Go Climbing, Bring Your Super Glue
By Janice Kang
Sports Editor

Types of climbing:
Bouldering is when you climb up to about 15 feet with no protection except for a crash pad and a good spotter. Bouldering is like masturbation: it’s not as satisfying as the real thing but you don’t need protection.

Sport Climbing is when there are already nine-inch bolts drilled into the rock for your clipping pleasure.

Traditional Climbing is when you have a full rack of camming devices, nuts, hexes, and various other chocks to place into cracks in the rock. These serve as your protection.

Aid Climbing is when you have several full racks because you place protection about every four feet, attach a nylon ladder, walk up, and place protection again. It takes awhile to aid climb up large slabs of granite.

Free Soloing is when you are crossing line between badass and really stupid as you climb without any protection.

Where to climb:
New Jack City
New Jack City is a relatively new sport climbing area. You won’t find this in the old Southern California Climbing Guide. There are more than 350 sport climbs for climbers of all abilities (5.6-5.13) scattered across this desert landscape. The rock is of an unusual metamorphic volcanic variety that has weathered in an amazingly climbable way.
Season: Late Fall through Spring
Directions: From I-15N, exit Barstow Rd. (Hwy 247). Take Hwy 247 South for about 15 mi. Turn right (West) onto an unnamed dirt road at mile marker 63.0. Follow this road for 1.0 mile, then bear left and follow the road for 0.6 miles to the main parking area
Guides: New Jack City - Sport Climbing Guide (Mayr/Sweeney)
Recommended climbs: Welcome to New Jack City (5.10a), Espresso (5.10c)

Williamson Rock
For beautiful scenery as well as some of the best sport climbing in Southern California, travel to Williamson. Located at an elevation of 6700 feet, Williamson Rock offers over 300 routes up the San Gabriel Mountains. The temperature is relatively low during the summer months, making this climb enjoyable. It is well protected, hugely popular, and tends to be crowded on weekends. The hike in is short, but slightly treacherous, as the mountainside is a mess of loose rock.
Season: March through October, depending on weather conditions.
Directions: From I-15 N, take Hwy 138 Palmdale exit, turn left. Turn left onto Highway 2. Williamson Rock is between Kratka Ridge Ski Area and Windy Gap Campground just West of some tunnels. Drive through both tunnels, park in the first lot on your right.
Guides: Willimson Rock Guide (Mayr/Sweeney); So. Cal. Sport Climbing - The Guide (Mayr/Sweeney)
Recommended climbs: DreamSpeed (5.11a), Shroomin’ (5.11b), Mushroom (5.8)

Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks
Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks can be found on the western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range above the town of Idyllwild. At Tahquitz you can find the country’s first 5.8, The Mechanic’s Route, which opened on October 3, 1937. The area offers some of the best moderate to advanced trad climbing in Southern California. Truly not a beginner’s spot, route finding at Tahquitz and Suicide can be difficult, and many climbs have a steep, difficult approach.
Season: Summer to early Fall, depending on snowfall
Directions: Take the 10E, exit CA 243 in Banning. Take CA 243 south to the town of Idyllwild. From Idyllwild, drive up North Circle Drive through Humber Park, where the road ends. Humber Park is the trailhead for the San Jacinto Wilderness.
Guides: Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks, third ed. (Vogel/Gaines)
Recommended Climbs: The Open Book (5.9), Fingertrip (5.7), Whodunit (5.9)

Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree, in fact, deserves an entire article. The J-tree climbing guide is as thick as the Bible and boasts over 4500 routes. J-tree is one of the most popular rock climbing areas in the world, because the Southern California sun warms J-tree to the perfect climbing temperatures year round. The unique rock is rough granite and will cut away at your hands, so bring your tape and superglue. Also bring your balls of steel, as J-tree ratings are notoriously tough compared to all other climbing areas in the United States.
Season: October to May.
Directions: Take the 10 East, exit US 62 north to 29 Palms. You will pass through Morongo Valley and Yucca Valley en route to the town of Joshua Tree. From Joshua Tree, turn right (south) onto Quail Springs Road, and follow it directly to the entrance of the park.
Guides: Joshua Tree (Vogel)
Recommended Climbs: Do ‘em all.