Hard Slab climbing
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I'm wondering where are the best places to climb 5.10 and harder slab that don't have big runouts. I've really enjoyed the bit of slab climbing I've done at the 5.8/9 level and below, but it has generally been 20+ feet between bolts. Are there any areas near Southern California with a good concentration of slab climbs that are bolted more generously? |
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Suicide rock |
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By modern standards, most folks won't find Suicide to be "generously bolted." There are however plenty of hard slab climbs there. |
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Nathanael wrote:Suicide rockLooks like some good stuff on Smooth Sole Wall (5.11 and well bolted) Thanks and keep the suggestions coming! |
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valhalla is great, not too run out and well bolted at cruxes. Sundance to sun dyke as well, not to mention about a billion others. |
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NeilB wrote: Looks like some good stuff on Smooth Sole Wall (5.11 and well bolted) Thanks and keep the suggestions coming!What specifically are you thinking of that fits the bill? Granted, some routes there are more tightly bolted than others, but nothing that comes close to tightly bolted. Maybe the first half of Down and Out, but the upper half compensates for that. As a general rule, I think you'll need to look long and hard in So Cal to find something. Keep in mind that most of these routes were put up when bolting on lead was the accepted norm. Your skills will grow, but so will your head control. I'd try to find some newer routes in Josh that were put up after rap bolting became acceptable. Someone mentioned Valhalla. The first pitch is fine but the crux on the second pitch has seen several broken ankles over the years. Caveat emptor. |
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Cochise in S. Az has some great well bolted multi pitch slabs in the 10-11 range. Would be a great weekend trip from so cal with awesome camping! |
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mountainproject.com/v/edgeh…
you can find a good amount of hard slab in JTree also I'm pretty sure you can climb stichter quits and traverse up top and set up top rope on a few 5.10 slabs....not exactly sure what you mean by hard slab, but 5.10 slab is hard for me mountainproject.com/v/stich… |
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Jan, |
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if you go to suicide |
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Fat Dad wrote: What specifically are you thinking of that fits the bill? Granted, some routes there are more tightly bolted than others, but nothing that comes close to tightly bolted. Maybe the first half of Down and Out, but the upper half compensates for that.I was thinking of Tango and Toxic Waltz, just based off of route length and number of bolts listed on here... |
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walmongr wrote:Cochise in S. Az has some great well bolted multi pitch slabs in the 10-11 range. Would be a great weekend trip from so cal with awesome camping!Looks great. Thanks for the suggestion. |
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Jan Tarculas wrote:http://www.mountainproject.com/v/edgehogs/105799986 you can find a good amount of hard slab in JTree also I'm pretty sure you can climb stichter quits and traverse up top and set up top rope on a few 5.10 slabs....not exactly sure what you mean by hard slab, but 5.10 slab is hard for me mountainproject.com/v/stich…Yes 5.10 slab is hard for me, too. I've done stichter quits, but wasn't looking for TR setups. Sounds like a good idea. Spent the better part of an afternoon traversing around the base of all those slab routes never getting more than 10 ft off the ground, haha. |
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Mango Lassi Lulz Machine on Lower Tokopah Dome is well bolted and slabby, facey. With some awesome chicken heads. |
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Come on out to Salt Lake man. If hard slab is your thing than Little Cottonwood Canyon is your jam. Definitely worth the drive! |
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Cochise, you will not do any better in your search.Do yourself a favor and hop on Warpaint when you make the trip. |
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If you want to climb hard slab but not risk runouts, then just throw down a toprope. duh. |
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NeilB wrote: I was thinking of Tango and Toxic Waltz, just based off of route length and number of bolts listed on here...OK, those are newer routes. Here's the problem I see though. It sounds like you're just breaking into .10 slab and you've picked out an .11 a and .11c. Not sure how those have much relevance to what you're looking for. Like someone said up thread, just throw a TR on an easy .10 and start there. |
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RRG has some great slab. There's a shortie at the military wall and I think a 5.12 slab line somewhere. There's a lot more I just cant think of off the top of my head. |
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Noriega Does Panama in Joshua Tree, Indian Cove Campground. I'm not the most experienced slab climber and this 5.10a proved I wasn't worthy that day. Well protected and steep. I was pulling on every draw and never finished the climb. Tucked my tail and left it for another day. Anyone else ever gone up this slab? It still has some good grit on it. |
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You can make easy slab hard by eliminating holds. When I was first getting better at slab, I would lead or top-rope easier climbs going for the smallest holds I could find to test what I could stick to. Making a game out of it turned it into a fun activity, I still get giddy after making a super thin move. |