There is a serious wildfire at or near the Whiskey Gulch bouldering. According to the latest InciWeb report, the 19 Mile fire is larger than 4000 acres and has burned many structures in the Radar Creek and Toll Mountain area north of Highway 2. It appears it may be on the edge of the bouldering as well. The latest map shows the Widdler/Optimist Area southwest of Whiskey Proper in the fire zone. DO NOT GO! All access to the entire area has been closed.
Alright, I know it, I haven’t had a true bouldering post in nearly three months. That changes now. Been trying to get into rope climbing shape for an upcoming trip to Ten Sleep, but I’ve managed to get out a few times here and there. I made it out to Whiskey a couple times before the heat set in and did a few new (some new to me, some new to everyone) moderates. One, in my opinion, may be the best V3 at Whiskey – the Flying Saucer. From what I’ve heard, DJAJ and the BCC kids put the problem up a few years ago. I never heard a name for it, so I’ve just been calling it the Flying Saucer, which is also the name of the impressive boulder it’s on. For some reason, I’ve put off trying it since then, but I finally did it and it was amazing. For the grade, it’s about as close to Hueco style climbing as you can get at Whiskey – a few horizontal moves followed by the crux heading up a vertical face to the top. Here’s a little video I made of the Flying Saucer, along with two other excellent problems I put up in the same general area. All three are located in the large area south of Whiskey Proper known as Southern Comfort.
Last weekend I made it up to Lower Mason Lake in the Tobacco Roots up from Pony. Unfortunately, the day after I was there a large wildfire started nearby and has closed down access to the entire area. As long as the winds don’t change directions drastically, the bouldering isn’t in danger, but there are a bunch of people in nearby Mammoth that have been evacuated. Hopefully, the weather cooperates and they can get it under control and re-open the roads and trails before the end of the season.
Anyway, I planned ahead and brought the trusty snow shovel with. I spent the first hour getting re-familiarized with the talus, then got to work on the snow. I dug out a good landing for a couple problems I eyed one of the last couple years and managed to climb both. The left line was alright, but the right line (Stone Cold Crazy V4) was a true gem. Kneebar, toe-hook, crimps, sidepulls – it had a little bit of everything. I’m really curious how it will be in a month or so without snow. No idea how deep the snow was, but I’m guessing the sit start I did will turn into a high stand start. I finished off the day with a few other new ones in the lower talus that didn’t require any snow removal. All in all, it was a great day in the mountains, in one of my favorites areas in Montana. It was also a perfect place to beat the heat. It was still warm in the sun, but climbing over snow in the shade felt great compared to the 90+ degree temps in Bozeman. Here’s a few photos from the day:
Hollowtop Mtn from Pony
Mason Lake – Most of the bouldering is in the talus field in the right center of the photo.
Stone Cold Crazy is the right side of the iron colored face on the right.
A cool, short roof I did – Novacane
Looking down the talus towards Mason Lake from Stone Cold Crazy.
Bouldering Montana 