Beginner TR for youth?

Hi All,

I know that many like to give the Boy Scouts a hard time - so please I do not want this to turn into a flame war. Thanks.

Our troop is very active and we go TR and rappelling at Joshua Tree every New Years. The scouts really thrive on it and I believe there is nothing like working the rocks to challenge your fears and show that you can do more than you think you can.

Many of the scouts would like to advance more in their knowledge and skills. So they asked me to add a couple of day trips locally to work on it on this upcoming calendar.

A couple of scoutmasters are going to go scouting locations to find a suitable spot that we can take 6-8 scouts and work on their skills. Can anyone make some suggestions of where I should go check out for TR? Something where we can work on fundamentals and not get in the way of other climbers would be best. We are not allowed to share our gear or use other's gear, so that is a concern with taking over a wall for 3-4 hours. Saturday is really the only day that we could do this.

There is one spot that I know and have used but it is not very challenging and there are no other climbers - I would like them to also be exposed to other climbers and how they do things.

I appreciate any advice the community can share. Thanks in advance.

Hey there! How far are you scouts willing to travel? What county are you trying yo stay in to climb?

Doh! Thanks Carlos.

We are looking for local crags in the north L.A. area. Any suggestions at Malibu Creek or Stoney Point would be perfect, but willing to travel anywhere within 50 miles of L.A. We are a Ventura county troop.

Im not from the us so i got to ask... why the hate on boy scouts. Im a scout from Norway.

Was looking at some climbs at Stoney Point. Any local beta on these climbs for what we are trying to do would be much appreciated. Again, really want to work with the community on not get in the way.

Mozart's Wall - Right Edge (bee's still around?)

Split Rock - Chimney

Any thoughts?

No Bees at Mozart.....

In Nabisco Canyon, right across from "Maggie's Farm" is a nice crack system, IRC its about 5.6 or so... there are some more variations right there, you won't be taking anything away from anybody.

Turlok Boulder has some TR anchors on top....again don't worry about hogging.

Do the "S" crack.... thats the big, long crack system on the left end of the big face. I think that some guides bolted it at the top, so the top rope runs better.

Malibu Creek.... the south east side of Planet of the Apes wall, has some anchors...very easy stuff there, and then go jump in on one of the climbs on the far left, for the well warmed up climbers.

Damn, i live in the riverside county area. so if you dont mind the drive, id recommend Riverside Rock Quarry. Schoolhouse rock is pretty much your only option for toprope. Its pretty small compared to other climbs at the quarry but if you'are looking for easy 50-60ft climbs this might be a place of interest. as far as climbers go, this is a very popular place to climb especially on weekend mornings. so theres always going to be groups of people coming and setting up top ropes. First come first serve kinda thing..good luck

Thanks for the help guys. Really appreciate it.

Guy - thanks for your experienced perspective on Stoney. I'll take a look at your other suggestion.

Riverside will definitely be on the list as we continue to explore outwards from our area. Thanks for that.

Anybody have any comments on Texas Canyon. Sounds a bit choossy?

Any other suggestions would definitely be appreciated. Thanks.

Malibu state Creek Park is awesome but there is a water crossing that can be kind of treacherous if not in rock climbing shoes. On MP look up toddlers Terrence 5.7-5.9. The bottom is in shade for the belayer. Are three different platforms from which you can take off at. Perfect for beginners

Look up saddle peak in the Santa Monica's. It's only one wall, but there are a good dozen climbs that all have easily accessible top rope anchors. It's primarily a sport climbing place but it'd do the trick since the anchors are accessible from a walk-up. Climbs are in the 5.6 to 5.10 range. Every time I go there's no more than one other party, max, so the crowding issue should be a non-issue.

Good to see you're concerned about other parties. I'm sure everyone here has tried to climb a route only to be shut down by a large guided group that isn't even allowed to share ropes. Hope you get something good going!

Thanks Markenm and Ancent. Great suggestions. I will scout them out.

Mozart's Wall - center and left side

Beethovens Wall - up the crack. There are no anchors at the top. You will need a lot of webbing or static rope to sling the rock at the top of the right side of the wall

Nabisco canyon - a nice little 5.6 crack

I live nearby so I can swing by to help with beta when you arrive, just drop me a PM

Thanks so much for the offer. I might take you up on it.

I went over there yesterday and saw that REI was running a group on Mozarts. Looks like a pretty good spot for what I had in mind.

I also spotted another wall that doesn't have anchors on top but has some nice boulders I can build anchors for. Just in case Mozart is busy.

Thanks again for all the help. I'll have to get some time to check out the other spots you all recommended.

Thanks again for all the help. Took the scouts out this Saturday over to Stoney Point and they had a blast - even though it was HOT!

I was a little bummed out though. We got there at 6:45 a.m. to try and secure the route we wanted to do. I saw a guy walk briskly past us when we were taking the gear out of our cars. Sure enough, when we got to the climb, he had already put lines on all the routes up the wall. I guess you snooze you loose! I'm glad I had scouted out a backup location and we were still able to climb and have a great time.

Having said that, I was a bit upset. I briefly spoke to the guy and found out he was there from REI. He wan't very friendly but whatever. What got me upset was not that he secured all the climbs on that wall with his ropes, but later, since we had to do a few trips to pick up climbers and gear, we walked by the wall and literally he had only one woman climber with him. Yet the whole wall was taken. Pretty disappointing. I wish they would post on here when they are going to do that. I would have rescheduled our climb to a more convenient time. When I was scouting out the wall I asked them if they were going to be there and they said they didn't think so.

Oh well. Lesson learned. Have to get out there even earlier next time!

At least we have another reason to go back to Stoney Point. Really enjoyed it and the boys are excited about trying it again.

Thanks again for all the input. We're definitely going to try out some of the other climbs you all have suggested.

RickG..... thank you for taking scouts out climbing, they are the real future of climbing.

Yes: REI guides generally DO SUCK.... mostly because of just what you describe.........they are FAT HOGS

But wait.... REI owns this place... Lets see if I get deleted.

If it was me with the scouts and I had a run in with the GUIDE like that... I would have removed his TR when it was not being used... but that would be a bad example for the scouts.

Take no crap from GUIDES ever. They do not own anything....

Your story should be in the General section.

come back to Stoney, complain to REI about their GUIDES.