Ah...yes. I can't think of another boulder like this in SD. Start as far back as you can in the tunnel, underclinging the lip, and invert. Traverse the roof like this for about 20 feet, which feels secure until the shin-pump kicks in, then bust out the final pumpy lieback moves into good hand jams. Mantle into the big v-slot and take a few minutes to recover. You've got the bends...

The Bends

Before the Dive

The Arkenstone

Eleventh Zone

The Spade

Bolgy Wolgy Crack

Mango Kiss

Burn the Map

Blowass

Training for Melon Mode

Last Chance

Melon Mode

Cheese Face

Sweet and Spicy

Cheshire Cat

Hulk Smash Low

Greasy Spoon

Meeting Sarah

Jigsaw

What the Hail

Round Delicacy

The Dark Tower

Obtuse

Chiquita Banana

Training for Izabella

Moped

Arkenstone Arete

The Rain Gutter

Hasta la Vista Little Bit

Hulk Smash

Dumped

Climb the tall arête by starting on a smaller boulder below.  Continue on the tall, featured slab of the second boulder to the top of this two-pitch boulder problem.  Easy down-climb the backside.

A right trending crack climbs more like a face climb with slopers and laybacking. Crux is near the top.

Techy face climbing up a beautiful quartz face! Tricky move to the lip.

Awkward climb, but cool looking boulder. Lieback and jam up the right side.

Sit start on the fist crack.  An unfortunate crimp makes the fist crack not very hard, just awkward.  Mount the ledge, then continue up the right leaning wide hands crack to the top, via unpleasant scooching.  Looks good, climbs bad.  Has both a bolge and a wolge.

Start with your right hand on a cool, mini-hueco like crimp, and your left hand on a small, crimpy gaston, both at about head height. There is one option for your foot, and it’s a barely-there micro edge. Pull on, hope your foot doesn’t blow, and crank hard to make a left hand deadpoint to a good edge. Bring your feet up, smear, and hit another decent edge with your right hand. From there it’s easy climbing to the top but it’s not over just yet, as you’ll encounter a somewhat featureless top out, so be prepared to commit to a mantle/high step to finish things up.

Two stars for now; has the potential for three once the middle section cleans up a bit. A desperate start prevents this from being a four star classic though. Fortunately the start is on bullet rock.

Two large boulders form a corridor where you’ll find a south-facing vertical wall with three distinct patina plates. The movement is pure and somewhat demanding of both muscle and nerves.

Sick one. It's really only two moves, but man they are some sick two moves! I was able to do them in isolation fairly quickly, but linking them together took a lot of work.

Sit start with the obvious crimp rail and a crappy undercling for the right hand. Pull on with poor feet and fire up to the sloper on the arete. Bring a foot up to the start hold and hit the sloping lip, and trend left to an easy mantle.

My grandpa would always call a really windy day a "blowass". The wind is always whipping at this boulder, which really helps give the temps necessary for this problem.

Start matched on a good edge, pull up to two cool slopers and the jug lip. Fun.

Awesome crimp line. Start on the small right hand crimp and a left sidepull. Pull on and fire to the good holds in the middle of the wall, then another long move to good crimps above the lip.

The only thing that deters from this line is the sketchy hold complex in the middle of the wall. They look a bit sketchy, but they weren't flexing. Pull down, not out.

So round. So stupid. Pull onto a sloper dimple and a small right foot, start slapping up nothing and beached whale over the bulge. YAY.

A clean, easy slab. Climb the center of the dimpled face, starting with a few thin moves to good holds. The right arete makes it easier.

This boulder has split perfectly in half, creating a "laser cut" crack that follows a slab to vertical face... starts out pretty sweet then gets a little spicy at the top as the finger crack turns to tips.  Crux is making that final reach to the top hold from a tips crack and no feet. Exiting early is possible but lessens the climb.

Start at two head high crimp slots and either make a big lock-off move, or a full commitment dyno to the lip out and to the right. Hitting the correct spot on the lip is key to making or breaking it. The landing is tiered, and the moment you pull on and make the first move you gain quite a lot of air beneath you. Make sure to bring an extra pad or two, and a good spotter - if you don’t stick and hold the move you’re in for a drop! Once you’re in control of the first move, ascend the rest of the lip of the boulder for an easy, airy top out.

A rare style of climbing to come across in SD. Steep and powerful!

Sit start matched on the shelf. Move right to slopers, then straight up to a bad left hand sloper. Bump up the right hand arete into the stand start of Hulk Smash and hold a hard foot cut, then finish on Hulk Smash.

There is another variation done by David Vasko that goes at an easier grade (around V7), using a good but friable edge over left.

A fun one.  Establish in the spoon by stepping off the rock or mantle-hopping in.  Smear up and left, using a crimp in the face to transition into the upper finger crack of Sweet and Spicy.

Start on the jug and bust out the rad ~V7 boulder problem to get established at the base of the mini dihedral. Work up a cool sequence into a stance, move left to sketchy crimps and topout on the face. Sweet looking line that would get more stars if the top climbed as good as the start.

Sweet line on perfect stone. Start on the left side of the rail feature and traverse right to a specific right hand hold, then lockoff to the sloper scoop at the lip. A true joy!

Start matched on a rail, big moves make this one move wonder very fun. Be careful on the descent as some of the choss on the back of this boulder broke off as I was downclimbing.

Huh. This is an odd one. The definition of a "non-climb".

Start right hand on the one good edge beneath the bulge and left on a sloper of choice. Get up the face.

Impossible to grade, may be better described as B2.

Tall with varied climbing, but the rock isn't the best. Would get another star with some more cleaning. Climb the hand to fist crack in the dihedral, to a lieback topout on the left. Be careful to avoid the loose rock near the top.

A very clean slab with a cool, slight angle change. Start with a mantle then follow the left arete with friction feet. Other (and much harder) problems may exist going up the middle.

Start with good feet and a decent left hand but everything from there on is small and sharp. Work the thin crack to the featured top-out. The thin fingers will help get you up to speed for Izabella.

When you see someone on a moped, you’d be tempted to laugh dismissively. However, once you saddle up and hit the throddle, I’m certain you’d have a smile on your face. That’s kinda how this crack is. Big jump start to a bucket then continue through very fun and technical movement to the top. It might be ugly but it sure is fun.

Climbs the left arete of The Arkenstone on cool blocky holds. More of that awesome rock!

Very low angle crack, hidden in a rain gutter feature on impeccable rock climbs smooth between two cracks.  Good trad lead for those just starting out. This boulder is easy to reference from as it's the largest and most obvious in that area.

A sweet power problem on great features.

Sit start with a nice jug on the right arete. Traverse across the face to the obvious side pull rail, then make a hard dead point straight up to an incut edge with the right. Hit the jug lip and mantle.

Start with a weird pinch on the arête and a small crimp and get to the good scoop above the lip. Fun, powerful climbing with a juggy topout.

A fun 2 move problem with cool holds on good rock. Start matched on the nice horizontal crimp, move to another crimp then the lip.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Sub-Summit