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pmonks
Jun 21, 2010, 5:17 PM
Post #1 of 2
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Registered: Jul 26, 2002
Posts: 12
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G'day everyone,
Does anyone know of any bouldering (no matter how crappy) near Camp Mather [1]? I took a look on Google Earth and there are some promising looking outcrops to the north east, but time will be at a premium so would rather not bash around the bush and end up finding nothing (although when I have plenty of time I do enjoy that kind of thing!).
I'm headed there with the family next week and hoping to squeeze in a session or two nearby. Time will be at an absolute premium though, so I don't think I'll be able to get to the Valley or Tuolumne or any other "established" areas.
If any other climbers will be there next week, shoot me an email at pmonks AT gmail DOT com - always happy to have company.
Cheers,
Peter
[1] http://maps.google.com/...=7640375485466331498
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pmonks
Jul 4, 2010, 1:06 AM
Post #2 of 2
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Registered: Jul 26, 2002
Posts: 12
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To answer my own question - I only found one boulder worth a damn in Camp Mather itself (ignoring the ridiculously polished low angle slab near the ping pong tables - that's quite an amusing self-saucing sandbag!). It's on the Lake side past the far end of the tent sites, over past the hay ride fire pit. Given the amount of rock around and the thickness of the forest, I'm pretty convinced there are more boulders to be uncovered, but it'd probably take a bit of exploration to find them.
The worthwhile boulder has 3 or 4 problems (with some faded chalk, so others have bouldered here in the past) - the seam in the middle of the wall was about V1 up to the topout, which was absolutely desperate (I couldn't do it in bare feet - didn't have my shoes with me). The crack that splits towards the right hand end of the wall is quite nice - maybe V0. The sharp arete at the right hand end also had chalk but by then my feet had had enough so I didn't give it a shot.
I also saw some bolts on the north facing wall at "Inspiration Point", which is about 3 miles from camp towards Hetch Hetchy (note: inside Yosemite NP so you'll need to buy a pass if you drive there from camp). This is the high point of the road, with a dirt turnout on the right, and the wall is on the opposite side of the nondescript blobby black tor on the opposite side of the road. [1]
From what I could see the wall looked quite nice - at least 45 feet high, steep and with some nice thin splitters. Big exposure too, what with the river 2000-odd feet below at the bottom of the gorge. Unfortunately I didn't take a rope or any gear, so didn't get a chance to try the routes - I'll be taking a rack & rope next time though.
I also had a morning's awesome bouldering at The Knobs in Tuolumne - they're maybe an hour and a half drive from camp. I also walked around the Tamarack Flat boulders (about 30 minutes drive from camp) - they look quite good but the rock is incredibly coarse so I doubt my tips would have lasted very long.
I also took the family to the Valley, which is about 45 minutes drive from camp - in cooler weather that'd be a good option.
[1] http://maps.google.com/...,-119.83685&z=14
(This post was edited by pmonks on Jul 4, 2010, 1:18 AM)
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