Joshua Tree National Park, November 2003

Wind-worn rock domes and piles of golden boulders rise from a gravelly flat desert populated by spiky-leaved yucca "trees." Mounds of monzonitic granite create an otherworldly scene, truly a rocky wonderland. Joshua Tree National Park offers some of the raspiest rock you'll ever touch, but due to its outstanding beauty, the fact that you can climb here at all makes this park one of the most spectacular bouldering destinations in the world.

Despite the unforgiving texture of the crystalline rock, there are amazing world-class problems here: White Rastafarian, Streetcar Named Desire, Planet X, Slashface, Pumping Monzonite, So High. The list goes on and on. Where the rock is solid, the lines are big, bold and beautiful. There are gems in every region of the Park and the occasional long walks only add to the sense of adventure and the thrill of being amid this striking scenery.

Cooler temperatures are a must for climbing here if you wish to avoid losing all your skin during your first day. There are plenty of lines to try at every level (up to around V10), plus new lines to be climbed, especially if you are willing to take on the challenge of some less-than-perfect rock -- grainy holds way off the deck sometimes, but still a ton of fun.

Lisa made some impressive ascents including a flash of Bittersweet (V9), a relatively recent find in a cave at the east side of the Hidden Valley Campground. The problem climbs out of a cave using bullet-hard "Huecoesque" crimps, but finishes boldly with a hard mantel around a hanging prow. Another of her best efforts was her ascent of Orange Julius, around the same campground loop to the right. This height-dependent problem, listed at V6/7 in guidebooks was extremely hard for her. After tiring of trying it using the standard "tall-man's beta," and in fading light one day, she made a desperate cross-through dyno to latch the sloping knob with her left hand and clawed her way to the top.

In a more remote region of the park, down the bumpy dirt of Geology Tour road, several more areas come into view. Slashface (V4) and Pinched Loaf (V6) are two must-do gems a half-mile off to the right, far beyond the photogenic Mirage (V4) that is visible from the road. Pinched Loaf is a real killer for shorter climbers, with its last move requiring a huge span around a bulge. Lisa made a couple of return visits before she figured out a sequence that worked -- a scrunched-up high-step.

Ratings seemed particularly irrelevant here, with many problems being extremely high, morphological (dependent on a particular build), or just plain "weird," so that even V4-rated problems often seemed hard to us. This is not the place where extensive gym training will immediately pay off. Precision with deadpoints on sharp crystals, confidence off the deck, and good balance are more important than pure strength on many of the better lines (though there are some aggressive "pulling" testpieces too). The outstanding problems are scattered, but worth finding. Though it may not have the cutting edge lines of the latest bouldering hotspots, Joshua Tree has a timeless beauty that is well worth the visit.

 

Story and photos by Wills Young