|
climbing_steve
Aug 25, 2005, 5:32 PM
Post #1 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jul 21, 2005
Posts: 14
|
Does anyone know how you would go about finding, and buying a boulder that you could have moved to a location that you chose?
Recently a good friend of ours passed away in a climbing accident, and we decided that if at all possible we wanted to get a boulder, that we would place as a memorial to him on campus.
I've been searching around the internet for a company, or information on how one could do this, but have had very little luck so far. I was wondering if anyone out there had any experience, or knowledge about how to get started finding a boulder. Or if there are companies that I simply haven't been able to find.
Any help would be really appreciated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
trenchdigger
Aug 25, 2005, 5:54 PM
Post #3 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 9, 2003
Posts: 1447
|
Try talking with landscaping companies and searching for info on nearby rock quarries. How big of a boulder are we talking about?
|
|
|
|
|
sogwap7
Aug 25, 2005, 6:00 PM
Post #4 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 7, 2004
Posts: 47
|
You can check with a local nursery, not the kind for kids but the kind that have baby trees and rocks. If they don't sell them directly then they may be able to refer you as to where they get them. If no luck there then PM me I know of a company close to my house that deals with that and I'll get the info for you.
|
|
|
|
|
steamboatclimber
Aug 25, 2005, 6:56 PM
Post #5 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 14, 2004
Posts: 103
|
If we are talking about a real live boulder that is big enough to climb... I think It might weigh too much to be a feasible thing to move into place. If I remember correctly, granite weighs in at something like 168 pounds a cubic foot. If we round off the size of the boulder to 8' x8' x 8' we have a 86,016 pound boulder. In this range you are talking heavyweight cranes let alone the truck to get it in place. I think 80,000 pounds in the max before a truck needs "overweight" permits to operate on the highway. All this said, I have seen a few decent "boulders" by reputable wall companies that might fit the bill, but I have no idea if it would stand up to the weather it would see outside. I hope you can come up with a solution on how to honor your friend.
|
|
|
|
|
climbing_steve
Aug 25, 2005, 9:25 PM
Post #6 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jul 21, 2005
Posts: 14
|
We were looking for something maybe 6x6x6 or so, there is currently another boulder that we had donated to the school many years ago by another school which is something like 4' heigh x 3 x5, and we've put about 3 problems on that one. But anything that's big enough to put a couple problems on.
Thanks, I'm going to check out those landscape companies. I've just never really seen very big boulders on anyone's lawn that were put there. I suppose little shaped rocks come from big rocks though, so there must be big ones out there
|
|
|
|
|
htotsu
Aug 27, 2005, 12:56 PM
Post #7 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 11, 2005
Posts: 673
|
In reply to: Recently a good friend of ours passed away in a climbing accident, and we decided that if at all possible we wanted to get a boulder, that we would place as a memorial to him on campus. |
|
|
|
|
anykineclimb
Aug 27, 2005, 1:01 PM
Post #8 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 30, 2003
Posts: 3593
|
it would be much more inexpensive and logistically easier if you get eldorado or some other company to come out and build an artifical boulder. THEN it can be even bigger and have routes all over it.
|
|
|
|
|
thetroutscout
Aug 29, 2005, 7:07 AM
Post #9 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 23, 2004
Posts: 388
|
Someone in my family owns a quarry but I doubt they could even get me a "boulder." How big you thinkin? Boulder or just a big rock?
^^ike
|
|
|
|
|
t-dog
Deleted
Aug 29, 2005, 7:15 AM
Post #10 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered:
Posts:
|
hum, I would think the difficulty would be not in buying it, but moving it, as someone said earlier, any boulder of considerable size is going to be damn heavy!!
|
|
|
|
|
azrockclimber
Aug 29, 2005, 11:17 AM
Post #11 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 28, 2005
Posts: 666
|
umm, just so you know...moving a boulder of any real size would be nearly impossible for most companies. If they could manage it, it would cost an absolute fortune to do.
Oh, and tere is no way a landscaping company is going to have the equipment needed to mvoe a 6x6x6 boulder....that would weigh a shitload.
|
|
|
|
|
poedoe
Aug 29, 2005, 1:51 PM
Post #12 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Posts: 107
|
I'd like to put something positive up. When I was a kid there was a large wharehouse built right next the fitness center my family had a membership at. While they were building this place they discovered this huge rock underground. It took them a bit of time, and some heavy equiptment, but they ended up digging this thing out of the ground. They got it all cleaned up and had it engraved with the companys name and address. So instead of having a small wooden sign out front like other businesses, this place has a huge boulder. As for size, It is for sure big enough for a couple move boulder problem if any holds exist on it. I know this doesn't help much with the problem of getting ahold of one yourself, but I just wanted to let people know that I have seen this type of thing done before.
