scion

As a matter of fact, if you enter "5.9" in babelfish and select Gunks->PNW translation, it spits out "5.4". So I take back what I said before.

It really depends on the route and the FAer. Some are prone to inflation whereas others are prone to sandbagging. If an alpine route were rated at 5.9, I would be prepared for 5.5-5.10b climbing.

Can anyone tell me if there is any info on Bulo Point bouldering in this new edition? I think that I read or heard somewhere that the older version included some of the established problems. Does this or any guide book include any Vulture Rock routes?

I drive by Beacon fairly frequently, so maybe I'll pull in and give it a looksee sometime. Thanks for the tip. Along those lines, there are a few boulder problems out at Bulo Point too. I came across a video of someone working one of them on YouTube or somewhere like that. It's been a while since I've been out there but I recall the boulders being a few hundred yards past (north of) the bolted rocks, and there was a pretty obvious trail that takes you right by them.

denalidave, Have you tried the directions at the Mountain Project website? They did the trick for me on the first try. If it doesn't end up raining this weekend I might head out there on Sunday. I'll try to come up with some directions of my own, or maybe even some GPS coordinates if I can dig up my Garmin. Outside of Horsethief and Bulo Meadow, are there any other worthy spots that an HR boulderer should know about?

I've been to the upper boulders a few times. I just followed the directions at the Mountain Project website: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/washington/bridge_of_the_gods_boulders/105789016 Be very careful, though; last Spring I lost the trail on the way back to my pickup and ended up with a nasty case of poison oak.

I've been out there once this summer, and it's really a pretty decent crag. Around 65 routes from 5.8+ up to at least 5.13b. I've only done a handful of the climbs there, but those criticisms don't seem justified in my opinion. The biggest negative at Area 51 is that it just doesn't get that much climbing traffic, so there is a lot of small, loose rock to rain down on your belayer. You can contact the developers at area51climbing at yahoo dot com for more info or a copy of their guidebook (that email address is from memory, but I think it's right).