Product Placement

I'll be headed down to Northern California this weekend to boulder at one of my favorite climbing areas, the Lost Rocks. The area consists of a quarter mile stretch of beach or so with countless boulder problems of all shapes and sizes. One of the greatest aspects of the place is the variety of climbing one sees there. The west faces of the boulders (some are more monolith size) have been wave polished over the years and thus represent some of the most desperate sloper and slab problems on the West Coast. However, on the east side of the boulders you can find some of the sharpest most heinous crimping lines around. The problems are seldom graded and this is not due to that laid back California attitude. The nature of the storms and sand movement here make it almost impossible to grade anything. Case in point: the first time I ever bouldered there, I climbed one of the most gorgeous V1's I've seen anywhere. Upon returning a couple of months later, I found that the problem was now getting hammered by waves and covered with algae. Now back out of the water, "The Flake" as it is called, is not the 12 foot cruise it once was. The top of it is more than 25 feet high, and the start is impossible for mere mortals like myself. Here's my crash pad for scale.

I've seen a sandy landing be replaced by a bunch of cantaloupe sized cobbles in the matter of a few days as a result of the wave action. You never really know what to expect.

The best part about the climbing here is the ambiance. Bouldering next to the ocean in an awesome, secluded area gives the place a charm that is rivaled only by the Buttermilks (as far as California goes).

Some climbers made a movie about Northern Cal climbing, and you can see a lot of Lost Rocks in this clip from the Spray Movie. While I've heard it isn't the best climbing flick, it still gets me fired up to go climb there. Here's a few more pictures from my last trip. Have fun people!