Contrary to what you may have been told, Tucson is full of bouldering! The only thing is it doesn’t have a couple big, dense areas that are easy to point at and say, ‘There it is!’ Instead there are clusters of problems scattered all over our beautiful mountain ranges. This distribution lends itself to afternoon sessions, maintaining seasonal projects, project focused sessions, exploring, hiking, and enjoying the extremely diverse outdoor environments that host our rock.
Tucson has a history of bouldering. It was home to Bob Murray, who pioneered bouldering as a worthy practice in and of itself in the US. Other waves of boulderers have come and gone, pushing the high water mark of development and documentation each time. Unfortunately, much of what was accomplished has been repeatedly forgotten and rediscovered. Bouldering has not been a lasting part of the climbing community in Tucson. Old Pueblo Bouldering (OPB) is going to change that.
OPB is here to revitalize the Tucson bouldering scene though developing and documenting bouldering. The last concerted effort to do this was McMillan’s 300+ problem guidebook. So far, OPB hosts over 1,500 problems with hundreds more in the pipeline. It is a big undertaking and it won’t succeed without help from the community. OPB wants you to take advantage of what we have so far and to get out there and give us a hand. Send the projects we have posted. Hunt down and develop a new spot. Let us know about something we are missing. Get out and boulder!
To jump-start this process OPB is teaming up with Rocks and Ropes and The Bloc. OPB will provide a short article highlighting some bouldering spot in Tucson with each member newsletter. We will highlight some prominent problems and projects, describe area logistics, and occasionally provide a circuit to consider. Enjoy and visit us at www.oldpueblobouldering.com to give us feedback and get more information.
Upper Entrance Boulders
The Entrance Boulders in Wilderness of Rocks is like a gateway drug to the areas further down trail but some use that as an excuse to pass it by. For others, the half-mile hike is a deterrent even though it is through conifer forest along a babbling brook. For those who don’t fall in either of these camps the Entrance Boulders offers a huge number of classic lines such as:
For Those About to Rock
Bees Knees
Chubb
Chubbier Arete
Loving Kindness
Equanimity
Pockets of Resistance
Landing Strip
Zester
Subversive Disposition
A good day-long circuit in the v1-v3 range would start by warming up on the NE Junction Boulder. Then move down to Layaway for all four v2’s and you might as well try Apopaclip while you are nearby. Then move to the 45 Degree Cluster (unfortunately you won’t be getting on the namesake boulder in this circuit) to hop on Up and Over and Triple Bump Since you are close hike over to Turd to try your hand at Pinch it off Right and Left. From here hike down to Alien and Chubb to do Chubb Then drop down to Gandhi Slabs (what is a circuit without some slab?) to run Master of None, Dike, and Wet Spot. Cross the trail to the AC/DC Boulder and run For Those About to Rock, Beating Around the Bush, Dirty Deeds, and Thunderstruck. Hike Southwest to Pockets Wall to run Pockets of Resistance. Finally, hike back towards the parking lot…but stop at the SW Junction Boulder to wrap up the day with Bees Knees
Projects are still everywhere in the Entrance Boulders. The ripest of the low hanging fruit are Pride Lion, Proprioception, Vertical Piece, Zester Prow, The Wash Project and stuff on the Half Moon Wall. Please get out there and make it happen!
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