Best guide book for sport climbs in Joshua tree?

Anybody have some advice on which guide book would be best to have for sport climbing at Joshua tree? Any advice on which areas that have bolted climbs on the newer side would be great too. Thanks

mountainproject.com/v/new-j…
This place may be a little more your speed.

C Clark wrote:Anybody have some advice on which guide book would be best to have for sport climbing at Joshua tree? Any advice on which areas that have bolted climbs on the newer side would be great too. Thanks

J-Tree? Sport climbs?

Use the MP search engine.

Don't confuse "sport climbs" for "bolted climbs." Like Tuolumne Meadows, the bolts can be far apart.

+1 for New Jack. Close to Jtree but almost exclusively sport routes on high quality metamorphic rock

C Miller wrote:There is a link to actual sport climbs on the main Joshua Tree page about halfway down and just above "Current Weather" - mountainproject.com/v/joshu….

Wow. Certainly more than I thought and definitely much more than I remember (although admittedly it's been quite some time since I've climbed there).

C Clark wrote:Anybody have some advice on which guide book would be best to have for sport climbing at Joshua tree? Any advice on which areas that have bolted climbs on the newer side would be great too. Thanks

Best book in my opinion would be the Robert Miramontes one. But there really AREN'T many actual sport climbs in J-Tree. There are lots of bolted routes. But they're really run out (like 20+ feet) compared to your normal "sport" bolting. And many will also require placing gear. If you're adamant about not "trad" climbing then J-Tree might not be the best destination.

Thanks for all the replies. The j tree route page says there's 569 "sport climbs", do you know if that's actually mostly spread out bolted / " run out routes" that will require trad gear?

C Clark wrote:Thanks for all the replies. The j tree route page says there's 569 "sport climbs", do you know if that's actually mostly spread out bolted / " run out routes" that will require trad gear?

No, those are typically listed on MP and in the guidebook as trad routes (e.g. Stichter Quits, Walk on the Wild Side). However the sport areas tend to be spread out, or mixed in among the trad routes.

I also would suggest New Jack City over JTree for sport (or once it warms up, Alabama Hills or Holcomb Valley).

C Clark wrote:Thanks for all the replies. The j tree route page says there's 569 "sport climbs", do you know if that's actually mostly spread out bolted / " run out routes" that will require trad gear?

Let me give you some examples from the guidebook I recommended. Indian Cove area, which has a fairly high concentration of pure Sport routes compared to the rest of J-Tree.

McStain 5.8 SPORT climb. 55 feet. THREE bolts.

GoodBye Mr. Bond: 5.10c. 75 feet. FOUR bolts.

There are others that aren't quite as run out. Typically the overhanging routes like Inferno. 5.12. 45 feet with 5 bolts.

It's not impossible to find some routes you can do with nothing but a rack of draws. But it's not the ideal J-Tree experience by any means.

Out of curiosity, is it just that you've never trad climbed before or is there another reason to not give it a go?

Me an the person I'm going with have never trad climbed or own any trad gear. Looking at spending some at new jack city based on all the responses. Still gonna check out j tree though. If only to hike an camp an even top rope a bit.

Can't recommend it enough. J-Tree is one of the most spectacular places.

I've never been to NJC but hear great things from people who go there regularly.

C Clark wrote:Me an the person I'm going with have never trad climbed or own any trad gear. Looking at spending some at new jack city based on all the responses. Still gonna check out j tree though. If only to hike an camp an even top rope a bit.

If you like to boulder, there is also plenty of bouldering in JTree.

AndrewArroz wrote: McStain 5.8 SPORT climb. 55 feet. THREE bolts. GoodBye Mr. Bond: 5.10c. 75 feet. FOUR bolts. There are others that aren't quite as run out. Typically the overhanging routes like Inferno. 5.12. 45 feet with 5 bolts. It's not impossible to find some routes you can do with nothing but a rack of draws. But it's not the ideal J-Tree experience by any means.

There are moderates that are more like standard sport climbs with bolts every 10' or so (Papa Woolsey, Boulderado, most of Siberia), but for the most part they're spread out enough that you'd be driving or walking half the time if you tried to spend the whole trip sport climbing.

Siberia has enough to keep you busy for a day or two:

mountainproject.com/v/siber…

+1 on Alabama hills for sport. It's a choss pile in a lot of places, but it's a choss pile you can love

Go to j tree. Get scared. Have fun.