Bob in his natural environment enjoying the view. ...
Description
This area, also known as Orange Rocks, sports 3 great "clip & go" routes from 5.10a to 5.10d. The bolts are in good condition and properly spaced. The rock is hard, clean, and has the texture of Joshua Tree Rock. It's in the sun almost all day long and dries out quickly after a rain shower. The left route is Gold Rush rated at 5.10b, the middle is Pete's 5.12 rated at 5.10d, and the right side is Mid-life Crisis rated at 5.10a. Gold Rush can be easily top roped by scrambling around to the left side of the tower. Pete's can be top roped with a bit more effort. An anchor bolt between Pete's & Mid-life will keep your belayer from falling down the hill. Step carefully to avoid damaging the vegetation! Since this area is right next to the summit trail, please be respectful of hikers by not sorting your gear on the access trail. As an added bonus, this area has great views of the City and Cerro San Luis.
Getting There
To get there from Cracked Wall, hike another 5 minutes up the summit trail. You can't miss it!
Gold Rush is the easiest climb to access at GWP. It's right next to the trail and you won't have to fight the poison oak to get there. This route features solid rock with small edges and smears. The rock is rough and features friction like Joshua Tree. The southwestern exposure makes this a good choice for a cool day. You can also cruise around to the left and set up a top rope in a matter of minutes. To top it all off, the views from here a...[more]
John is right this area is very sensitive. The vegetation around the base of the cliff is ruined. It will never come back. I suggest we (when I say we of course I mean you) make a permanent trail with erosion control and hack the broken bushes out so it doesn't look so disturbing to hikers.
Mid-life Crisis got its name from the fact that there is so much Poison Oak in the gully. I put the route up and have lead it twice more and each time I have gotten infected with Poison Oak. Which leads one to muse, "why would you go down in there and do that route, do you have something to prove?"
Can anyone confirm the "real" name of these rocks? I found the Kevin Steele guidebook in the library and found out that the rock is called, "Wild, Wild Western Pinnacles". Also found different route names. I think it's important to get the orginal names and route info. Anyone?
Thanks for the overview of this climbing area. Was just checking it out last week on the way up to Summit Blocks and wondered how hard those were since no beta was in the SLO climbing guide.
I commented yesterday and my words showed up as Adam Jones and Annon Cllmber... because I didn't have a name on the list yet?Anyway, yes, it's High Noon. And always remember, Klis has just one s.
By Mike Morley Administrator From: Oakland, CA Jan 26, 2006
All 4 of these routes are quite good. Unfortunately, the poison oak is a major deterrent. Maybe those less susceptible will get by unscathed, but I managed to somehow get it even wearing pants and long sleeves.
Wild Western Pinnacles
Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!
RSS Feed
