Favorite boulder problems in San Diego County?

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GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 23, 2012 - 11:50pm PT
Time's gonna be a-changin' and I'm looking to head out into the hills again after work! I've done a small portion of the easy classics at woodson (Jaws, Robbins Crack, Crucible -not a boulder problem for mortals-, Hear My Train -OK - just the first move, but still-), and played a bit out by Santee.

But that's really it. I've heard of good stuff by the creek at Mission Gorge, as well as some local, email-only fallbrook beta (been invited to McQueen(?) boulders a dozen times, never took up the offer), but really haven't looked around sufficiantly.

Anything any grade is cool, if its Vhard I can just fiddle around on it sometime in the future and easy is cool, too :)

Woodson is a no-brainer but I have a strong liking to North County Sh#t D.G. (cut my teeth at Dixon Lake).
apogee

climber
Feb 24, 2012 - 12:01am PT
South Mudball boulder at Santee holds a special place in my heart- after being spit off innumerable times in my EB's, the first time in a pair of Fire's and I nailed it. That problem is always the quintessential example of the impact of technology on climbing (good or bad).
splitter

Trad climber
Hodad surfing the galactic plane
Feb 24, 2012 - 01:05am PT
i havn't been bouldering in age's but when i think of Santee, 'Suzies Mantle' comes to mind right off the bat..i can picture others but don't recall the names yet..i use to live across the street from 'Magnolia Boulders' & went up there often..& i did go to the '79 contest there when MPaul, JB & the Bullwinkle made an appearance & can remember the problems but they didn't have names yet(big help so far, eh? lol)..okay, my all time favorite Woodson problem would havta be 'Silk Banana' on account of i finally got tha sucka wired after much blood, sweat & beers..and the 'Television Screen' has some great problems on it starting with the right edge/arete(as you face it from the road)and the same arete from the backside..oh ya, the 'Pink Boulder' down by the river at Mission Gorge is way cool..just find it(directly across the street & down by the river bed from the trail up to the cliff)..start on the left side of the PB(as you face it)& work your way around(doing the various problems)to the back side by the river where there are some really cool problems..cud name a few more but not sure if yer gonna hava belayer with ya..(you did say boulder probs).

edit: Lynne wud be familiar with Dixon, etc. since she lives in that neck of the woods.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Feb 24, 2012 - 01:18am PT
The north side of Trash Rock in Mission Gorge has what is definately one of the best V4 face problems in San Diego, but you gotta be ninja about it these days. No climbing allowed. You can find the problem easily because there's a bolt on top (appeared sometime after the 70's, when it was strictly a boulder problem.) I poached it with Off White in 2007 and it was every bit as good as I remembered. Not high enough to get hurt on, but up there, with a tough crank to start and a thriller move to finish.
giegs

climber
Tardistan
Feb 24, 2012 - 01:27am PT
There are a few amazingly DG problems in the Julian area near the Winona camp I put up last year. I'm guessing they hadn't been done before because I broke a bit of every hold. Really stellar stuff though. Aside from the choss. Actually, even the choss was pretty good.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Feb 24, 2012 - 01:36am PT
Oh HELL YEAH Colin. San Diego choss rokz domz, yo. I did all that Julian sh#t back in '73. 1873. Those holds you broke off I danced past with my Balanchine grace and smooth, svelt technique.
giegs

climber
Tardistan
Feb 24, 2012 - 01:39am PT
Be honest with yourself, Beev. When you climbed that stuff it wasn't DG yet.
Porkchop_express

Trad climber
Southwest for the winter
Feb 24, 2012 - 03:25am PT
I have been checking out the backside of the Orange cube boulder in Mission Gorge. One line has what appears to be a copperhead in it, then there is an ugly arete of sorts too. I can't find any info on it...I am working on these lines with optimism, but they seem hard.

Steve
dirt claud

Social climber
san diego,ca
Feb 24, 2012 - 12:10pm PT
ECM has awesome bouldering on high quality rock.
I hear the Wholford lake area has some stuff too.

Gdavis, I live in Escondido, if you want to do some exploring up in the north county area and need a partner let me know.
bajaandy

climber
Escondido, CA
Feb 25, 2012 - 03:44pm PT
I hear the Wholford lake area has some stuff too.

