I had the privilege of bolting a couple excellent lines up Hyalite Canyon just below the reservoir. The lines are located on a limestone fin above a newer sport climbing area called the Swamp. I’ve been calling the upper area the Fins. Since I began bolting the Fins last summer I’ve finished three new lines with Kevin Macartney completing three more. While it’s not a destination area by any means, it’s got some fun lines close to town – only about 25 minutes driving and a few minutes hiking.
In my opinion, the best rock up there is a wall I’ve been calling the Gold Wall. I put up a sweet 5.11b (Copa de Oro) last summer and added a stellar 5.12b (Beast of Burden) just last week. Both are excellent additions to Bozeman sport climbs, with each having unique moves on great rock. Copa de Oro has three completely different problems stacked on top of each other – slightly overhung jugs, slab (beautiful & cruxy) and a compression finish. Beast of Burden, while only four tight bolts, has just as much variety. It starts with a great boulder problem to the second bolt which leads to easier underclings, then finishes with a unique balance crux (or crazy bypass… see below) just below a finish jug.
Luckily, I finished up the Beast just before Peder and Jess rolled into town for a few days so I was able to head up with them and take a bunch of photos of them on both routes. As expected, both cruised through Copa de Oro for a warm-up and I expected Peder to cruise through Beast of Burden as well, even though I talked Sarah into brushing off all the key tick-marks after she grabbed the 2nd ascent the day before. Well, I’m pretty proud to say, Peder didn’t onsight it! I watched him onsight every 12+ in Ten Sleep, but it turns out his kryptonite is the Beast of Burden in Hyalite Canyon. He figured out the bottom crux after a bit and it turns out the upper crux is way harder for tall bastards – it’s basically a balance move where you rock around on a good foot, but his longer legs pushed him out from the wall. In true tall bastard form, he found a crazy reach move off an undercling that no one else used and finished the route up after about 74 tries.
Jess on the other hand came crazy close to flashing it – just barely missing the finish jug on her first go. She finished it up easily on her second go. Nice work Jess! Peder… keep training.
Without further ado:
Jess – Copa de Oro 5.11b
Jess – Copa de Oro 5.11b
Jess – lower crux of Beast of Burden 5.12b
Jess – upper crux of Beast of Burden 5.12b
Jess – upper crux of Beast of Burden 5.12b
Jess – upper crux of Beast of Burden 5.12b
Peder – Beast of Burden 5.12b
Peder – upper crux of Beast of Burden 5.12b (you’re going to need at least a 6’2″ wingspan for this method!)
-EC
Bouldering Montana 