Michael Reardon on Sculpture's Traverse - you'll b...
Description
The local area for the climbers of Los Angeles; Stoney Point can boast to be one of the very first bouldering areas anywhere. It’s historic significance should not be underestimated – many of America’s luminaries cut their teeth here; Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, Bob Kamps, Ron Kauk, John Long, and John Bachar to name but a few.
This sandstone crag is surrounded by many fine boulders and there are some great top rope problems on the walls, and in the canyons. At its best, the rock is fine grained and quite compact, which makes it very kind on the hands and enables long bouldering sessions. There are also many flakes, which break easily, especially after prolonged rain, so take great care after such weather. Because of this, the bouldering at Stoney Point does take on a kind of ephemeral state; as holds break off you’ll find your recent send to be a thing of the past. This raises another issue as some “climbers” have resorted to chipping and otherwise modifying the rock – needless to say this is utterly unacceptable. There’s a lot of variety here and one can put together quite an eclectic cocktail of boulder problems for an excellent training session.
The climbing season lasts all year long – although in the summer it can get very hot, and of course, as stated earlier, rain stops play.
There’s a lot of trash and graffiti at Stoney Point, and it’s a bloody crying shame. There’s usually a clean-up effort at least once a year and local climbers are encouraged to attend and contribute whenever possible. Stoney Point is a city park – granted mainly through the efforts of climbers.
Videos: Where available I have added a link to a video segment of the applicable problem - Jon McCartie is generously donating this resource.
Other Resources: Will's Climbing Page Good descriptions of the popular problems by visiting Australian Will Monks. Grading Systems Compared: Not especially about Stoney Point, rather a good, humorous account of the V system written by Mr. Sherman himself. Stoney Point News News page with RSS Feed capability.
Getting There
Stoney Point is located in the San Fernando Valley, just north of LA. It's located on the southeast corner of the intersection of the 118 Fwy. and Topanga Canyon Blvd. Parking is free on the northbound side of the road.
A Stoney classic - one of it's best TRs.Up the starting slab to a safe-haven ledge where some people seem to bivouac. Swing around onto the thin face to the nutcracker move (crux) then up the the pin-scarred crack which is a great way to finish....[more]
By Chris Owen Administrator From: La Crescenta, CA May 13, 2007
Some of the climbs have cruxes which involve the very last move, so remember to finish the top rope routes and not just touch the 'biner and lower off - end of finger wagging.
By Jordan Ramey From: South Pasadena, CA Jul 9, 2007
Guidebooks: Urban Rock - by Chris Owen (2004) Southern California Bouldering - Craig Fry (1995)
Apparently it's turned into quite the spot for drug addicts. Goofed off there a few days while I was consulting at Meggit Safety Systems. Saw multiple people every day huddled in the cracks on the top, obviously hiding what they had and looking disheveled. Bummer too as the park's got some fun bouldering and views.
Jonny, and I climbed at Stoney a couple of weeks ago. Here's my take on it;
The grafitti sucked, and climbing on the lacquered spray paint on one route we did was slippery in a few spots but the rock was friendly on the hands, and the climbing was fun. The atmosphere wasn't too bad; I chatted with a couple of potential 5150s that were disheveled, yet sporting new climbing shoes meandering at the base of the routes. The homeless guys were staying low key, and had their items neatly stashed so it wasn't too much of an eye sore. There were a couple of guys that looked like they were maybe Rabbis with long beards scrambling in their religious clothing, and tennis shoes. The demeanor of the drug addicts; mellow, non-aggressive, non-confrontational. If you said "Boo!" they'd probably run home to mommy. Although I did see gang-like graffiti, I didn't see any gang activity while we were there anyway; no signs of MS-13. The only thing that frightened me was being forced to walk through a blockade of born again Christians on the trail, as they were filming an amateur religious video. They exhibited a paranoid wide-eyed look when I said, "Hey, what's up?" I guess I could be pretty scary too. Anyway, I enjoyed imagining the old school climbers back in the day cutting their teeth at these crags in a much more peaceful, beautiful, remote Stoney Point. The freeway noise was an annoyance but being from LA, it was to be expected. I loved watching, and hearing the trains go by while belaying, and climbing.
It's all good.
Stoney Point is a must visit place, and Chris Owens book was awesome.
Try it, you might like it.
By Chris Owen Administrator From: La Crescenta, CA Oct 27, 2007
Thank you Gigette. I'm trying to remember what my first impressions of Stoney Point were when I first arrived there in 1984; not positive I expect but I've grown to love the place.
On June 6, 2009, Saturday, I parked my car along Topanga Canyon Road shortly after 12 p.m. When I returned around 4 p.m., the driver side window was smashed. The burglar took items from the glove compartment and the console. The traffic was heavy along Topanga Canyon Road, and many cars parked on the east side. When I reported the incident to LAPD, they appear indifferent.
Stoney Point
Printer Friendly View
RSS Feed
