Climbing right outside Boise?

[fredrogers]

Just got back froma trip to Boise to celebrate Christmas with my girlfriend's folks and had a chance to check out the climbing area right outside Boise (on the way to McCall). Looks like columnar basalt- a mix of sport and trad. Since I'm sure I'll be back in Boise and looking for something to do :

Any one ever climbed there? Have route recommendations? Is there a published guidebook?

[offwidthclimber]

I think you're refering to the Black Cliffs on Hwy 21 near Lucky Peak on the way to Idaho City, not McCall.

There's only 1 local guide book called Boise Climbs. Not a whole lot of info here, but its the site for the guide: http://www.boiseclimbs.com/

There are a shitload of trad and sport climbs, pretty much all 1 pitch, up to .13d or .14a. Fairly similar to Vantage in a lot of regards.

Another good place to climb is up at Table Rock (the butte with the cross above town). There are sport, gear, mixed and top rope routes and some great bouldering on quarried sandstone.

Between Table Rock and Hwy 21, above the river is a place called Valley of the Trolls, with good bouldering and a fair amount of potential. You have to cross some private land, so be stealth. There's some information at that boise climbs site.

At Swan Falls, on the Snake River, out of Boise is a bunch of bouldering. Same goes for the Birds of Prey area outside of Melba. The area is called Halverson Lake and there are a ton of basalt boulders.

Up near Bogus Basin ski area, there are some trad and sport climbs on Mores Mountain, but the area's under 6 feet of snow right now.

Have fun. Lots of rock in the area. If you want more specifics, just email me.

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: offwidthclimber ]

[fredrogers]

quote:

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Originally posted by offwidthclimber:

I think you're refering to the Black Cliffs on Hwy 21 near Lucky Peak on the way to Idaho City, not McCall.

There's only 1 local guide book called Boise Climbs. Not a whole lot of info here, but its the site for the guide:

http://www.boiseclimbs.com/

There are a shitload of trad and sport climbs, pretty much all 1 pitch, up to .13d or .14a. Fairly similar to Vantage in a lot of regards.

Another good place to climb is up at Table Rock (the butte with the cross above town). There are sport, gear, mixed and top rope routes and some great bouldering on quarried sandstone.

Between Table Rock and Hwy 21, above the river is a place called Valley of the Trolls, with good bouldering and a fair amount of potential. You have to cross some private land, so be stealth. There's some information at that boise climbs site.

At Swan Falls, on the Snake River, out of Boise is a bunch of bouldering. Same goes for the Birds of Prey area outside of Melba. The area is called Halverson Lake and there are a ton of basalt boulders.

Up near Bogus Basin ski area, there are some trad and sport climbs on Mores Mountain, but the area's under 6 feet of snow right now.

Have fun. Lots of rock in the area. If you want more specifics, just email me.

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: offwidthclimber ]

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OWC- Thanks. You're right it's on the way to Lucky Peak. I'll see if I can track down a book.

Any good route reccos at .10a or under?

[offwidthclimber]

There are a lot of climbs under .10a at the Black Cliffs. Unfortunately, although I grew up in the Boise area, I didn't climb there all that much.

I remember one 5.8 called Coupe De Ville that was good. Another one called Stems and Seeds was 5.7 and fun. Both are at the Short Cliffs - the first climbing when coming up from Boise. Other than that, I really can't remember much. I think the guide book may have a star **** system, but I don't have it here on me, so I'm not certain.

If you're looking for a quick fix, or like bouldering, I'd recommend a session at Table Rock. That place has a lot of good boulders and blocks.

I also forgot, there's some climbing up Rocky Canyon in the foothills. It's covered in the guide book, although there's not much. There are also boulders scattered all over the foothills in general.

Sorry I couldn't elaborate any more on specific routes!