What is sport climbing. Is it bolts? Yes, but not entirely (consider: Stichter). Is it bolts with close spacing? Maybe. No one follows and everyone leads the route? That’s probably sport climbing, but I keep thinking that it hinges on lowering. It’s hard to definitively define, but I think if you’re lowering, especially off of hardware installed for that purpose, you’re definitely sport climbing.
I was trying to hash this out in the truck on the way to Holcomb. I told Luke this was my first sport climbing trip, which felt like a dubious claim to both of us. I mean I’ve clipped tons of bolts – but here’s the thing: I don’t think I’d ever lowered off a route! So this might be my first foray into sport climbing!? I think. What is sport climbing again?
We’d been aiming for Tahquitz, but the summer heat was hitting pretty hard. A smarter plan was two days at Holcomb. High elevation camping and short approaches would make dodging the heat and sun more easy. The trip was a bit of a blur, as sport climbing allows for tons of routes in a day. As far as I can reconstruct, we warmed up on some 10a routes, before getting a very thin 10d. I was feeling pretty good about my ability and then proceeded to get shut down on an 11a. This pattern would continue throughout the trip.
Holcomb is a pretty cool spot. We were able to camp at the pinnacles proper thanks to Luke’s 4WD. The weather up there was cooler than expected, and didn’t impede the climbing at all. Camping was nice, if I bit dusty. A fat rude squirrel threw pinecone shards at us the entire time I was cooking, but didn’t manage to ruin dinner.
Lost Orbit (10c) was probably the highlight of the trip for me. A really strenuous and technical boulder start required some real finagling. At one point I used a ridiculously high temporary foot-pull to bump my critical right hand higher and farther around the corner. Whatever I was doing definitely confused me, but it did the trick though, and I was rewarded with a tenuous and balancey finish. What a fun route. Glad we had the stick clip though, as I think clipping the first bolt would have otherwise been the crux for me. Luke went next, and contrasted my lunging and stabbing with some very deliberate and elegant static moves. Almost made me feel like a derp for my weird and desperate shuffling, but hey, it worked.
On the second day Luke’s friend Chris joined us, having parked in the normal parking lot and hiked in. Chris should be an inspiration to new climbers everywhere. He was fresh out of the gym, only having climbed outdoors once before. But he immediately began applying his indoor experience to leading 5.9s and 5.10s. He asked pertinent questions and observed. He didn’t rush anything. He took his time climbing, and made every attempt to figure out the moves, without getting flustered. His unfamiliarity with the medium was never a detriment, and he approached all problems with curiosity and patience. He grabbed the guidebook on his own initiative and started getting oriented on which routes were which. So many things that stymie some new climbers seemed to be effortless, or at least natural to him. I was thoroughly impressed, and was feeling like newer climbers would greatly benefit from applying his approach. And now with a third person in the mix, I could start taking photos.
As the day wore on I started to feel tired, and with very angry fingertips, I started to skip out on the rotation. I was missing out on some really fun looking stuff, but at this point, I was enjoying shooting more than climbing, so I just went with that.
So what is sport climbing? All I know is that it’s a lot of fun.
Holcomb Hoedown – July 9th & 10th 2024
Claim Jumper – 10a – warmup
One Armed Bandit – 10a warmup
Coyotes in the Henhouse – 10d – thin and edgy
Pistol Whipped – 11a – lowered off, sorta got on top rope, maybe
Shootin’ Blanks – 10b – footage missing
Lunar Eclipse – 11a – shut down on slab finish, had to pull on hangers TWICE to get to anchor
Lost Orbit – 10c – bouldery start to balance finish, really fun and memorable
Fawnskin – 10b – blocky roofy start, slab finish, I traversed a bit, seemed to make sense
Bum Steer – 10a – warmup
Chaps My Hide – 11a – sharp painful pockets, couldn’t figure out crux at all – French
Lady Luck – 5.9 – awkward and fun
Ricochet – 10a – cruiser, scenic, kinda tall and interesting formation
Some other 10b nearby
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