secret areas

abc wrote:wear a blindfold on the drive and hike.

everyone should wear one on the drive and hike in.

David Sahalie wrote:how about cavity searches?

only before and after the hike out

be honest, the biggest reason for secret areas is so that some people can feel they are "elite", or the "in crowd".

The biggest threat to access these days is the number of schmucks who climb, there because of the sheer number of climbers these days. If privacy is what you want, there are plenty of patented claims out there that are basically mountains. Buy one (they're dirt cheap!) and then fence it in.

Monomaniac wrote: Is this crag public knowledge now? I'd love to hear which crag and who your "friend" is!

I've heard the guys who put up routes at The Promised Land did that with their friends

That's great people still pull that article from climbing. My friend Luke got more shit for publishing that piece than any other. It was a laugh especially since every photo says the name of the crag. Like I said, haters are ignorant.....

tenpins wrote: "elite", or the "in crowd".

like a treehouse? clubhouse? frat? no girls allowed!

bruno-cx wrote:Legitimate, because they help keep the spot from blowing out.

forget about secret spots, if you want to ditch the crowds find some routes that have a 5+ mile approach and anyone you do run into (if any) will probably be pretty cool!

Honestly you can thin most of the crowds with a half mile approach!

It's great to keep those areas secret that way you can say to people, "it's the next Hueco, Bishop, Rocklands, etc" and never get busted for lying. You can claim v14 flashes that no one can verify. You can be the king of your own little world and live a fairytale existence. Follow this approach and you could be the next Chris Sharma, at least in your own little world and little mind.

I have a place that's so secret, i can't find it again

Wade Frank wrote: forget about secret spots, if you want to ditch the crowds find some routes that have a 5+ mile approach and anyone you do run into (if any) will probably be pretty cool! Honestly you can thin most of the crowds with a half mile approach!

Absolutely true. The Gunks are crowded because there is a 5-25 minute flat-walk approach and it's less than 2-hrs to NYC.

This however... is the view from David's yard (well, potentially at least). And for all intents an purposes it's empty most any day of the year...but the approaches are measured in hours, not minutes.

There seem to be those on either side of the "secret" crag fence. And they feel the way they do based on which side of it they're on! The rationales come pretty easy if you have your own crag, and the jealousy flows swift when you don't know where that sweet crag is.

But here's the real question: How many formerly super uper dooper secret crags later turned out to be world class climbing spots? How many of the secret crags would (or do) live up to the hype? Or are they just pretty sweet crags to catch a pump at? I'm not saying I know any answers, it would just be cool to know some stories of now "outed" crags (i.e. not still closeted).

Old Custer just came up with a great question.

Wild Iris was a secret crag with teasers mentioned in the mags. Tod Anderson used the NSA's supercomputer and satellite network to locate it well ahead of schedule. We managed to catch Skinner there with an armful of antelope legs, totally shocked that we found his crag. When questioned what was up with the antelope legs, he told us: "I stick 'em in the pockets. The French guys hate that!"

David Sahalie wrote:legitamate cuz they let me and my homies send all the fresh lines and keeps the punters out or, lame: share the love or i'll plant a tracking device on your truck and post your 'new hueco' on the Proj

The first rule of Secret Crags is: you do not talk about Secret Crags. The second rule of Secret Crags is: you do not talk about Secret Crags...

Seems simple to me...

If you want to keep it secret don't talk about it. Keeping it secret only makes sense if the folks that might help develop it will mess it up.

The best secret crag we have found in recent years is all the crags we haven't been to lately. If you want to find new routes climb at lots of areas. Inevitably you will find routes that have been overlooked. It is amazing how many good routes are still out there.

But please don't tell anyone this!

-sp wrote: This however... is the view from David's yard (well, potentially at least). And for all intents an purposes it's empty most any day of the year...but the approaches are measured in hours, not minutes.

I have been climbing there, and it is an amazing thing to be out and about in lovely mountains and see no one. My husband and I spent five days and only saw 2 other people that were heading out as we were heading in.

Also, if you happen to also be a video game nerd as well as a climber, you totally get to feel like you're in Fallout New Vegas the whole time. I am so jealous of anyone that lives out there.

Anyway, we took a little trip out there based on looks alone with basically no beta and spent most of our time wandering around getting assaulted by cacti. It was insanely fun, laden with minor epics, and a completely different experience than our standard weekends at the Gunks.

I think most climbers need exposure to a bit of both. I really appreciate the ease of rolling out the car and walking 5 minutes to about 600 routes with excellent beta, pictures, etc., but how boring would that be without some hidden adventures on beta-free excursions into new places to break up the monotony? If someone wants to keep an area secret from me, and I'm not clever enough to figure it out on my own, maybe they deserve to climb there and I don't. Nothing is stopping anyone from striking out and finding their own ways to whatever "secret areas" are out there.

Mike Lane wrote:Wild Iris was a secret crag with teasers mentioned in the mags.

Was never that secret.

I remember reading in the SL Trib an article about the place with a report from Todd calling from the Red Cloud Saloon. This was well before a guidebook, maybe late 80's or so. Spurred us to climb there.

Was never really kept quiet.

I have no problem with secret areas, but just don't spray to me about your super rad secret area. Keep it secret, I don't care.

Tom Hanson wrote:Old Custer just came up with a great question.

Not exactly a flood of answers yet though. I can see some crags started off slowly while technique and technology caught up (Indian Creek, for instance), but what about some formerly hidden gems that people now flock to from around the world?

I kinda like Eric R's answer about the true obscurities hiding in plain sight.

Wade Frank wrote: forget about secret spots, if you want to ditch the crowds find some routes that have a 5+ mile approach and anyone you do run into (if any) will probably be pretty cool! Honestly you can thin most of the crowds with a half mile approach!

It is amazing how an hour ride/hike keeps most people out, even if it is a great crag. I wish it was a guarantee of "coolness" though. Somebody contacted me via this site saying they had just moved to the area, was an experienced new multi-pitch new router and 5.12 trad climber and really psyched to work on putting up routes at a new crag. I brought him and his bud out and first thing I know I catch them chipping a line of holds up a steep granite wall. They ended up leaving a bunch of gear stashed for over a year that became a mass of mold and random single climbing shoes and socks scattered along the base that I had to carry all out. Luckily, everybody else who has gotten out there since has been nice though.