|
|
|
|
|
jeffd
Aug 29, 2005, 3:47 PM
Post #13 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Posts: 25
|
a friend of mine looked into this a while back. he had transportation cost's at about $30,000 before he gave up. he was also looking at a 6x6x6.
|
|
|
|
|
veganboyjosh
Aug 29, 2005, 4:14 PM
Post #14 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 22, 2003
Posts: 1421
|
i know it wouldn't be the same thing, but what about building a pile of smaller rocks on which to boulder? would be easier/cheaper to move, and customize size/shape within the space available.
|
|
|
|
|
steamboatclimber
Aug 29, 2005, 4:42 PM
Post #15 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 14, 2004
Posts: 103
|
if you are just going to do a pile of smaller rocks why not look into a wall company building you a boulder? A pile of rocks is still going to take some money to move into place and then I suppose you would have to tie them all together in some manner. I used to boulder on a chimney at a place I used to live3 and it was pretty sweet. So the pile of rocks idea could work, but you are basically building a climbing wall the hard way.
Judson
|
|
|
|
|
ucfrockclimber
Aug 29, 2005, 4:49 PM
Post #16 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 24
|
Hey man, if you are serious about getting a good boulder then go to Enterprise. They hand make any boulder you want and bring it to you. I work at the rock tower here at UCF in orlando and they made our 40 foot tower and it has awesome natural features not to mention we can put holds on it. they make towers to boulders. good luck.
|
|
|
|
|
madriver
Aug 29, 2005, 4:54 PM
Post #17 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 17, 2001
Posts: 8700
|
...why not go to a Classic Boulder field and chip a plaque into a large boulder commemorating your friend?
|
|
|
|
|
keinangst
Sep 14, 2005, 4:51 PM
Post #19 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 1, 2003
Posts: 1408
|
In reply to: Hey man, if you are serious about getting a good boulder then go to Enterprise.
Go to Entreprise unless you're planning to boulder your way around late-model Dodge Neon. :D
Seconded. Two local rock walls and a small church rec center wall are by them--good stuff, and much more feasible than moving real rock
|
|
|
|
|
katanaman
Sep 15, 2005, 8:21 PM
Post #20 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: 143
|
i totally went to the car rental... :? but hey thats a wicked idea, i tried to figure out how much it would cost but it is just sooooo much for real rock
|
|
|
|
|
in_nate_climber
Sep 17, 2005, 12:28 AM
Post #21 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 7, 2005
Posts: 8
|
You could probably get rock slabs for a lot cheaper not to mention that they'd be easier to move. With a few of these you could construct a hollow pyramid or cube or just have a thicker slab pocking out of the ground. think about the rocks fracture planes and the structural integrity though. I agree that a quarry would be the best bet on a source.
|
|
|
|
|
price1869
Sep 20, 2005, 6:37 PM
Post #22 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jul 28, 2005
Posts: 50
|
Find some mormon pioneers, they're great at cutting out and moving enormous boulders. I went bouldering on one yesterday that they left up LCC. I work for a heavy machinery company, and I can tell you now that any decent sized rock is going to cost you a lot to move. I mean, if I had an extra 777D and a crane, I'd happily do it for you.
Price
|
|
|
|
|
lajhanata
Sep 22, 2005, 4:43 PM
Post #23 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 19, 2005
Posts: 81
|
Hi,
I go to a small college in Lake Tahoe. Our new library was finished last year and when I showed up for classes last fall I was very happy to see a 10'x4'x6' boulder standing upright at the end of the parking lot. Thinking it impossible to move such a giant hunk, I asked the President of the college how much it had cost to put there. He said it cost around 6 grand. That's a lot better than 60. I think it was so cheap because it was in the area to begin with so it didn't have to travel very far. (The idiots ruined the best problem on it by gluing a bunch of metal letters across the best face.)
Anyway, excavating a nearby boulder is almost definitely the only way you're going to be able afford real rock. You could also consider laminating a bunch of cut slabs together and then blowing off the the outsides to make more natural features. A third option might be to make one out of clay that was hollow and then fire it on site (I'm a ceramics major and have wanted to do this for a long time). You could probably cast one from molds of a real boulder too (maybe even this guy's favorite). A last option would be to get a tall slab from a quarry. My father bought a few 8'x6'x1' sandstone slabs to make into pick nick tables, he brought those home in his pickup truck -one at a time of course, and it thrashed his suspension. Even that's probably going to run you a good 3 grand.
Let us know what you decide to do, I definitely plan on having my own boulder garden someday. It's an awesome way to commemorate your friend in my opinion.
|
|
|
|
|
srwings
Sep 22, 2005, 5:22 PM
Post #24 of 24
(5992 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 27, 2004
Posts: 247
|
That's news to me. I've been a member of Sport Rock for 4 years now. Where does it say that they do boulders?
|
|
|
|
|
|
