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The Best Granite Sport Crags in North America?

saign charlestein · · Tacoma WA · Joined Apr 2017 · Points: 2,077
JCM wrote:

Re: lumping areas together. I think its totally legit to lump City of Rocks + Castle Rock as one area. Same with Chek/Squamish/Murring sport crags. They're so close together that they are essentially one destination (closer together than different sections of the Red River Gorge, for example).

Re: San Diego: If it isn't publicly known/accessible it doesn't count. At least show some photos of this mysterious super-crag. What's it like? Grade range, angle, etc?  [Edit: Awesome pics for the San Diego crag! You have successfully defended San Diego's honor]

Re: "Granitic Enough".  Chek is IMO granitic enough to count. Its granitic gneiss - basically just lightly metamorphosed granite. Plus by virtue of being lumped with the rest of Squamish is just gets pulled in as a part of that granitic sport climbing region.  Skaha, on the other hand, is way more heavily metamorphosed. Not even even sure what the parent rock is. Whatever it started as, it doesn't really look or feel like granite and probably shouldn't count here. Awesome crag though.

What is the rock on Mt Lemmon? Granite? Metamorphic? Should it be considered here?

Index - Is this whole thread just trying to start an argument about Index? Maybe...

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Notable granite sport crags that come to mind for me: Squamish/Chek; City of Rocks (+ Castle Rock), Pine Creek (Bishop), Indy Pass, Poudre, Devils Head, Rushmore, North Tahoe Crags (Emeralds/Bowman/Donner), others...?  

How do these rank comparatively though? Which one's qualify as major destinations that could rival the big limestone or sandstone sport destinations?

Index is choss and the sport climbing there sucks. Don’t go there

Mack Johnson · · Silverdale, WA · Joined Sep 2016 · Points: 1,061
caesar.salad wrote:

Rumney, if schist counts.

That is some metamorphosed schist.  It is great climbing but very non-granitic.

Mack Johnson · · Silverdale, WA · Joined Sep 2016 · Points: 1,061

North Conway area?   Mega-trad, but plenty of sport either scattered around or at certain cliffs.  I would include crags like Sundown Ledge in that area.

SDC is looking mighty sweet, Kevin!  And skip Index, too many slugs.

Jim Lawyer · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 6,301

Shagg Crag

Precipice, Acadia

Whitney Portal

Boulder Canyon

Laurel Knob

City of Rocks

Granite Basin

Sugarloaf (CA)

Dude’s Throne

God’s Crag

Blue Cloud Spires

Samuel Ammermann · · Hackettstown, NJ · Joined May 2018 · Points: 1

Mt Rushmore area in the black hills

X C · · Yucca Valley · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 72
JCM wrote:

Mikey- Seems like Shuteye should be on the list. I haven't been there though, so cant judge directly. Rock looks amazing. What's the quantity/density of sport climbing at Shuteye. Is there enough sport climbing density that someone could go for a week+ with just draws, and not feel limited? To me that's the minimum metric to be a sport destination.

I spent 3 weeks there and placed one cam (in between some bolts). 

Kevin Worrall · · La Jolla, Ca · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 264

More Eagle Peak pics -


1) right after the Cedar Fire, unclimbed in 2003

2) Chris Sharma on Crazy Horse, pitch one of three, 12b

3) Baby Face, pitch 2 of 4, 11b

4) most of the crag, omitting 400ft summit wall

5) Toproping one of 7 pitches on Tan Man Tower

6) California Poppy bloom

7) Boulder Creek

8) Homeboy, 5.10c on Tan Man Tower, Boulder Creek below, Spring after Cedar Fire incinerated the landscape

Danny Poceta · · Canmore · Joined Nov 2013 · Points: 98

Having grown up climbing there, I will defend the quality of San Diego climbing as long as I live, but for the purposes of this thread, I don’t think crags like Eagle Peak, El Cajon, Corte Madera, etc really belong, as they are not “sport crags” in the way we think of modern sport climbing. They are backcountry multipitch crags that happen to be mostly bolted. Just my opinion. 

Kevin Worrall · · La Jolla, Ca · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 264

I hear what you’re saying about SD’s big 3, the majority of the routes are not your classic steep single pitch sport climbs, but ECM, CM, and EP all have many pitches that qualify. It’s a question of what your definition of sport climbing is. Eagle Peak has the most modern bolting overall. There are lots of single pitch sport pitches which are relatively new strewn all over the Mountaineers’ area west of ECM’s main area, and Corte has the El Niño wall. No 5.14’s though, and few 13’s anywhere in the County, not yet anyway

The San Luis Rey crag, unknown and inaccessible as it is, would absolutely qualify as sport climbing. To drop a name - Randy Leavitt calls it the best granite sport he’s ever done.

Alec O · · Norwich, VT · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 31

Another vote for Shagg. Just a really unique crag with great climbing in a beautiful place away from the masses.

Danny Poceta · · Canmore · Joined Nov 2013 · Points: 98
Kevin Worrall wrote:

I hear what you’re saying about SD’s big 3, the majority of the routes are not your classic steep single pitch sport climbs, but ECM, CM, and EP all have many pitches that qualify. It’s a question of what your definition of sport climbing is. Eagle Peak has the most modern bolting overall. There are lots of single pitch sport pitches which are relatively new strewn all over the Mountaineers’ area west of ECM’s main area, and Corte has the El Niño wall. No 5.14’s though, and few 13’s anywhere in the County, not yet anyway

The San Luis Rey crag, unknown and inaccessible as it is, would absolutely qualify as sport climbing. To drop a name - Randy Leavitt calls it the best granite sport he’s ever done.

Fair enough, it has been quite a few years since I climbed at those areas so maybe they have changed a bit. 

