Prior to SCS Nationals the other weekend I had a week of free time on my hands and mounting psych for a bit of outdoor climbing. I could have stayed in Boulder, but I realized there was this little spot called Joe’s Valley not too far to the west that I had somehow never visited before in my 13+ years of climbing1. So after finishing up with my obligations in Boulder I made the relatively short 6 hour drive out to Joe’s.
It did not disappoint.
I’m still within my self-imposed 30-day cooling off period where I don’t want to make any rushed judgements about an area, but I think it’s safe to say that the bouldering in Joe’s Valley is certainly some of the best I’ve ever experienced. The rock there has the excellent combination of being really fun to climb on while also not being too hard on the skin which made it possible to do a lot of climbing in a short period of time. My only regret from my brief visit was that I never got around to trying The Wind Below, but that’s what return trips are for I suppose.
Here are a few pictures from the trip…
Andy looking real serious on Planet Of The Apes
This is pretty much as high as I got on Nerve Damage
The Blockhead Lord on Maxipad2
Perfect Joe’s rock on Moby Dick
I was pleasantly surprised to put Resident Evil down in a session one evening after falling from the last move several times3
The 3 finger dimple on Resident Evil
Tony on Resident Evil during one of his many near sends
Big Boy – a problem that was too powerful to send 3rd day on. I can’t say this problem felt all that fun, but perhaps I would feel different if I had actually sent?4
Utah
More on Utah in the 2nd post of this series…
- In my defense, I had plans to visit in 2009 until I tore my LCL weeks before the planned trip ↩
- Which is harder than Planet of the Apes but is 2 grades lower in the guide. Go figure. ↩
- You’ll never convince me that this problem, as commonly started by myself and many others from the left had crimp, right hand 3 finger dimple, is V10. In fact, I think you could argue it’s closer to V8 than V10 this way. Related: the stand start, which is basically 3 moves out of a bomber heel hook, is not V8. That’s my $.02. ↩
- Probably not ↩
I think you meant to say you had two regrets. You neglected to mention the fact that Mrs. Narc couldn’t join you in Joe’s after your LCL destroyed her previously planned 2009 trip?
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Who?
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The next Joe’s Valley guidebook needs some serious overhaul of the grades. Joe’s is notorious for its soft grades but I’m more or less OK with that. The bigger problem is the inconsistent grades. A lot of things are just listed all over the place.
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Agreed. The quality ratings could use some adjusting as well, but that is admittedly even more subjective than grades are. As is the case with most guidebooks not written by Matt Wilder, way more 3 star ratings are given out than are warranted.
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Also, word is that a new guide is in the works. Whether or not it comes to fruition remains to be seen.
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My understanding is that a lot of people are not starting Resident Evil from the correct start holds. I don’t know if that affects the grade or not, but it seems worth mentioning.
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Yes.
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Great post Narc! I love Joe’s, and it’s always a pleasure to read about your trips. Keep them coming!
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Thanks, Remo! It just so happens I’m going on another trip shortly. Look for updates on that next week.
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Great pictures Narc, what kind of camera do you use?
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Nikon D600
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Surely someone who claims resident evil as v8 would find Nerve Damage a piece of cake. Felt like a 4 to me.
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I’m sure if those high moves were at ground level they would feel like V4 buy they aren’t so they didn’t. At least for me.
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The Wind Below is far scarier than ND. Time to stop cruising “v8″s and get some highball practice if you want to send TWB.
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So I heard, hence why I went out cruising “V8″s
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Next time you must visit IBEX, especially if you like friction-less bomber quartzite (ala DL). The guidebooks are less comprehensive, but once you get there you will know why you came.
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I generally head west to get away from friction-less quartzite, but I do want to check out Ibex some day.
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I understand that…I spent six years climbing on the quartzite in southwest Minnesota. Now that I live in Utah, I find myself dreaming about the pink stuff. Weird.
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Narc, if you get a chance check out Triassic next time too. It can be a pain to get to, especially without four wheel drive. But it’s close to Joe’s and the rock is amazing!
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i thought triasic was a turd. i wished i spent that day in joes.
quite frankly, i loved LCC. but then again, we don’t get much granite on the east (mid-atlantic) for the most part and oddly enough, i climb really well on it.
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Planet is WAY harder than Maxipad. And if RE is v8, both of them really should have been child’s play. Furthermore, you should try not being a pussy on highball v4 before you go downgrading V10s and bashing boulder problems. Just saying.
This post really made me not want to read your blog anymore narv.
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Sorry one person’s opinion about a couple of rock climbs hurt your feelings so bad. Obviously everyone has their own experience with each problem, but since this is my site I figured I’d throw out a couple of opinions.
It would have been more accurate to say that Planet and Maxipad both felt like V6 I guess, although the latter took me a few more tries to figure out the correct beta than the 1 it took to do Planet. Others I was climbing with had a similar experience on both. But since I decided to move on after a few tries from one highball, which I agree is probably not that hard, I guess my opinion is invalid on everything else? Good to know.
Either way, I didn’t say that RE was V8, just that it felt closer to a V8 than a V10, especially if such a terrible climber like myself could do it so quickly. Right?
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