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Matt Samet on Il Precario V6 Giant Steps Right

  Getting There:

Speed Zoo V5, Giant Steps Left

The Climbing

Scott Rennak working Mavericks V6

 The climbing is remarkably varied, with everything from steep jugs to thin faces. Notable features are the occasional pockets and ubiquitous wavy slopers. In general, the bouldering is harder than it looks and the rock more solid than it appears--after some cleaning. That said, the stone varies from as-good-as-it-gets river polish, to choss of the never-ending onion variety.

Mavericks 1. Mavericks V6 is the absolute five star line of the area. It can be done direct or from right and low. A couple variations come in from the left, including, The Plunge V5. 2. The Poise AKA Joe's Huck V?, unfinished dyno from bad holds to lip. 3. The Tube V4/5 traverse from low holds on the SW corner, across seam at the top of the tube, exit at obvious break.. A direct version V7 rises out of the sloper jams above the menacing block. 4. Shore Break V4 surfs up and right from the two-handed jug low on the SW corner and tops high. 5. 41st Street V7/8 is the killer line up the south face. From underclings pull past slopers and pinches to obvious exit.  Big roof behind Mavericks block will have some problems.

Mavericks block and Bob rock

Bob Rock

Bob Rock Continuing up the gully, the next problems are on the sharply-angled block just above Mavericks 50 feet. Bob is a Man V3 snaps up the thin features on the north face. A V2 problem cruises the right-hand arete.

Matt Samet on the left Illness boulder Greg J. on Bacterial V5

Illness Boulders   Continue up gully just on its left side for several hundred feet. Then head a little left and up to avoid steepest section of gully. Cross back into the gully just below obvious big trees in center of gully. Up and right are the Illness or Middle Boulders. The inside faces of these have several problems. The left one has good jug hauls and hard prospects, especially on the gully side. The right-hand boulder has several lines. 1. Viral V3 From two-handed jug low and     right, crank to edges and directly up. 2. Bacterial V5 From same start bust left     on an angle past thin edges. 3. Continue traverse from Bacterial's crux     at V6/7. 4. Another little number campuses from     obvious jugs on low left and up.

Giants Steps Head up gully from Illness and you will soon see the Giant Steps on your right. These are huge boulders with stellar problems and more potential. Giant Steps Left is just right of an overhanging boulder with a vision-line up its center. Slaves of Truth V1/2 Inside face with pockets. Masters of Irony V4/5 The prow immediately right of Slaves. Speed Zoo V4 Just right again, starting up underclings and directly up to big sloper. The Moose V4/5 From the same start continue right and up to horn/sloper, wing it to the handlebar. More yet to be done on this face. Giant Steps Right V5/6 Thin face. Star Drive is the fun dihedral with the enigmatic bolt at the top. Roly-poly V5 Killer big, tall face with thin start. La Fissura V1 Middle dihedral. Il Precario V6 Thin face to the terminating dihedral/groove. Down With People V4 The prow line is gorgeous--and has a significant payment plan. Up With People V8 Shoulder-busting low traverse into prow.

Giant Steps Right Matt Samet on Roly-poly V5 Danilo Bo on Il Precario V6

Scott R. on Gully V5

Gully V5
 Directly below Giant Steps Left in the gully is a clean and smooth roof with sds, V5 first done by Pete Zoller. Start down left in the wide crack and heelhook and traverse via good edges then round over the prow. An easier start uses a heellock off left to negotiate the starting moves. A standing start avoiding the low traverse goes at V3. A more direct sds start is undone.

Aspen Grove Boulders

Greg Johnson on Center V3

Further up the gully you will enter a little aspen grove. At the start of the grove in the center of the valley is the Aspen Grove Boulder . V4 Left-side front face from low holds through slopers to layaway. V3 Center, right. V2 Right. More possibilities on this block and several easy and short problems on adjacent boulder. Lots of possibilities throughout the aspen grove.

 From the Aspen Grove Boulder, walk up gully through grove and boulders for several hundred yards. As the gully pinches off into a maze of thickets, head over to the right-hand hillside and traverse this up parallel to the gully. A big crag comes in to view on the left. Follow the faint trail until you are about even with the uphill side of the crag and then drop back into the gully. Just up from the Cave Boulder you will come upon the well-hidden Banjo Boulder sitting in a micro meadow with pretty flowers and animal bones. Just above here in the gully is a freaky abandoned encampment. Up on the left-hand hillside from this is the "Yosemite Boulder," which has an obvious but languishing thin face line. Many mini-cliffs of variable quality on the right-hand hillside.

Banjo Boulders The next and last developed stone is the Banjos Boulder--a really big boulder with a sandy landing in a fantastic setting. Worth the hike, but probably shady in winter. From the left: Unfinished HighBall up arete. Eric's Line V3 go up obvious crack, left at roof to jug over lip, back to crack. Crack V0 SandCastle V8 starts low right from obvious sds and traverses almost to crack, where it then bust up through crimps and slopers to finish at slots right of crack. Banjos V6/7 starts same as SandCastle but pops over roof about midway at obvious break and then surfs left to finish out crack. Rufus' Wonder Move V4 starts from same sds but after a move or so bust out over lip and back right into the incipient dihedral. Diabolical Conventionality V1/2 is the central weakness/dihedral. Courtesy V2/3 is the highball up the center-right of wall. Sympathy V3 starts up right-side crack and finishes up direct crack. Taste V4 Starts same as previous route but stays in right-arching seam.

Banjo Boulder topo Greg J. on Rufus' Wonder Move V4

UpDate: Christmas 2001 in Clear Creek: Jade sends rad line left of Mavericks its called, Northshore V10? Mike Auldridge sends long-standing dyno proj. on same side of boulder we think its called; Tsunami V? Joel Gilmore puts down Stanley Kubrik V10+ on the gully-side of Illness Block. beta by Greg Johnson

UpDate: mid April, 2003: On the back side of the West Illness Boulder (the opposite side of Rhino V10), is Standley Kubrick V11. It starts just before you go out the first lip, on a right hand crimper and a left hand flat side pull, you then pull your feet off the ground and slap the next crimper just above the first right hand start crimp, and then go to the top from there. And you also have Standley Kubrick sds V12. You start way under the roof on a bad under cling then fire out on the roof on some crimps to the start of Standly Kubrick V11, and finish up Standley. beta by Wade David.

Greg Johnson (L) on Roly-poly V5, Matt Samet (R) on La Fissura V1 Giant Steps Right

Pros:
This is a HighBall zone. Problems tend to
be over twelve feet--sometimes over 20 feet.
Most of the problems are very new, and have
seen very little traffic.
Cons:
This is a Highball zone. The boulders are
spread out up and down the gully.
This is Clear Creek, which means you will
encounter everything from lost gamblers and
hoboes to mountain lions and rattlesnakes.
Faint trails and some steep loose ground.