Stuck on you

I'm not talking about the emotional clingy type, nor the over-infatuated, nor even the statically charged kind.

I'm talking about how I was with two problems at Joe's Valley, Utah.



When I pulled into the area Saturday afternoon, I admit I was underwhelmed. Jumping on Buoux Boulder, I was intimidated but still not sold on my decision to make a journey of over seven hours to come out to a rather drab area.

By Sunday afternoon I was sold.

I'll stay away from the superlative of it being the best bouldering in the U.S. I won't go that far. But the thing that Joe's has going for it is a number of good problems - and not contrived, ungainly sequences created by pad people with too much time on their hands - which can be found on the same boulder, the abundance of good landings and pretty good sandstone.

In three days, I had four bouldering sessions and ticked off or tried over 40 problems. Other than mantling a sharp hold and blowing a gaston - the causes of the gouges in my hand - my hands were in pretty good shape. Sure I had sore tips and by the end of Sunday, I climbed so much that it hurt to just touch rock.

The beta photos: UMWA



Funny, I couldn't get the VO on the left side but could get the V3 dyno right next to it and the V4 overhung hueco-fest around the left corner.



The Small One





Moby Dick Area

This is a big hunking piece of sandstone. The problem to the right of the arete is called A Big V1 I think. And it is. Actually did the problem in my boots and sans crashpad. Was just checking out the area and before I knew it I was at the big hueco near the top. Knew going up would be better than going down from that point.




Boy Size area



Left some of my skin on this one. It's either V4 or V2; couldn't figure it out with the guidebook. The problem is V2 I would say. The top-out is scary as hell as you pull on a very fragile edge to get your leg up.

Here it is from the sit-down start:



Man Size area





Warmup Area



The funny thing is I saw ONE other person bouldering. That ws when I pulled up to UMWA. Rob was just finishing one problem and flashed another one. We talked a bit and he and his significant other went down the road to Boy Size. Everybody else? Either they were arriving as I was leaving or they were taking a rest day. And I can tell you a rest day sucks at Joe's Valley. There is nothing out there but a sleepy Mormon town of Orangeville with shuttered businesses and boulders. That's it.