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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 31, 2004 - 11:58am PT
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Given the inclination, rack, and lead head, what would your votes/suggestions be for the best cracks in Josh?
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Oct 31, 2004 - 01:39pm PT
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FIREWATER CHIMNEY 10b
BIGHORN DIHEDRAL 10b/c
HYPERION 11c
NO SELF CONTROL 12c
NO SELF RESPECT 10c
NATURAL SELECTION 11a
CATAPULT 11b
BOOK OF BRILLIANT THINGS 12d
THE THRILL OF DESIRE 12c
IMAGINARY VOYAGE 10d
29 PALMS 11d/12a
THE ACID CRACK 12d
HERCULES 11c/d
POODLES ARE PEOPLE TOO 10b (crack pro, face moves)
TAX MAN 10a
PAT ADAMS DIHEDRAL 11b/c
COARSE AND BUGGY 11a/b
ILLUSION DWELLER (aka: KANDY-KOLORED TANGERINE-FLAKE STREAMLINE BABY) 10a/b
CLEAN AND JERK 10c
HIDDEN ARCH 11d
DOUBLE CROSS 7/8
ROLLERBALL 10b
HOT ROCKS 11b/c
WANGERBANGER 11c
O'KELLEY'S CRACK 10c
TOUCH AND GO 9
MORE MONKEY THAN FUNKY 11c
There are lots more (like Icon 10c and Crack Queen 11a), but this is too much work............
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coiler
Trad climber
yosemite
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Oct 31, 2004 - 11:21pm PT
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Here's some of the cracks I've climbed in Joshua tree that realy stood out among the rest:
Natural Selection .11a
Poodles Are People Too .10b
29 Palms .11d
Coarse and Buggy .11a
Leave It to Beaver .11d
Clean and Jerk .10b
Sail Away .8
Illusion Dweller .10a
Fisticuffs .10b
Bearded Cabage .10c
Spider Line .11c
Hot Rocks .11b
Wanger banger .11c
Touch and Go .9
British Airways .10c*
When You're a Jet .11c
More Monkey Than Funky .11b
Room to Shroom .9
Mental Pysisics .7+
Black President .10d
Caught Outside On a Big Set .10b
Magicaly Grovelicious .10d
Comic Book .9+
Equinox .12d
Perpetual Motion .10d
Rubicon .10d
Vector .11c
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shakey legs
Trad climber
san diego ca
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Although they are great climbs can you really call poodles are people and british airways crack climbs? but how about popes crack right next to airways as a great crack climb.
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coiler
Trad climber
yosemite
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O.K. "Poodles" is streching it a bit. But I'm going to stick to "British Airways", Albeit that the last 1/3 of the route is runout slab. The first part of the route is some extremely thin crack with ,well, not that much pro. And when you're looking at whipping into that big cactus at the base you're wishing that "Crack" had some more pro options. Still to this day "British Airways" stands out as one of my most exciting leads. And that was back in '88. WOOO!
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Matt
Trad climber
San Francisco
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isn't that climb 11c?
if that's the line i think it is, it's a serious lead, and if it's only 10c, then i suck...
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coiler
Trad climber
yosemite
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The route to the right of it IS .11c-"Rule Brittania" it's called. It is a serious lead just like "Brittish Airways" but not as pleasing.
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Matt
Trad climber
San Francisco
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gotchya
so then i do suck-
...at remembering that stuff.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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British Airways was mistakenly rated 11d in one of the books but is widely considered to be 10d. Coiler's definately sandbagging this one.
And by no stretch of the imagination is it a crack. It has an initial section of "fold" It possible and easier to climb British air without using a single jam and would no way belong on anybody's best crack list.
Now Pope's crack should be and you can, if you're sane, TR British Air on the way down.
Peace
karl
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Vanessa
Trad climber
Phoenix
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The lists above are really good and would make for an excellent trip should you have a chance to get on all of them. Perhaps I can add a little obscurity if you don't mind hiking. There are three or four decent cracks in the Big Horn Mating Grotto (can't recall the names but they all go in low to mid 10's with one thin crack that goes 11a-ish). I also like Zebra Dihedral (10a). A little easier but much fun are the cracks on the Lost Horse Wall (Swift, Dappled Mare, Memorial Route,...) and surrounding areas like Shorter Wall. I agree with Karl's assessment of BA and often wonder if Vogel's stars have more to do with pucker factor than sheer quality....
