Tafoni Sunset
Not So Secrets
Holly Anne VB FA!
Mike Whipple - Sun Ray V2.
Mike Whipple - Sun Ray V2.
Chris Summit - Sabertooth V7 FA!
Travis Lombardo - DWS Cave V1/2!
{{Secrets will stay a secret - Directions are word of mouth only}}
I've never before published info about rock climbing/bouldering at Secrets for 3 reasons - 1 it is called Secrets, 2 there is plenty of other public rocks in the area, 3 Tafoni is fragile. Hopefully this blog post will not increase the popularity of the area too much. This blog doesn't get a lot of traffic other than mostly friends and locals who probably already know about it anyways.
Due to a recent increase in local popularity and the need to preserve the bouldering history before it is blown away in the sands of time I have created this ongoing collection of problems with names, ratings and first ascent info for some of the mega classics at this incredible sandstone playground - please contribute any knowledge you have of names/ratings/history by emailing me at; summitorplummet@hotmail.com
(North to South)
North Cove/North Point
1 V0/1?
2 V3/4?
3 V0/1 traverse?
4 The Point Traverse V7 FA=CS
5 ? V3/4/5R? FA=RT/KJ?
Hilltop Rock
6 ? V3/4 low start or V0 stand start in hueco? northeast corner FA=CS
7 ? V8R/5.13 TR highball cave! FA=KJ
8 Sabertooth V2 stand V4 mid V7 sit FA=CS (V9 low sit FA=KJ)
9 Sun Ray V2 stand or Bottle Rocket V4 sit FA=CS
10 Pachoong V8? mid sit #8 trav left into #12 -
or Feeding Frenzy V7 sit #9 trav left into #12 FA=CS
11 Romancing the Stone V6? sit #12 trav right into #9 FA=CS
12 Cherry Bomb V3 stand V4 sit FA=CS
13 ?
14 Orange Cave V7 drop off or V9 into #15 sit FA=CS
15 Orange Crack V0 or V3 sit FA=CS
Secrets Slab
16 Sandpaper? V1R FA=CS?
17 V0/1
18 V0/1
19 VB/0 traverse
20 ?
The Valley
21 V0?
22 V1?
23 V2?
24 V3?
25 V4/5?
26 V0/1?
27 V1/2?
28
29
30
Fish Lips Boulder
31 Fish Lips V2 sit FA=CS
32 Fish Stick V4/5 stand FA=KA/CB?
33 Slap Fight V6/7 sit FA=CS
34 Slap Stick V7/8 sit #33 into #32 FA=CS
35 Thumb Thing V6/7 sit FA=CS
36 ?
37 ?
38 V0/1?
39 V1/2?
40 V2/3?
?
41 Spider Crab V5? FA=CS
42 Nautilus V4/5? FA=CS
43 ? V5/6? FA=CB
44 ?
45 ?
The Gully
46 V0/1?
47 V1/2?
48 V2/3?
49 V3/4?
50 V4/5?
51 V5/6?
52 ?
53 ?
54 ?
55 ?
Fishing Rock
56 DWS #!? FA=RT??
57 DWS#1 V0 down/up in/out of DWS Cave FA=MN
58 DWS Cave V1/2! FA=MN
59 DWS Cave Direct V2/3! FA=MN
60 !?
?
61 ?
62 ?
63 ?
64 ?
65 ?
Big Wave Boulder
66 Big Wave Arete V1/2 right arete FA = ?
67 Big Wave Dave V3 center hueco face FA=RE
68 Big Wave Traverse V5 left to right -
or V6 sit #66 trav right to left into #69 FA=CS
69 Big Wave Face V4 left face FA=CS
70 Death in Paradise V3 FA=CB - Paradise in Death V3R FA=CS
Starfish Rocks?
71 The Dolphin Face? V3R FA=RE
72 Starfish Traverse V4 mega classic! FA=CS
73 Starfish V1
74 ?
75 ?
76 V2/3 arete?
77 ?
78 ?
79 Stone Shroom V3 FA=CS
80 ?
Triceratops
81 Triceratops V4 sit FA=RT
82 V2/3 pull around right?
83 ?
84 ?
85 V1/2R face/arete
Dolphin Quest
86 Dolphin Quest V1/2 sit FA=CS
87 Flipper V4/5 sit FA=RE
88 V0?
89 ?
90 ?
?
91 ?V0?
92 ?Blockhead?
93 ?Blockhead Traverse?
94 ?
95 ?
?
96 V0/1?
97 ? V2/3 lip traverse FA=CS
98 ? V4/5 mini pocket roof/lip FA=CS
99 ? V3 crack FA=RE
100 ? V6/7 face left of crack FA=TL?
Sabertooth V4 stand FA! - YOUTUBE
I dont mean to be abrasive, but it seems odd not to publish Secrets. For one thing, its called Secrets because its Secrets cove, not because of an inherently secret nature, nearly all surfers know of a surf spot called Secrets. Second, there is other "public" rock in the area, but not much and not all good compared to other areas in California, so there should be a push to expand "public" areas especially places which are allegedly so good. Third, if rock is fragile, there are other ways to go about protecting it, such as stating so in the guidebook or accepting that chossy rock is going to break and wear down. Its pretentious to show a photo of Secrets on the Northern California Bouldering guidebook and then not include it. Exclusivity is an aspect I have disliked in other sports and activities and a quality which hopefully will expire in the climbing world. Along with the fact that the number of climbers in Sonoma County is so small, the risk of a massive influx of climbers making the trip out to Secrets is tiny.
ReplyDeletei never read this until today. i dont like to banter online too much about things like rock climbing that are not that big of a deal in the big picture. you say it is "pretentious" of me to show off our awesome rocks in my book! hah. that is not even at secrets anyway and the pic is meant to show off what nor cal is truly about - off the beaten path "secret" rocks that inpsire people to get out and explore. not all areas need to be in books. i dont make much money off the books - they are what they are. i found and enjoyed all the rocks at secrets without any books. other than the correct names of my friends and my first ascents and our guess as to the ratings you will not be missing out on anything by it not being in the book other than finding it. so just ask around and if you are cool and also lucky then maybe you will find the directions and the rocks. your also totally able to make your own book your own way. i have much more important reasons for secrets in particular to not be publicized but i will not talk about that online. email me and i will tell you why.
ReplyDeleteand as far as "exclusivity" you dont seem to know shit about what your talking about when it comes to secrets so email me and i will set you straight. and it is whiners like you that i dont like about climbing :)
summitorplummet@hotmail.com