I'm not aware of the San Luis Rey crag but would love to see it someday. High praise from the man himself...

christoph benells · · tahoma · Joined Nov 2014 · Points: 306

I wouldn't know the answer to your question. I only climb at Index.

George Bracksieck · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 3,784

You can glimpse the big, clean, white dome of the San Luis Rey crag from the highway. Most of the potential approaches are long and most would go through the rez. Kevin knows….

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,093

the biggest shocker in this whole thread is that JCM hasn't been to shuteye.  what the hell?

shuteye would probably be #1 for me.  the rock and climbing are great, nice views, and it is huge. there could be potential for 10,000 routes there.

devil's head is one of my favorites also.  great rock, many fun and well-bolted routes, multiple aspects so you can chase shade/sun.

cochise has some good sport routes and potential for a lot more, but local ethics would probably minimize that,

the san diego crags are really great, but too hot for much of the year. maybe there are a few crags that are shady, but i am not too familiar.

i don't really think of index as a sport climbing area, although i guess there are sport routes there.  i can't think of any i have done off hand though.

Kevin Mokracek · · Burbank · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 363

Spy Mountain is so hot right now. 

Kevin Worrall · · La Jolla, Ca · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 264

That big clean dome is not the sport climbing crag, but it is a clue that there is an abundance of steep granite cliffs in the gorge below. That slab has a few routes on it that appear to be bolted ground up, it is excellent quality rock and nearly 500 ft high. The canyon below is choked with massive boulders for miles, and the hillside around that slab also has thousands of boulders. All the granite in that zone is SDC’s best.

I took Fred Nicole there to boulder in the mouth of the canyon, and he was very impressed by “the structure”

I have met with the tribal councils of both the La Jolla res and the Rincon, with the AF, to try and arrange access, but the LJ Band has been uncooperative citing sacred site reasons. It is possible the main climbing area was the site of a rite of passage ceremony involving climbing for young men for millennia. The tribe is very cagey about the canyon’s history. One pure blooded LJ Indian told me that the evil spirit Tahquitch lives in the canyon, another elder told me I was “lucky to be alive” after I told him I had climbed there for 15 years.

I secured exclusive access from a private property owner in the mouth of the canyon years ago, with a key to his gate. It is incredibly beautiful and we never once saw another person in those 15 years. Now the Rincon tribe owns his 640 acre ranch, and access is complicated. The developed crag is on BLM land however.

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115
slim wrote:

the biggest shocker in this whole thread is that JCM hasn't been to shuteye.  what the hell?

I know, I know. Really need to. Been thinking about a trip for years but it hasn't happened yet. Based on this thread sounds like it should be top priority! Especially now living in CA. Post-fire access dependent, of course.

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Of all the areas named here, which do you think rise to the level of "Major Western North American Destination" that rivals the big-name limestone sport climbing destinations?  For example, I think with the development of the last 20 years, Squamish sport climbing (completely ignoring the trad and boulders) has the quantity, quality, and variety to rival the big-name North American sport climbing destinations.  If a friend was travelling from the East Coast for a 2-week sport climbing trip, and in decided between Ten Sleep and Squamish they chose Squamish, I'd think that was a pretty reasonable decision.  But if they were choosing between Ten Sleep and Devils Head, and decided on Devils Head, I'd think they were crazy. Devils Head is cool, and a great Front Range resource, but its not a national-caliber destination (IMO). Though I haven't been in over 10 years, so I'm prepared to be wrong on that also.

Where else do you think meets this standard? Shuteye gets points for quality of rock and quality of climbing, but loses points for being hard to get to and recent fire impacts. Is Shuteye, on its own, worth a 1-2 week sport climbing trip? Sounds like it might be.

I think they Eastern Sierra granite sport areas (Pine Creek, Mammoth, etc) might meet this standard, and if you look at the full picture of Eastern Sierra sport climbing (granite areas and the volcanic areas) it definitely meets this standard. The variety of rock type, style, elevation, scenery, etc is great. Plus the near-guarantee of good conditions almost year round (can go up or down in elevation based on weather) is a major plus for trip planning.

Anywhere else meet this standard? Even City of Rocks I'm not sure meets the "I'd consider choosing this area over Ten Sleep for a purely sport climbing trip" standard.

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Haven't heard a definitive answer: Is Mt Lemmon granite? Or gneiss? Or ...? Is it all the same rock type or is it different at the summit crags vs lower on the mountain?  I've never been. Is it worth a road trip visit?

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115
blakeherrington wrote:

Is that at Miller, or somewhere else? Has MHL seen more recent development? I visited in like 2015, and is seemed good quality but kind of small, and not the "great savoir of WA sport climbing" it had been hyped as.  It was a pretty neat style though - it felt a lot more like steep granite bouldering feature climbing, rather than typical sport climbing.

John Clark · · Sierras · Joined Mar 2016 · Points: 1,408

I guess nobody has heard of Yosemite Valley.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,093

i haven't heard of much sport climbing in yosemite ;) 

it's hard to compare granite sport areas to limestone/sandstone sport areas, they are typically just so different. in general, for hard sport climbing i think limestone and sandstone are just so much better.  a lot of hard granite climbing boils down to conditions dependent slab climbing.  obviously there are exceptions to this, but it really weeds out a lot of granite areas. i am surprised about squamish area being a world class sport destination. i guess i haven't sport climbed there much, other than the pet wall (which is good but relatively small).

pine creek area is ~ok, but i wouldn't really put it at a world class level. i would definitely say devils head is better than the pine creek area.

shuteye is definitely super sweet, but the drive and approaches are a bit of work (which also probably helps keep the riff raff out). i think it is heads and shoulders above any other granite sport area i have climbed at though.

good thread by the way.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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