Sport climbs under 5.10?

Post by **mntlhuricane** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:36 pm

I have never been to The Red and I am looking for a bit of info before I make my way up there. Can someone tell me where I can find the highest concentration of sport routes under 5.10?

Post by **randomboulder** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:49 pm

I would check out Roadside and Left Flank as your best options. Other crags to consider are Military, Great Wall (Muir Valley), and Pistol Ridge (you'll have to hike/bike ~1 mile up FS 9 cause the road is out).

have fun.

Post by **haas** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:51 pm

ask the sloth on the online guide. Also check Rebel Camp Branch at Muir

Post by **J-Rock** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:47 am

Yep, Haas was right. Rebel Camp has the highest concentration of sport routes under 5.10 in the Red.

Post by **dipsi** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:53 am

And it's soooooo fun!

Post by **dah-le** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:01 pm

not a high concentration, but pistol ridge has a few (4)....the 5.7 (please don't feed the triceratops) is actually I think one of my favorites for easy bolted stuff. It's typical RRG climbing..overhung pockets. Its not as steep or as long as others thus the easier rating. The 5.8 next to it is good as well....tho if at your limit, you might find it difficult to onsite. As for the 9 & 10 there...well, they're not bad...FR9 is still closed so its a bit longer hike than usual to Pistol, but its not terribly long.
Checkout the crag sloth...it took me a bit, but I was able to get it to tell me some very useful info...here's a sample query:

Show all 5.9 sport or 5.8 sport routes first sorted by wall then sorted by grade

As for my 2cents..yep Muir is definitely has the highest concentration of easier stuff. You might find that the lower grades seem a bit easier than elsewhere...i.e. I thought Send Me on My Way 5.9- seemed easier than Danger Mouse 5.8.

Post by **meetVA** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:09 pm

I don't think you'll find many people who would say go any place other than Muir. But get there early as the parking lot tends to fill up quick.

And everyone else, ignore dah-le's last paragraph. We've had enough rages on route grading! You say tomato I say 5.9-.

Post by **dah-le** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:02 pm

I should've mentioned that grading at Muir is internally consistent...honestly that's all I'm looking for in ratings...i.e. all 5.9's at Muir are approximately the same difficulty. (if however you went to Devil's Lake in WI, *that* 5.9 would be considerably more difficult for a "new-to-the-area" climber, but again all the 5.9's there are similar

).
As mntlhuricane is "new-to-the-area" I wanted to note that they *might* find the grades different.
Please don't interpret my comment as bad-mouthing the grading at Muir! In my mind, its amazing the amount of climbing that's there, and how much has been developed in such a short time. Also things seem to me to be very consistently graded...grading is not an easy task considering different body types, strengths..etc.
Bottom line, the grade is what it is, I tend not to argue about it...if I'm getting an onsite of a route which is rated harder than usual, woohoo! If I'm getting worked on a route that should've been easily in my range, it reminds me to work on technique!

Post by **J-Rock** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:20 am

I agree that the grades at Muir (and the Red) are softer than Devil's Lake.

Post by **John E** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:54 am

I bet a lot of RRG 5.12 climbers would have trouble with numerous 5.10's at Devil's Lake. The rock is so much different than at the RRG and the routes were all graded a long time ago.