Worlds best bouldering?

Recently we went to Brione, we had herd lots of hype.. here is what we found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpr0Qfw5-8E

Hampi .India. Of course I never touch the stuff too dangerous.

With all the politics of even getting into Hueco, and most of the walls that I grew up dreaming about climbing such as the Mushroom boulder being closed for either archaeological findings, erosion, or jackass boulderers that can't clean up after themselves I'll put my money on Southeast bouldering any day.

The ONLY drawback to Southeast is the weather and humid conditions that will always plague that area of the United States. Places like HP40, Rocktown, Boone, and Rumbling Bald have literally zero politics and some of the best bouldering in the world right in our own backyard. I'm willing to bet Rumbling Bald just may be one of the 3rd largest bouldering areas in the US. Why we don't see anyone from the BigUP, or LT11 spraying videos all over internet is beyond me. It may just have something to do with the typical Southeast mentality to keep things under wraps to prevent what has been happening to Hueco for the last 20 years.

Hueco Tanks was closed because of all the Mexicans who used to go there to picnic and leave trash all over the place and paint graffiti on the wall.

It's a shame because it was the world's best bouldering and had some excellent long routes as well.

My apologies for the thread drift about "here vs. there". I'm just at work so I wasn't able to watch the video at my desk, but I will soon enough.

Alex,
The place does look beautiful, and gneiss is nice.

But a question:
According to brionebouldering.com/p/ital…, there seem to be some access issues, though the pages are a bit dated. Have these issues been resolved?

Living in the Southeast, I can second the fact that we have some of the best boulderfields on the planet...I personally think that Little Rock City/Stonefort is the best sandstomne boulderfield in the region. It has better routes than its conterparts at HP40 or Rocktown, in my opinion, and the rock tends to be better than the other 2 sandstone jewels. There is so much incredible gneiss/granite in NC, its hard to narrow down the boulderfields for quality...but Rumbling Bald is probably the best granite boulderfield and the best overall boulderfield in the Southeast (once again, just my opinion). There are now around 1300 routes or so at the Bald, making it possibly the largest boulderfield accessed from one parking area, in the US! Boone/The Highcountry is great too, but I've always felt that Grandmothers was overhyped and not as good quality as Blowing Rock, Lost Cove or 221, which seem to have better rock quality and problems.

As far as "Worlds Best Bouldering", I've only bouldered in a dozen or so countries over my 25 years of bouldering (along with about 10 US states and around 200 different boulderfields), but I'd have to say that Fontainbeau is by far the best sandstone I've ever touched, and probably the best boulderfield on the planet, in my opinion! The place is amazing and just as magical as advertised. Incredible variety of routes in every grade possible...last I heard from a local bleausard, there are an estimated 20,000+ problems (he estimated more like 35,000 problems) within the 45 minute diameter of land referred to as "Fontainebleau". The circuits are incredibly fun and the stand alone problems are pretty sweet too!

My #2 boulderfield would have to be Squamish...absolutely breathtaking rain forest habitat, on top of the amazing variety and quantity of problems, and its all at the base of the Big Chief himself! Make sure to hit it in the right season (summer) and you'll be treated to the best granite I've groped on the planet!!! Rumbling Bald reminds me a lot of Squamish, but on a smaller scale. The Pacific Northwest is beautiful and inspiring and adds a lot to the experience.

My #3 boulderfield would have to be a tie between Little Rock City and Rumbling Bald...being from the southeast and having spent a lot of time at these areas, I'd have to say that they stack up pretty good against any boulderfield in the entire world. Although access can become an issue...obviously LRC is on a golf course and losers are cheating the system by not paying and causing a stink recently (thank god the owner is kicking these losers out of the boulderfield) and there has always been a parking issue at the Bald, or at least over the last 15 years I've been going there, and the recent explosion in its popularity has cars being turned away after 9:30 am on most weekend mornings because the lot is already full. If you can hit the Bald during the week though, its empty and feels like it did back in the day before the guidebook and paved parking lot.

There are several honarable mentions too...

Foreign:
-Sintra in Portugal is another absolutely amazing area that I'll never forget! Beautiful surroundings and beautiful boulders made this place almost as magical as Font, but without the hype and quantity of problems.

Domestic:
-Boone/Highcountry, as mentioned above.

-Grayson Highlands in VA...the Highlands area specifically is one of my all time favorite spots! Bouldering while a wild pony spots you is an awesome experience.

-Jocassee Gorges of SC are my home turf and I really enjoy long hikes to obscure boulders with tons of wild animals all around. With well over 1500 problems in a dozen or so boulderfields, this well kept secret mainly features slabby and slopey routes, but there are plenty of powerful routes too...but there's nothing like cruxing 25 feet up a perfect slab when a bear runs across your crashpad to remind you how awesome this place is:)

Sorry for the long windedness, but this is a great topic that I havent seen come up much on MP.

Ed Wright wrote:Hueco Tanks was closed because of all the Mexicans who used to go there to picnic and leave trash all over the place and paint graffiti on the wall. It's a shame because it was the world's best bouldering and had some excellent long routes as well.

what closed? You can still get in last I checked?

Brad Caldwell wrote:Grayson Highlands in VA...the Highlands area specifically is one of my all time favorite spots! Bouldering while a wild pony spots you is an awesome experience.

Just curious, but how extensive is the bouldering in Grayson Highlands? My inlaws live 20 minutes from there and although I've done some exploring up there I've just never found an abundance of problems. However the area is one of the prettiest places on the planet and not necessarily close to anything so I can't imagine it ever being crowded.

jarthur wrote: Just curious, but how extensive is the bouldering in Grayson Highlands? My inlaws live 20 minutes from there and although I've done some exploring up there I've just never found an abundance of problems. However the area is one of the prettiest places on the planet and not necessarily close to anything so I can't imagine it ever being crowded.

You can check here on MP about Grayson, but its approaching 1000 established after most recent development. There are good routes all over the place up there. Check out the guidebook for the best details.

By Ed Wright
1 day ago

"Hueco Tanks was closed because of all the Mexicans who used to go there to picnic and leave trash all over the place and paint graffiti on the wall. It's a shame because it was the world's best bouldering and had some excellent long routes as well."

Hueco is no closed, north mountain is open to 70 people at a time though some places in n mountain are off limits to climbing, and the rest of hueco is accessed by guide only...
In my opinion I'd say hueco is a very historical area but not the best bouldering in the world. Just my opinion...

hmmm, bouldering. kind of like a loudest whispering contest. just figured i would poke the hornet's nest.... :)