Bozoo Bouldering Climbing

General

Bozoo has long been considered a "local crag." This idea along with it's back wood's locale and it's proximity to the New River Gorge has kept the bouldering at Bozoo under the radar. Don't let this fool you, the bouldering here is excellent and holds it's own against many hyped up bouldering locations.  There are many beginner problems here but the large number of moderates in the V4-V8 range is where Bozoo really shines.

History:

Development has gone on quietly at Bozoo for 25+ years. Many that have passed through have contributed to the development but their efforts have just barely been "documented" through a fragmented oral tradition. With the help of several early developers we are working to create a solid online database and history of the Bozoo Bouldering here on MP.

The first wave of dedicated developers were Shawn MaCauley, Andy Quillen, Ed Lyman, Jonathon Kingston, Matt Behrens, Jeremy Kane, British Mike, Philip Mothena and Kenny Parker from about 94'-04'. A second wave of development and "re-development" happened between 2004 and 2012 by Truc Allen, Adam Walker, Josh Hepler, Travis Melin and others.

In 2020 Parker Reed established 'Bozooka' closing out the long standing and infamous "project boulder."  If you are up for a good challenge, bring your power and get the 2nd!  The last major and super obvious project is located in the Powerlines area.  A beautiful sloping lip with perfect rock.

Grades

Bouldering at Bozoo is super beta and weather intensive, more so than many places you will visit. Don't be surprised to get stymied on problems well below your level. This also makes even the easier problems worth trying. Grades are considered stiff by many. My experience is that if you can boulder a certain grade here it will translate well to many other boulderfields.

Weather

Though Bozoo is boulder-able year round you will suffer badly in the summer. The whole area is generally south facing and seems to have a solar oven effect in the river valley. For the dedicated sender, ideal temps are around 35-50 degrees and sunny for most of the south facing problems and 50-60 for what you can find in the shade. This is a great Winter Bouldering location. If it is mid-winter and sunny, you can climb here, even after snow on a sunny day. The rock is also less sensitive to failure after rain/snow than other local areas like McAfee's. Please stay away from flakes immediately after the rain.

Video

Thanks to Bingo Bango for putting together this video to show a good sampling of 5 Main Area Classics (Hershey Squirt, Driver 8, Firepole, Grinding for Tips, The Pocket Problem) and French Tits (Ape Rage) over in the Project Area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9deumVjtxDw

Bozooka V11  https://vimeo.com/483713023