Types of climbing rock
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What are typical types of climbing rock and their characteristics? Here I've tried to document what very little I know. 1) Quartzite -- Found a lot in BCC, but no so much in LCC. That's all I know. Not sure how it's formed. 2) Granite -- Found a lot in LCC. Though LCC's granite might actually be a quartzite-monzonite. Seems much less featured than quartzite, and more prone to crack systems. 3) Slate -- Impossible to climb when featureless because of low friction. Looks sharp. 4) Sandstone -- Wait a few days to climb it after a rain-storm. More brittle than other types of rock? 5) Limestone -- Pockets seem to form more often in this kind of rock. 6) Plastic -- Typically found in climbing gyms. All sorts of shapes and textures. Non-biodegradable. Unpopular with some people. (Okay, not a rock type.) That's my pathetic knowledge, which may have some misconceptions. Anyhow, what other kinds of rock do people climb on? What's your favorite type of rock? |
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Spencer Parkin wrote: metamorphized Sandstone.
Yep, cracks and slabs are the norm. I believe granite is igneous (cooled lava).
Depends. Compare Eldo or New Sandstone to Fisher/Creek...it's basically a completely different kind of rock. Desert Sandstone tends to be very porous, allowing it to soak up water after a rain, which makes it more friable. Oh, and it is sedimentary rock made up of...wait for it...SAND.
Also sedimentary, but made of the remains of tiny organisms and shells. Tends to be very soft and fragile. Pockets form from water erosion.
There are a bunch. Boulder has like 10 different types. Biggest misconception is that rock types are only that broad...there are subcategories with very different properties. Overall I'd probably say sandstone...the variety is amazing. You get overhanging jug hauls at the Red, huge desert towers, splitters...all technically the same basic rock type. Plus, it's beautiful. |
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You're missing about five times the number you have on your list. Google would be your best friend for this one, but for now I'll add one: basalt. |
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Ted Pinson wrote: Nope. Basalt is cooled lava (starts extremely hot and liquidy-pasty and cools fast under little pressure, like glass, so no time for crystals to form) Granite, gneiss and quartzite (and others I think) are metamorphic rocks created by subjecting sedimentary deposits to high pressures and temperatures, causing partial melting (not flowing lava) with crystallization occurring during cooling under pressure. If I remember correctly from brief and very distant geology classes, higher pressures and temperatures and slow cooling make the smaller crystals typical of granite and less pressure and temperature make the larger crystals of gneiss and quartzite. Wikipedia should have tons of info (but probably more from a geological perspective, rather than climbing) Edit: there's probably a bunch of geology experts right now reading this and shaking their heads wondering "where do I even start" |
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rockclimbing.com is as dead as Trump's presidency right now, but check out this three-piece series on rock types for climbers (full disclosure, I wrote it): http://www.rockclimbing.com/Articles/General/Geology_for_Climbers_Part_I_Igneous_is_Bliss_1585.html Also, Sarah Garlic wrote a really cool book about geology for climbers called "Flakes, Jugs, and Splitters." |
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jktinst wrote: Granite is intrusive igneous as opposed to basalt which is extrusive igneous. Schist is another metamorphic rock. |
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Cool video here ^ |
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Traprock: found in Connecticut. A combination of other metamorphic rocks. Typically slippery, composed of edges, cracks, and the occasional jugs. Very hard to protect with gear. |
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Phonolite porphyry makes for some fantastic crack climbing. (Devils Tower) Dolomite is better climbing generally than limestone. (Tensleep) |
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Pnelson wrote: If someone else didn't mention the rc.com article, I was going to! Add andesite to that list. I believe a lot of the climbing in western Oregon is andesite. |
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jktinst wrote: Nope. :) Common misconception since it's so hard, but it's igneous: http://geology.com/rocks/granite.shtml I'm guessing it shares properties with metamorphic rock since it was formed under ground (intrusive) based on my dim recollection of Geology class. |
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Bryce Adamson wrote: Oops. Should have checked Wikipedia myself. I remembered the slow cooling and crystallization (intrusive igneous) but not the more important general classification of granite (magma origin instead of metamorphism). |
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Let's see some pics! Conglomerate sedimentary Catlewood Canyon, CO. Note the embedded rounded river rock. |
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Let's all give the OP a big hand for finally posting a subject not politically, religiously, or emotionally charged, And to remind us all of the beauty of the rock we so love to climb. Good job Spencer Thumbs up |
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And traprock is also not metamorphic. In CT it's either basalt or diabase (aka dolerite) which is the same thing but cooled slightly underground. Is wikipedia not working, people? Lol |
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There you go, have a gneiss day for schist's sake. Sedimentary are derived from sediments. Igneous is derived from lava/magma cooled either above (extrusive) or below (intrusive) the surface. Deeper magmas and slower cooling lead to larger crystals. Metamorphic is derived from the above rock types subjected to heat and pressure. Foliated metamorphic generally occurs closer to the surface and has visible banding. Chemically, gneiss, granite, and rhyolite are all very similar, but have different crystal structures due to where they were formed and under what pressure. Slate is basically cooked/pressurized shale or mudstone. Marble is basically cooked/pressurized limestone. Sandstone can be made entirely of weathered grains of granite, etc... |
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JacK CracK wrote: Okay, let's not thread drift, please. |
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TBlom wrote: Oh boy. I was way off the mark again. Nice geology refresher since I obviously forgot absolutely everything. |
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'Climbing rock' - you guys do realize that no thought of climbing was put into the creation of these rocks ... ? |
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My experience is that ... Quartzite offers some the most fun easy 5th class climbing in France, California, and New York. The Gunks are quartzite and are famous nowadays for easy/moderate climbing -- but oddly the Trapps sector of the Gunks has the least interesting quartzite I've found so far. Granitic Gneiss is metamorphosed granite (while granite itself is slow-cooled underground-cooled igneous) -- and I find it offers a wider variety of interesting holds than granite. (but of course there's lots of variation in gneiss depending on its heating / crushing / cooling / weathering history. varieties of Granite: to me the most fun kind for climbing is Sierra ridge-crest granite, which is often highly fractured -- I typically prefer mid-sized chunks, which offer lots of creative combinations of edges to grab. Then there's the "featured" granite of the mid-elevation Eastside Sierra around Mammoth / Rock Creek / Pine Creek / June Lake which I find very fun - (perhaps Shuteye Ridge granite is similar?). Finally there's the "classic" slabs and friction style of granite, which other people enjoy more than I do. Limestone is very important for high-difficulty sport climbing. For some reason most climbable limestone does not offer much worthwhile at less than 5.10a Ken |