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crankingclimber
May 4, 2004, 5:24 PM
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Hey all
I'll be in Texas for atleast a month this summer, spending time on my relatives ranch, and will be looking for climbing in the area. The ranch is located in Erath county, right next to Stephenville and Granbury. I've looked online at Paradise on the Brazos and Mineral Wells, but what else is close? Did I read about limestone anywhere? I climb sport 5.12 and trad 5.10, atleast I did before finals, it's been three weeks since I've been on rock, so we'll see. Also will be climbing with cousins who've never climbed before, so a good grade distribution would be nice.
Anyone going to be in that area this summer? And if you are, are you brave enough to battle the heat for some climbing?
Will
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roc-dude
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May 4, 2004, 6:29 PM
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For climbing you will have to drive a ways. I hear there is Bouldering around Stephenville and Granbury but I think access can be an issue.
The List below is of some of the most popular climbing areas in Texas
which came from http://www.texasclimbers.com/crags/
They have links to these areas but it seem to be down today. I know the server went down in the storms last week.
Austin Barton Creek Greenbelt
New Wall/Great Wall
Gus Fruh
Urban Assault
Seismic
Bee Hive Wall
Austin Bull Creek Bouldering
Austin McKinney Falls Bouldering
Big Bend, Southwest Texas
Continental Ranch, Southwest Texas
Enchanted Rock, LLano Texas
Hueco Tanks, El Paso, Texas
Mineral Wells, Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Paradise on the Brazos, Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Reimers Ranch, Austin Area
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texastechclimber
May 4, 2004, 6:34 PM
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Good luck in trying to battle the heat in Texas. I hope you arent planning to go out in late July and August. I am from Texas, and I still find it hard to climb during these months. I have relatives that are from up north; when they came to visit, they acted like they were dying from the heat. They will not come down over the summer anymore. I am not exactly sure where Stephenville and Granbury are, but I assume its up by Dallas. There is Paradise on the Brazos which I have heard is a cool place; Mineral Wells is not worth going to for climbing in my opinion. If you dont mind the drive, there are lots of spots around Austin like Barton Creek Greenbelt, Rogers park, Mckinney falls, E-Rock, Tonkawa Falls, and Reimers Ranch. Stay away from E-rock over the summer, the rock adds about 20 degrees. I stick to spots like Reimers, Mckinney, or Red Bluff during the hot months so I can jump in the water. Pace Bend has some cool bouldering over a lake. Check out TexasClimbers.com and Bloodyflapper.com.
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crankingclimber
May 4, 2004, 8:30 PM
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Sweet, thanks for the replies. I should have a vehicle, and several cousins to use as belay slaves, so driving to a cliff shouldn't be a problem. Finding crags near the water is a great idea though. I'm actually from Texas, so I know what the heat is like, have spent the last several summers there, just not climbing, digging ditches and stuff like that instead, which is equally hot. Before moving to Pittsburgh I actually lived in Australia for 8 years, Brisbane to be exact, where the summers are just as hot, except more humid. I learned to climb there, so I should be able to handle atleast a little of the heat, although it's been a few years, and I have been living in Pittsburgh...
Will
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txclimberchick
Jun 1, 2004, 3:19 PM
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Will,
Go to Paradise, for sure. If you can stand the heat, it should be a pretty good place to climb. It's definitely the best place in the area, and isn't far at all from where you'll be staying, west of Fort Worth. If you need more climbing buddies, let me know! :D
Courtney
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merock
Jun 1, 2004, 4:10 PM
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POB is a choss pile... If you want to climb on some good stuff, come to Austin. Riemers Ranch has some really, really nice pocketed limestone that will make you fiend to come back. If you are into bouldering hit up Rogers park. It's North of Austin on Lake Belton so you won't have to drive as far. Super nice limestone bouldering with a large variety of grades. McKinney is a super great place, but powerful, not for the weak hearted. The greenbelt is pretty good, but if you are going to drive that far, you might as well hit up Reimers, it's way more worth it. Plus there is a river to cool off in and a nice ropeswing. Pacebend is THE Texas summer spot. There is nothing better to beat the heat than climbing above water. You don't even need gear for this (except maybe water shoes), plus you can camp there. My weekend agenda if I were you would be to camp at Pacebend and climb at Reimers. If you only have a day trip, go to Rogers and boulder. Check out http://www.bloodyflapper.com for more info on that place and McKinney. PM me if you want more details......
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=22962
http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos.php?Action=Show&PhotoID=22962
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calamity_chk
Jun 1, 2004, 7:03 PM
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i agree with merock. reimers is a little further, but more worth the drive, imho. granted, i havent been to SOB, err POB since shortly after development started, but i lived a couple of hours away and still preferred the 3-4hr drive to austin (for sport) or the 'tas (for trad).
another 'local' place is mineral wells - but again, i lived near it and didnt bother because there's better climbing to be had. and if i'm gonna pay to climb, i'd rather pay for climbing that i can enjoy all damn day.
here are some distances for each, based on city searches from maps.yahoo.
mineral wells, 42mi
POB, 81.2 mi
austin, 191 mi
again, if it were me, i'd head for reimers. austin just rules. my recommended routine is get up early and climb, swim/play in water or find a cozy rock and nap during the heat of day, and climb again in the early evening.
i've also noticed big hunks of rocks off 67 between stephenville and cleburne, but i've never been close enough to tell if they're climbable or simply tall piles of choss.
