Stoney Point Wet Rock Warning

Guy,

Medusa and I climbed today between storms.   Rain on the drive out there and rain on the drive home but the rock was dry.   

Kevin Mokracekwrote:

Guy,

Medusa and I climbed today between storms.   Rain on the drive out there and rain on the drive home but the rock was dry.   

Good to know… but Stoney is soaked. 

Merry Christmas to all! I was at Stoney on Friday. It was wet and muddy.
Please don’t climb on the wet sandstone.
Just look up thread for some Granite spots out in Lancaster.

Stony is wet right now. 12-29-23 The sun is shining but the stone is weeping water still.
Please go climb anywhere else.
Malibu creek- down in the creek bed, even the Apes Wall works.
Or the Granite out in the desert or by Riverside.

Happy New Years to all.

1-2-24 

Stony is still very wet. 

1-3-24 Sort of disappointed yesterday. I go to SP almost everyday- just to walk around. My doctor's orders. When I pulled up a group of 4-7 folks, with Pads, were getting into cars to leave.
They had been climbing- despite the mud puddles at the bottom of many problems. I noticed a Wisconsin plate and figured they were just ignorant of how fragile OUR Stony sandstone is when soaked. Right now the stone is seeping water- like a sponge.
Please stay away until it’s dry- your project will still be there in a few weeks- unless someone pulls off a key flake.
Be well 

1-17-23 

Right now everything is dry as can be considering. Still some weeping.
But with the cool/cold weather the friction is up.
Rain predicted for Friday/Sat .

Get some!

To edit…. It just started to rain, ahead of the forecast. Shows you what forecasters know. 

1-23-24….. a hard constant rain all day yesterday, sunshine today but I figure Stony is closed for the rest of January.
The desert, inland empire and SD will be good.
Later All. 

Anyone with an update on conditions? I know there was a good soaking eight days ago. Possibly looking to get out Wednesday (tomorrow) before the rain strikes again on Thursday. 

Wolly… sorry I didn’t update. After the last rain it got “pretty dry” according to my friends. Just be “gentle” with the stone. Stay off the flaky problems like “spiral traverse” etc. Most of the North side etc.
Do the dirt scrape - if muddy maybe avoid. I’ve been “sick like dog” last two weeks.
A big storm is predicted Thursday.
Thanks for caring 

Thanks for getting back so quickly, that's good to hear. I'll definitely check it out carefully before climbing. Feel better soon. 

Hope you're feeling better Guy

The rock is wet!  :)

Hi….all! I was out of town doing my Karting thing in Tuscon so I missed out on our massive storm that hit SoCal… this is the type of rain that really soaks the sandstone down deep. But we need it … 

I will keep you updated on conditions.

Go find gods granite.

Dan Young wrote this about climbing in Red Rock. I repost here because it is spot on. Just because the sun is out and it’s nice please don’t climb at Stoney right now. I was really disappointed with the amount of people at SP yesterday.

Desert Rock Sports wrote:

There is no science that supports this recommendation. Just because that is what is out there, everyone repeats it without question.

The Aztec sandstone is a porous rock. When it rains, water is absorbed past the surface and into the rock. The depth of moisture is a variable and depends on the duration and intensity of the rain. Also add the frequency of every 2-4 days and it can be wet internally for several inches or even feet. 

When the sandstone gets wet, the bond that turns sand into rock breaks down. It becomes soft and crumbly. Holds break. Gear rips. This is not Red River Gorge or Maple Cyn.

When it stops raining, the surface dries immediately, and everyone thinks "Oh, it's dry, let's climb!" or "Look, there are climbers up there, it must be okay!"

But the inside is still wet, still trying to perspire out. Couple low temps with high humidity and this drying out period can be days or weeks. Maybe in the summer, when temps are hi and humidity is low, will the 24-72 hours hold up. But only in the summer.

Once the moisture perspires out entirely, over days or weeks, then that bond that turns sand into rock can begin to reform. It needs to bake to really regain its strength. Again, several days to a week or two. 

This might all make sense when you read it, but it can also seem too uncertain, complex, confusing, or difficult to apply, especially given people arrive here on a sunny day, after several days of rain, and think "great weather, let's go climbing!" So a reliable, simple rule of thumb should be: There needs to be 2-3 inches of dry sand at the base of the crags to insure the climbs have re-baked back into solid rock. Even on sunny days, there could be wet sand at the base of crags from rain the day before, which means the rock inside is still wet. Throw out the nebulous 24-whatever hours suggestion, and go with something simple and accurate, 2-3 inches of dry sand at the base of the crags to insure the climbs have re-baked back into solid rock. 

Dan Young

—————————————————————
please treat stony gently, the few really great problems do and have disappeared or changed significantly over the years. Especially the TR’s from folks “only repelling” … you stand on your feet- you twist your foot and put tremendous pressure on that hold. Go somewhere else- tons of granite out there. Just drive a little farther.

Later all 

Any update with the rock conditions? Curious if Stoney will be dry enough to go this weekend. 

Don Tranwrote:

Any update with the rock conditions? Curious if Stoney will be dry enough to go this weekend. 

Don… as of yesterday 2-16-23 people were bouldering. I still think it’s too wet but have at it.
Be gentle please, don’t pull too hard on thin flakes.
A good day for miniholland….

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/107280968/miniholland 

rained last night... 2/18/24

Caleb McDonaldwrote:

rained last night... 2/18/24

And it came down hard!!! 

2-24-24      I know the sun is out with temperatures in the 70’s but Stoney is still very wet. Heck you had to cross a running stream yesterday! So please go climbing anyplace else and know you are saving the problems you love.

Thanks all 

3-6-24

The sun has been shining- on and off- for a few weeks. I was in Tuscon last weekend ( perfect weather for Cochise Stronghold) sunshine and no wind. My friends tell me it rained some.
I went to SP yesterday and the ground was muddy as heck- especially around back. I spoke with a young man who told me-“ I need to climb, keeps me sane after working ….”
Hopefully this winter will end soon and we can get back together at Stoney.