Talked about only in hushed voices in the back rooms of climbing shops and dark and dingy bars. Whispers of innuendo and lies about boulders and catfish dinners.

Nothing to see here...

Move along.
T2

climber
Cardiff by the sea
Feb 25, 2012 - 09:45pm PT
Greg when i get back from Canada I will take you to Rainbow and you will have a whole new gagle of favorites to climb on in a super cool no. county setting.

Till then Ice Ice baby!!!!!
mooser

Trad climber
seattle
Feb 25, 2012 - 10:17pm PT
One of my favorite SD County boulders is just outside the north end of Escondido, at the top of the hill to your left as you're leaving town. I always called it "Seal Rock," though I suppose it has another name. There's an amazing 11.b/c - ish crack on the back (west?) side that can be led or TR'd. If you TR it, the fall is a big swing out, as it's so overhanging. I'm sure someone on here knows the full scoop on it, but I loved it. I recall that it's maybe just before you get to Deer Springs Rd. going north on I-15. Impossible to miss, really.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Feb 25, 2012 - 10:39pm PT
Yep, seal rock. Piggot found it. That wide crack on the back was always considered 5.10+/5.11- back in the day. Definately worth ticking.

Definately take that guy up on the 'Bo tour. Uber-swank.
gonamok

climber
dont make me come over there
Feb 25, 2012 - 11:50pm PT
Pink Boulder had to be one of the best single, isolated boulders on earth. We haunted that thing for years, there is a different problem every body width all around it, and a traverse thats probably V5.

I use past tense, becuse nobody is even allowed to go over the guardrail on the river side of the road these days. Its being preserved so future generations cant use it either.

I was leaving the gorge around nightfall this past summer, and decided to just go down and touch The Pink once again. Flood debris is so thick around it that its hard to get within 10 feet of it. I was able to get to the rock right by the tree. I could see that the sand has risen so high that it cancels most of the problems. It was sad to see it there buried in sand and covered with debris, alone and unvisited.

Pink Boulder was once the spiritual center of San Diego climbing.
deepnet

Boulder climber
San Diego
Feb 26, 2012 - 12:01am PT
Pink Boulder was the mantle acadamy!
A hunk of greasy love!
gonamok

climber
dont make me come over there
Feb 26, 2012 - 12:13am PT
I dont doubt that Kevin, but Pink goes back to a time when San Diego climbing was Mission Gorge and nothing else. It exists in the cradle of SD climbing and has a long and storied history.
mdavid

Big Wall climber
CA, CO, TX
Feb 26, 2012 - 12:54am PT
back in high school i had this place by lake hodges all to myself. The entire area was ripe for the picking, no bolts, chalk or anyone around...this gem was a little offhands however the landing was slick from water and you just needed to not fall.
bajaandy

climber
Escondido, CA
Feb 26, 2012 - 12:55am PT
One of my favorite SD County boulders is just outside the north end of Escondido, at the top of the hill to your left as you're leaving town. I always called it "Seal Rock," though I suppose it has another name.

Indeed it does have another name... for those of us that grew up here it's always been known as "The Bear and the Cub". I heard that Piggot got the FA on the crack problem sometime mid 80's or so. Used to be able to drive/4x4 up to it, but I'm not sure about access now. Might be a hike.
bvb

Social climber
flagstaff arizona
Feb 26, 2012 - 01:23am PT
I'm pretty sure it predates the 80's. I think, anyway. But I can't recall for sure. I definatly remember being up there with the Scumbags so that'd be mid-late 70's.

EDIT: The very, very first boulder problem I ever did is in that Pink Boulder photo! Greg is blocking the view of it. It starts right behind Epi's ass and finishes, of course, over Ron's head.
splitter

Trad climber
Hodad surfing the galactic plane
Feb 26, 2012 - 01:31am PT
Yeah, also heard it referred to as the mama, papa & baby bears since the early seventies. Or mama and papa bear or whatever!

edit: my friends wife is the one who would call it by the bears name. she said her parents had called it that since she was a kid back in the early sixties. none of us got around to hiking up to it though.
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