles of Tafoni sandstone. The rock type changes back to a random mix near the mysterious Lost Coast in northern Mendocino County, not to be confused with the far north Lost Rocks, which will both remain lost. Between the Lost Coast and the Lost Rocks are the rocky beaches of Humboldt County, where you find a tantalizing mix of green, grey, and black boulders at Moonstone Beach and Houda Point near Arcata. Here is a quote from an old geology book: “The rocks on the Pacific Coastline of Northern California are some of the most bizarre a