Auburn Cliffs 

Brennen, It is great to hear people are being allowed to climb out there already, but I can tell you officially from the ASRA perspective the things you listed are not their "only concerns". A couple of quick reminders about Auburn and things you can do to ensure it stays open:

- Be respectful of other user groups (hikers, mtn bikers, equestrians)
- Avoid Boom Boxes. The canyon echoes like crazy and your loud music will be enjoyed / have to be tolerated by everyone.
- Clean up all trash you see, yours or otherwise. Climbers have a tradition of being the driving force for keeping the Quarry clean. Let's keep it up!
- No camping / leave by dark. This is an official park rule.
- Try to use the porta potties on the way and pack out all human waste in plastic bags. This is one of the ASRAs biggest concerns and hence while CRAGS is required to provide a bathroom if Auburn is to stay open.

So! Let's keep Auburn open by being an example user group that the park sees as self managing. We are in a 2 month "trial" period where the ASRA will re-evaluate things / access after 2 months. It is critical we put on the best face possible during this time!

Any wall facing East will get afternoon shade: Memorial Wall, Extension of Surf Tower, Horseshoe Canyon, and several completely untouched walls. The wall by far with the most potential is the extension or farther right area of the Wreckage Wall.

Hello Nor Cal climbers! I just recently moved to the Bay area and I have been trying to look around for some good sport climbing crags. From researching, looks like Auburn Cliffs is a good place to go especially now that it is open to climbers. I was wondering if there are any guide books out there for the area and if so, where can I buy one.

And if anyone needs a partner on a weekend, I have a rope, draws, anchors webbing, ect for climbing. just shoot me an email at inde_rida2000@yahoo.com or text me at (701)340-1966.
My name is Justin

I just want to say thanks to the Sac/Bay climbing community. How awesome it has been the last few weekends seeing everyone enjoying themselves and climbing routes. These last few weekends have been everything I thought Auburn could be, and now is. For that, I want to say thank you :)

I was wondering if there is any kind of bolting protocol in effect now that this place is newly "opened"
If you want to put up routes can you just go for it? or do you guys want to let the access issues simmer for a while?

Booster,

There are no restrictions on bolting. Myself and a few others are rebolting some climbs that got vandalized over the closure years, and putting new ones in as well.

Most of the routes in the Quarry are mine, and I am certainly open to others jumping in and adding routes. A couple of recommendations from me would be:

- Be prepared to clean...A LOT! This isn't a granite area and each route takes quite a bit of time to clean as much loose rock / debris as possible.
- Be careful! Coming in from the top of any of the cliffs is a lot more tricky than it looks due to loose rock, scree, and cliff length.
- Use 1/2" if you can afford it, but at least 3/8" x 2.75". Preferred stainless.
- Paint any anchors you put in to help minimize visual impact.
- Try to drill on Fridays or Sundays if you can. Saturday is definitely the busiest day in the quarry for sure.
- Have at least one other person in group dedicated to keeping people clear of the area you are working on due to guaranteed rock fall.
- Given the amount of potential for new routes, I would suggest working on new formations / walls, not just adding more routes squeezed in between existing routes.

Hopefully you have previous bolting experience before you start. If you don't, consider getting someone who is experienced to help you with your first one or two routes to get a feel for it. Developing new routes is not rocket science, but it does have quite a bit of necessary knowledge to keep safe and put up good routes.

Have fun and feel free to email me any new info / routes you put up! I have a topo I am in the process of updating and will be releasing shortly.

Hopefully you have previous bolting experience before you start. If you don't, consider getting someone who is experienced to help you with your first one or two routes to get a feel for it. Developing new routes is not rocket science, but it does have quite a bit of necessary knowledge to keep safe and put up good routes.


I have to second this comment. I watched recently as several people who obviously had no idea what they were doing were in the beginning stages of putting up a new route out there. Topropeing an obviously dangerous and loose section of crap (assume they picked that spot because it had a convenient place to anchor to on top) and trundling blocks while the belayer was in the danger zone for falling rocks. They then began marking where bolts might go before any proper cleaning was done with several of those marks on loose blocks and in ridiculous and poorly chosen spots that left the leader in danger of taking big falls onto ledges. It was a total junk show.

I've also witnessed the destruction, poor bolt locations and ugliness left behind by someone who doesn't really know what they're doing out at Pine Canyon as well. Poorly placed bolts in bad locations, second guessing bolt placements and moving them leaving the old bolts studs sticking out and a mess of glue oozing out from everywhere.

It's an obvious example of some of the things that can occur when you're new to the game. If you don't really know what your doing, ask someone who does to give you a hand for the first few. I've placed hundreds of bolts and still manage to screw something up from time to time.

Just ask, chances are there are several people with experience willing to help out with not only knowledge, but tools, drills, ropes and all sorts of stuff.

The last thing the climbing world needs is another ugly botch job or squeeze job.

We are coming from Idaho to visit family and would love to try out the Auburn Cliffs- we will be there Nov 19-23... does the area get enough sun to be warm enough?

As long as it hasn't rained in two days, you should easily be able to chase the sun throughout the day and stay cozy! I would suggest layering to make sure you stay warm.

I have linked the free topo in the description as well as here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-JljyzNho-YVzZwbVVWd1FwTmM/edit

Hello Aaron,
Ran into John Robinson at the Auburn Quarry yesterday. We climb there a few weeks ago for the first time and had fun. On the way out we looked at Wreckage Wall and big cliff to right - wow! Also checked out the Well area. John said you are the guy to talk to about new routes. Wanted to let you know that we started a couple lines on the big wall. Release the Lions .11c goes to old anchors center of wall. Just to the left of that is Chariots on Fire .11bish. Both lines are about 100 ft.

To the left of those lines, we fixed a 200 ft line. We have TR the moves, done some cleaning and drilled a couple bolts. Should come in at mid 5.11. As the local guide book author we wanted to introduce ourselves (Mike Carville/Josh Horniak) and let you know what we've been up to there. Should be a great winter cliff. We may be out there Sunday. If you're around come up and jump on the new lines. Cheers, Mike

Release the Lions .11c. Twin Towers, Auburn Quarry, CA. Submitted By: mike carville on Feb 16, 2013

Looks awesome Mike! Thanks for the heads up, I'll update the topo and welcome to Auburn!

If anyone ever needs a partner for here, im free every Sunday and most Saturdays, i climb here often and am very familiar with the area. just looking for people to climb with since i lost my partner!

I've seen significant climber-induced rockfall every time I've been here. Belayers use lots of caution!

Just went out today for the first time. A great area, but a couple of comments/cautions. The online guide (link in the description above) is very helpful but not always up to date. There were several climbs that were missing bolts and several others that are in the process of having bolts replaced (Thank You!). We found one loose bolt, as we were cleaning a 5.9 on Scale Wall. Speaking of cleaning, be ready to deal with dirty climbs (mud appears to run off of the top of Scale Wall). We also cleared a loose cobble sized rock and numerous other smallish rocks and dirt.

A buddy and I back in 2001-ish used to come here and clip bolts on the DL. Western slope so desperately needed a sport place.

So sweet to see the ravine finally get green-lighted for climbing! Thanks much to all who put in the effort with Auburn SRA bureaucrats.

Spent a good amount of time here when I first started climbing 10 years ago. Not a bad place to learn some good sport techniques, but once you venture out to Tahoe, Yosemite, Sonora and other classic areas you'll never come back to Auburn. I'm glad they opened it though, it beats sneaking around fo sho.