Virgin Islands Area

Darshan on Cedric's Deep Sea Fish Market. Photo by...

Description 

The Virgin Islands, despite it's ease of accessibilty, remains one of the quieter and less frequented climbing areas in the Park. The crowds are fewer here and a sense of solitude, especially away from the road, is quite noticable. Climbing was first done here in the early 1980's by the ubiquitous Tony Yaniro and Vaino Kodas who climbed the bulk of the best crack lines. Since then a number of quality crack and face climbs have been done with limited development continuing to this day.

Some of the recommended cracks here include the fairly enjoyable wide to hands crack of Thumbs Down Left (5.9), Light Sabre (5.10b) with it's clean corner and exposed crack higher, Between a Rock and a Hard Place (5.10b) for those seeking a full body workout, Cedric's Deep Sea Fish Market (5.10d) a tricky thin crack, Perpetual Motion (5.10d) a steep hand crack, Centurion (5.10d) for those whose like it wide and Human Sacrifice (5.11c) for those who want to step it up a notch.

A sampling of recommended face routes include the relatively unknown Hodad Arete (5.10b), the sandbagged Raker's Blaring Hat Rack (5.10d) which climbs a free-standing spire, Hot Lava (5.11a) with it's delicate arete moves, the somewhat obscure Walking on the Moon (5.12a), Rapture of the Steep (5.12b) with it's steep face goodness, the overhanging arete of Dictators of Anarchy (5.12c) and the continuously difficult and excellent New World Order (5.13b).

Getting There 

The Virgin Isles are reached by drving down the Geology Tour Road about 4.2 miles and parking in any of several pullouts along the side of the road. The formations are easily visible from the road and hiking times vary from 5-20 minutes with some scrambling typical. Take care if driving a 2WD vehicle to park pointing downhill. Should you get stuck you can continue driving further down the road to a turnabout at Squaw Tank (1.1 miles down the road) which has a large area suitable for turning around.

The Classics

Featured Route For Virgin Islands Area

Centurion 5.10d PG13  CA : Joshua Tree National Park : ... : Centurion

When someone says "striking line" this route could be the definition. A summit block split by an ever widening crack with sky on both sides. The business starts pretty early as the initial moves to get above the roof are the crux. Once you are established in the crack there is some nice OW to the summit, thankfully with a secure leg and knee in most of the way. ...[more]   Browse More Classics in CA

Photos of Virgin Islands Area Slideshow

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Chemehuevi grinding holes near the Volcano formati...	Looking down Geology Road from the Virgin Isles Ar...	A sudden downpour near the Virgin Islands, Joshua ...