rock smells

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Messages 1 - 20 of total 23 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 3, 2013 - 11:00pm PT
i noticed again that rock has fragrance. sweet!
kennyt

climber
Woodfords,California
Feb 3, 2013 - 11:07pm PT
Smells like chicken!
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 3, 2013 - 11:09pm PT
Smells like grins and good times.
Peter Haan

Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
Feb 3, 2013 - 11:21pm PT
Thanks. This is something that is hardly ever mentioned. And each type of rock, differently, too. Some of us have noted that the smell of Bay trees makes us think of hard off width, too. Deep in chimneys within in the cliff wall, there are the best smells too.
Scrubber

climber
Straight outta Squampton
Feb 3, 2013 - 11:28pm PT
Or that sour aroma of dried piss from popular belay ledges in drier climbing venues... ick
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Feb 3, 2013 - 11:32pm PT
Peter....Bay Trees and wide, so true, so very, very true.
kennyt

climber
Woodfords,California
Feb 3, 2013 - 11:37pm PT
I'm lookin forward to smellin some Granite tomorrow.
weezy

climber
Feb 4, 2013 - 12:13am PT
the best smell is that gunpowder-like aroma that arises after a nice big trundle.
Dover

Trad climber
New England
Feb 4, 2013 - 12:15am PT
Smells like ... sumpin'
Barbarian

climber
Feb 4, 2013 - 12:50am PT
Pat Ament posted a story about an early climbing day of his (I think with Rearick) in the Flatirons. He mentioned the smell of "Goldline and sandstone". That phrase immediately shot be back in time to my first days at Stoney Point. I can still smell it in my mind.
Peter - bay trees and wide - same result.
Strangely enough I can't describe the smell of the Garden of the Gods..but my mind recognized it instantly when I visited there a few years ago (after a 30 year absence). And I have no recollection of any particular smell that would remind me of the Tetons or Wasatch granite. Perhaps a few road trips are in order?
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
Feb 4, 2013 - 01:55am PT
Rock smells?
Damn straight it do.
I got this one.

Yosemite Granite:
Vanilla and Sassafras upfront, showing tincture of benzoin on the mid-palate, finishing with a hint of reopened knee scab, fear & shredded bay leaf.

Wingate Sandstone:
Opens with dried huckleberry & flint, light-bodied with a sandy minerality at the edges, closing with a whiff of torn hand tape and burnt sage.

Shelf Road Limestone:
Big hit of lemon meringue on the front side, medium bodied mid-palate highlighted by seamlessly integrated lemongrass, wet pussy and a touch of half-baked poundcake, ending with a sharp note of detached ring finger pulley.

Quartz Monzonite:
Orange peel, dilithium crystal, and coconut edged with grainy tannins wrapped around a core of sandbag incense, tightly focused cholla needle on the backside, brief highlights of b-loop outhouse vent pipe & the lingering aroma of blown tips.

Gneiss:
Full-bodied with notes of mildly overcooked hamburger & guava purée, redolent of burnt ash, finishes long with persistence of grated toe box, with a mild refrain featuring nuances of mutilated cordura pack bottom gracing this perennial old world classic!
RyanD

climber
Squamish
Feb 4, 2013 - 02:09am PT
Tarbuster, lol so funny man. Ur like a rock sommelier.
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Feb 4, 2013 - 06:36am PT
hey there say,johntp...

i always had a few rocks that smelled neat.. hard to explain, like what, though...

a few smell different when water is added...

i love rocks...

thanks for sharing...
RP3

Big Wall climber
El Portal/Chapel Hill
Feb 4, 2013 - 07:49am PT
Tarbuster...that is amazing!
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Feb 4, 2013 - 08:34am PT
Hhhhhmmmm, hints of road tar and grasshopper spittle, must be at my home cliff, take the blindfold off please. Ropes definitely accumulate a certain smell. I associate it with getting out.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 4, 2013 - 09:37am PT
I was reading Gaston's book "Starlight and Storm". He writes about the scent of different kinds of rock. It is true. I never really thought about it before.
tinker b

climber
the commonwealth
Feb 4, 2013 - 09:47am PT
tarbuster that was awesome.

after spending three weeks on snow and glacier on denali, we flew over to little switzerland for a few days before heading back to talketna. our first day on rock i just remember taking in huge wiffs of the granite. it seemed so strong after smelling nothing but snow and my partners stenches for the three weeks prior. getting to talketna my nose was overwelmed, as was my blood alcohol level, but that is another story.
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Feb 4, 2013 - 12:21pm PT
Last year We went to Josh after Spring Break......

Went to Hemingway and climbed White Lighting.... It smelled like 20 year old young lady and suntan oil.

So sweet I did the route twice.
ydpl8s

Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
Feb 4, 2013 - 12:47pm PT
The smell of rope rubbing on lichen on a warm, late summer afternoon in Eldo, that smell will never leave me.
MH2

climber
Feb 4, 2013 - 12:59pm PT
Impressive commentary. I do know what rock tastes like but am probably more of a beer guy in this company.
Messages 1 - 20 of total 23 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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