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atchafalaya
Trad climber
California
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Alot of good cracks listed above, but would add Bird of fire
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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British Airways is not a crack climb (IMO), and even if it were, it is not good enough to be included in the list I posted previously. [I listed only 4 star crack routes].
Indeed the 11d rating for BA in the last guide was a typo (it was supposed to be rated 10d). But, general concensus now is 11a. The R rating is well deserved as the lower section (10ish) has sparse protection in the aptly described "fold."
As for assigning stars for "pucker factor" instead of "quality", last time I checked the old guide gave it only 2 out of 5 stars. Actually, the route is better than that and is being uprated to a 3 star route. Since the rap station lies directly above BA, it sees a fair amount of TR traffic, but is a good lead nevertheless.
BTW Perfect Fingers (10b) on Queen Mt is not a finger crack, and is more of a 3.5 star route. While Icon 10c and Crack Queen 11a are both 4 star routes that are often overlooked. The last guide also got a bit carried away on the stars with the Bighorn Mating Grotto routes. Expect a more conservative estimate in the the next guide (Vol. 2 Joshua Tree East).
Also, the list I posted only goes through the end of Vol. 1 Joshua Tree West, which is at the publishers. Tons of great cracks in the other half of the Park (well deserving of mention are not included). Think: Equinox (12c/d), Light Sabre (10b),Tiers For Fears (10c/d), Such A Line (10c/d), Invisibility Lessons (9), Bird of Fire (10a), Rubicon (10c), Vector (11c), etc....
TTFN
P.S.:
The Beaver is a crack route? Yes it has a jam or two, but I'd have to say it was more akin to a face climb (that protects perfectly well with gear).
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shakey legs
Trad climber
san diego ca
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In my opinion one of the best cracks in J Tree is apparition in Indian cove. or how about Altitude sickness on lost horse wall.
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coiler
Trad climber
yosemite
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I remember doing a little finger jamming on "BA" and it felt spicy. I remember putting in a #3 w.c. "rock" and feeling like I needed to brush up on my crack technique. As far as the rating, when I lead "BA" I had only lead a handfull of .10's. So I don't think the thing realy is harder than .10c just like the 1986 Vogel guide says. That's the book I had on me back then, and the climbing didn't seem so hard as the Heady-ness of the lead. I'm not trying to be a sandbag, I just don't think the route is as hard as even ,10d.
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TW#T
Gym climber
san diego, ca
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TWO WORDS: ILLUSION DWELLER, or if you're feeling balsy coarse n buggy
ahahahahha fattrad you faggot, toe jam.....thats the biggest waste of time in the park....leave it up to a fariy bush supporter to select that climb.
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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How about "It Don't Mean A Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing" I only wish I could do it. One of the better looking roof cracks I think.
A couple more that stand out are:
Zombie Woof
Bendix Claws
Safety Pin
Prepackaged
Head Over Heels
Quantum Leap
Morongo Man
Banana Cracks
Imaginary Voyage
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Mountain Man
Trad climber
Outer Space
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Realizing that conditions would be variable...
What's the dominant weather in JT by mid February? Is it getting pretty hot? What's the prescipitation situation? Should we expect any crowds?
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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In Mid February the issue is still wind and not heat. Cold, miserable and forceful wind. Be prepared.
It can be nice, and even warm, but not hot. Precip could happen but it's still less likely than nearly anywhere else.
Crowds are possible, particularly on the weekends. Plenty of climbs to share so no stress except regarding camping. They enforce that two week limit in Hidden Valley. (If you don't have a car, it's easier to stay three weeks)
Peace
karl
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Murf
climber
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Some slightly more obscure ones:
Knight in Shining Armour ( tips to thin hands )
Hook and Ladder ( fingers crux )
Heaven Can Wait ( more fingers )
The Poodle Smasher
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TW#T
Gym climber
san diego, ca
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ahahah 10's, give me a freakin break......they were doing 10's in tennis shoes and motorcycle gloves in the 1930's. Please bro......this is 2004, quit living in the past. Toe Jam is a waste of time boulder problem......please take this thread seriously.
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