After a significant break in the cliffs of the main Sinks limestone wall, Fairfield hill is a smaller, generally less steep section of cliffs. Fairfield is divided into eastern, central and western portions. The grades range from 5.5 to 5.12 with the majority of lines between 5.9 and 5.11. The quality and the length of the lines is generally lower than the main wall, but fun lines still abound.
Getting There
Fairfield Hill is separated from the main limestone walls at sinks by 100 yards and can be approached by two routes 1) via the main parking area by walking to the left along the base of the main wall past the Wilds and continue to Fairfield Hill 2) via a dirt road 1/4 mile past the main parking area on the left. Drive a short distance up this road to pull out parking, continue walking 1/4 mile of the road, further than you would guess, and a cairned trail heads back to the right angling towards the crag.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Fairfield Hill:
And now, a lecture from Mr. Science! I finally figured out that the main reason people don't go to Fairfield as much is because there aren't as many pockets as in the Main Area. Duhhhh, I've only been here 19 years. Jesus, too many drugs. Most of the climbs involve a lot of edging and crimping, which is admittedly not as fun as hauling pockets. I think the reason for this is that pockets in dolomite are the old tracks of prehistoric clams in those old seabeds. I went to a Geology of the Sinks lecture and actually heard this, so I'm not hallucinating. Or maybe I was (?), I don't remember. If you look at modern clams, they live in the medium to low intertidal zones. There's no reason to think that prehistoric clams didn't live in the same places, so I think (just my idea) that the eastern part of the Sinks dolomite was more near a seashore, more intertidal, and as you progress west, that was deeper in the prehistoric sea, so you run out of the clam zone out there. If you notice, as you get to the top of many Fairfield climbs, there are more pockets: getting closer to the intertidal zone. Well it's something to think about when you're having lunch up there.
Printer Friendly View
RSS Feed
