Chossiest routes ever?

Not sure about Birdsboro, but I think this about sums it up for Safe Harbor. Still a fun place though!

Seneca

NW Face Wheeler Pk Nevada in Summer, 1800' of alpine jenga. Did 1 route, 2nd route bailed after 5 ropes chopped.

A few years back Mat Brunton and I climbed the FA of the complete NE ridge of Mount Diamond in the Chugach above Thompson Pass. The ridge was 1.5 miles long and luckily only went at 5.6 r/x AI2, for it was to loose to even rope up, getting down was also a very chossy endeavor. Chugach choss at its worst:/

Taylor-B. wrote: A few years back Mat Brunton and I climbed the FA of the complete NE ridge of Mount Diamond in the Chugach above Thompson Pass. The ridge was 1.5 miles long and luckily only went at 5.6 r/x AI2, for it was to loose to even rope up, getting down was also a very chossy endeavor. Chugach choss at its worst:/

AK choss will be underrepresented because the local climbing population is relatively small, but this is a great example.  One of the best lines I heard from a prominent alpinist here was if I wanted to get some good climbing in I should head to ANC airport and fly anywhere else.

And God help you if you think climbing the roadcut along the turnagain is good.  It's like Stockholm syndrome but with sport climbing.

The approach from below involved scrambling up rock so loose and prone to breaking that I actually had my second wait 50 feet below the base of the route for me to get there and build and anchor to belay him through it. Good thing I did too because rock broke off under him and he fell, and the pull shifted my weight enough that a chunk broke off under me and I fell too ending with both of us caught by the anchor before we even started the route. The quality of rock improved on the route itself, but not much. 

Crowders mountain, North Carolina
Heise Idaho
pilot mountain N.C.
The route “fortune cookie” at cooks wall North Carolina

north carolina has great rock just not the above places
lol

Ty Gilroy wrote: Its in the canadian rockies for sure! I love the rockies but there be some choss! Climbing loose rock is an art form

I had an extremely choss experience on Mt Assiniboine. Climbed it in 1982 and things were still frozen well, was a great day, but going back several years later and later in the season after thawing, OMG! Shooting gallery! We bailed.

Anything I ever bolted that wasn't limestone. All my limestone was bullet!
​https://www.mountainproject.com/area/107291341/shoreline-crag​​​

Artem Vasilyev wrote: West ridge of Mt. Washington in Oregon - if you've climbed it, you know. It gets described as "the best alpine rock in Oregon" - the humour of which becomes apparent once you're on route. So much flaky death choss. Great climb though. Also the least chossy line on that mountain - the others are essentially scree piles caked together with dried mud - standard for Oregon volcanoes.

Seconding this. If you've led the "dinnerplate traverse," you're unlikely to ever forget it. 

The horrifying part is that it probably IS the best alpine rock climb in Oregon. I once got onto rock on Mount Hood's north face getting around the bergschrund, and you could dig into it with your crampon points.

in Mendoza canyon, but the choss is (more than) half the fun.  Some of the finest adventure climbing anywhere. 

Drederek wrote: Smith Rock - welded tuff. Fossil Rock - poorly welded tuff.  Pinto Rock - barely welded tuff. From pictures I suspect Coethedral just as bad as Pinto Rock. 

I feel new routes at smith can be pretty bad. I’m curious if fossil got more traffic it would be better received? 

I haven’t climbed there, but reading about the Mystery Towers in Crusher Bartletts book and they sound like a special kind of choss. 

Nick Henscheid wrote: The Elephant's Trunk in Mendoza canyon, but the choss is (more than) half the fun.  Some of the finest adventure climbing anywhere. 

+1, a lot of genuinely fun choss in southern AZ. And some not so fun too. 

Bring it on.

The things of beauty (https://www.mountainproject.com/area/106084987/things-of-beauty-aka-interstate-i-70-towers​​​)

But this one was even worse

West Rock in New Haven CT has a few! Wear that helmet and use that grigri!

Trevor Taylor wrote:

I feel new routes at smith can be pretty bad. I’m curious if fossil got more traffic it would be better received? 

Fossils had plenty of traffic, I've been climbing out there for a little over 30 years and its still pretty loose.  You really learn how to distribute your weight over two or three holds at a time!

-Pawnee Buttes: mountainproject.com/route/1…
-Monument Rock: https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105745603/monument-rock 

is the worst rock i've ever climbed.