Castle Rock

Shady Rock is similar to Castle Rock

I spent a day top roping at Castle Rock state park, in the Santa Cruz mountains, Los Gatos. We started early and were able to have first pick on routes on the actual Castle Rock. The rock is all sandstone, which can leave some sand in the holds : ( The rocks have large caves with honey comb like surfaces that make for some fun bouldering. We started on a difficult route that neither of us could figure out the moves to complete. Outdoor ratings are so much different than the gym! Eventually, we made our way around the entire rock and climbed a bunch of routes before moving to the waterfall climbs. The observation deck looks over the waterfall and groups had set up top manage systems to lower climbers down to the base of the rock. Yikes, sending myself off the edge of this cliff was scary. The falls climb was my favorite because it is slab climb with crimpy holds that requires a lot of smearing. The bottom of the climb has a difficult (5.11) move, while the rest is rated at 5.7.

Mountain Biking in Skeggs

I had the day off so I woke up early and drove to Skeggs point on Skyline boulevard. We started off on the El Corte Madera Creek fire trail and hopped back and forth on Tafoni and Fir Trails single tracks. Sweet views, it is great to be an hour from the city and be in the wilderness.

Beaver Street/Corona Heights Playground Climbing

Last week I climbed two rotes at the Beaver Street rock. We started with the 5.9 and then did the 10.a. What?! These are rated so much more difficultly than any gym I’ve been to. Thank goodness for real rock climbing experience. The 10.a is balancy-reachy and requires the climber to really trust the holds. We hit up the rock right before the storms came in for the year, so this may be the only climb in 2008

Beaver Rock