Superstar Slab Rock Climbing

Do you consider yourself a slab-climbing superstar? If so, you'll love this area. The Superstar Slab is probably the biggest rock formation on the hill and hosts one of Rubidoux's only bolted leads, Superstar (5.10a). It also hosts some of Rubidoux's hardest slabs, such as the notoriously thin Flabob (V6/B1+). This latter slab problem was a contest piece at one or more of the Rubidoux Bouldering Contests hosted by Randy Vogel in the mid-1980s, and it reportedly spanked many a good climber. Some competitors seem to have claimed it couldn't possibly go. Another desperate, "Coathanger," has a similarly notorious history in light of these contests. (information obtained from the "Stonemaster Stories" discussion forum:

supertopo.com/climbing/thre…;tn=20

The Superstar area is rarely visited these days (not that it ever was super popular). Nevertheless, it has some very good rock if you're into this kind of thing. These aren't GRAINY slab climbs. Rubidoux, at its best, has some incredibly good, tight-grained granite. Unlike Joshua Tree, where the best rock is usually a slippery result of desert varnishing, Rubidoux's granite can be inherently solid, smooth, and still offer some friction. This allows for use of the most incomprehensibly small features. "Coathanger" is actually a beautiful-looking line when looked at in terms of its improbability. It truly looks to be a pain of glass, one that must require suction cups for hands or other such super-human abilities to ascend.