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txclimberchick
Jun 1, 2004, 7:40 PM
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*deleted*
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merock
Jun 1, 2004, 10:39 PM
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In reply to: I guess it just depends on whether you consider Austin close enough to get to easily. Sure, if you've got the time to invest, it's great, but sometimes, you can only go so far. If MW and POB are it for the area, maybe they'll do. I suppose it also depends on how big of a rock-snob people are. I hope I never become jaded like many of the more experienced climbers around here. Sure, maybe it's baby stuff, but consider that some of us that haven't been climbing as long might still consider it a fun place to go. Seems to be a lot of insulting going on, as opposed to saying "that's an alright place, but even better is..such-and-such." Not meaning to insult anyone, just my two cents. Yes, I'm an inexperienced climber. So what? I love it just as much as anyone else. Courtney
Feeling like this is directed at me so...... POB is an alright place, if you like choss, but even better is Reimers and Rogers and Pacebend and McKinney and E-Rock and Onion Creek and Greenbelt......
It's not about being a rock snob or jaded, it's about being able to climb on good quality rock and sorry to offend you/anyone, but POB is not. It was never said POB was baby stuff, it's just that there is just A LOT of other climbing areas in Texas that offer much better quality stone and climbing. If you like it, then kudos to you.... keep on keepin on. Sure, if I lived in that area and that's all I had to climb, I would go to it. But you can bet your @ss that the weekend would be spent climbing in the Austin Area. How many people travel from Austin to D/FW area to climb on the weekend....0... How many people from D/FW travel to Austin to climb on the weekend? A lot.... I think there's a reason for that. Instead of being sensitve about your home court, maybe you should use this information and hit up other some other places and see what else is out there. There's plenty of fun stuff for inexperienced people here too.....
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cosmokramer
Jun 3, 2004, 12:33 AM
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Reimer's, Reimer's, REIMER'S.
Don't waste your time anywhere else.
The whole place is IN THE SHADE and there is a crystal clear river 50 yds. away at any point in the park.
Enjoy!
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gear_junkie
Jun 3, 2004, 3:23 AM
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POB is not bad, but not great either. If you climb 5.12, you do have a couple of quality routes. Columbia (12b) being the best of the bunch. There is a very good 11c, I think it is call Paradise on the Brazos Brothers, or something like that. The Recliner is very good, its about 20 ft left of Columbia and a couple of other good routes a little to the Right (about 50 ft from Columbia).
If you want to do a day trip and sport climb, POB is much better than Mineral Wells, but it does cost $7 per person to climb.
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calamity_chk
Jun 3, 2004, 8:42 PM
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In reply to: I guess it just depends on whether you consider Austin close enough to get to easily. Sure, if you've got the time to invest, it's great, but sometimes, you can only go so far. If MW and POB are it for the area, maybe they'll do. I suppose it also depends on how big of a rock-snob people are. I hope I never become jaded like many of the more experienced climbers around here. Sure, maybe it's baby stuff, but consider that some of us that haven't been climbing as long might still consider it a fun place to go. Seems to be a lot of insulting going on, as opposed to saying "that's an alright place, but even better is..such-and-such."
Sounds like you're already getting a little jaded there, sista. I'm not a particularly experienced climber either - I'm just cheap. MW and POB both cost money for climbing that works but isnt overly enjoyable for me - the routes arent as fun, and the rock is dirty/chossy. Reimers costs $5 for a ton of really fun routes on clean rock with a kickass swimming hole - which is worth quite a bit in Texas summer heat. The Wichitas are free and offer a plethora of quality trad routes, again on clean rock. Some of them get crowded, but there are places to go where you're not over run by people. E-rock is also good but has a boyscout problem, imo.
Also, I dont think the opinions expressed here are about people being snotty so much as it's about people having different standards and reasons for climbing. POB and MW dont match my reasons for climbing, so why pay money to have an "okay" experience? I learned to climb in DFW and always preferred to drive to Austin or OK to climb because the experience was more enjoyable for me. It's not because I think they're 'baby' crags - it's because I dont want to pay money for something that's "okay". If you or anyone want to do so, you have every right in the world to do that. But, I'm not going to recommend the crags without a caveat.
Finally, Will didnt specify what sort of climbing he's into. Why shouldnt others offer the opinion that certain places cost more $$ than others and offer a less enjoyable experience? Personally, I'd be pissed if someone recommended a mediocre crag that costs $7 without warning me that some people think it's a chosspile, but that's just my .02.
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txclimberchick
Jun 4, 2004, 2:06 PM
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Ok...
I never meant to offend anyone.
Different strokes for different folks. Me, I'll climb whatever I can get my hands on, which unfortunately is usually limited by time and funds.
Sorry for the harsh words. I was just kinda heated up...I was just at MW a couple weeks ago, and had a great day of climbing. Yeah, it's messy, maybe not the greatest place in the world. But it was still fun.
Hope no one hates me forever...really not lookin' to make enemies.
Courtney :cry:
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calamity_chk
Jun 7, 2004, 12:04 AM
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i dont think anyone's offended, just stating the reasons behind out statements. you should try reimers sometime though. i used to climb at MW .. until i made it to reimers. it costs less and is a whole lot more fun. Plus, it's usually not too terribly difficult to form a caravan and split gas.
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txclimberchick
Jun 9, 2004, 12:29 AM
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Thanks amber_chk. I'll definitely check out Reimer's some time. :-)
Courtney
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calamity_chk
Jun 9, 2004, 1:25 AM
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No worries, woman. I'll be in the DFW area next week. Maybe we can hit Reimers together. :D
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