Northern California

I've been living in Boulder, CO for about 3 and a half years now.  As much as I love being out here, I can't help but have a soft spot for the place I grew up.  These days it seems like I barely get to go home more than once or twice a year.  But I guess that's what makes those visits all the more special.  Most of my time at home is spent with my family, but on occasion, when time permits, I get to make it out to some of the rocks that I've left behind.  This past weekend I was able to do just that.

On Sunday, I managed to go out climbing with my brother Giovanni and my good friend Matt Lewis at some of Sonoma County's coastal areas.  I must say, every year I come back, I am more and more impressed by the quality of some of the rock we have in the area.  Granted, we're not talking Bishop or Hueco here, but there is some really good stuff.

We started off at some secret areas tucked back in the woods.  The boulders are pure blue schist and in my honest opinion it's probably some of the best rock in the world:

"G" got close to finishing up Charlie Barrett's "The Low End Theory" V10, before we bounced to another area:

The next area that we went to is called "Fort Ross".  It's actually not much of an "area", it's more like one GIANT boulder stacked with classics.  V1-V10.  The best part is that it sits right on the beach.  However, this poses some problems, due to the changes in tides and sand levels.  I've seen the boulder sitting at 15 feet tall half buried by sand.  I've also seen it at 25 feet tall with no sand under it, just talus!  You never know what it's going to be like out there.  Luckily on Sunday, it was pretty much perfect.  Start holds at head height yielding a beautiful 20 foot boulder.  I managed to get some video of "G" running some laps on the ultra-classic Fort Rosstafarian V6.  Here's a screen shot of the video to be released on Deadpoint:  

This boulder was my first V6.  I climbed it when I was 14 years old after only a few months in the sport.  I ran a couple laps up the climb as well, and upon further thought, decided that it is BY FAR the best V6 that I have ever climbed.  And I've climbed a lot of V6's in a lot of different areas.  So if you get the chance, travel on up the Northern California coast and sample some of the best.