KELOWNA ROCKClimbing & Bouldering |
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Wish it was a bit sunnier on retro-bolt day. If it was, you would have a much better view of the shimmery, new hangers on the Lonely Boy crag. Circled above is the Miss Carriage bolt discussed below. Inset is a closeup of new bolt hangers. Note the lip for smooth rope passage. |
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The detached block that Matt is referring to in his concerns about XXX.. For previous Lonely Crag page, click here. . |
Lonely CragsThe Lonely Crags are 5 minutes from Kelowna, and consist of 5 crags with climbs ranging from 8 to 20m. The jewel is Lonely Boy, featuring two classic routes (Lonely Boy 5.10d, State of Love and Trust 5.12a) that fall in the must-do category. Lonely Boy is featured on the cover of Kelowna Rock - Climbing and Bouldering. Heli-pad and Lonely Boy crags are easy to top-rope, and offer up some challenging climbing for those not quite ready for stiff 5.10 leading. Lonely Girl is a great place for practicing easy 5.10 leading, and Lone Pine brings the lead bar up just a touch. The Lonely Crags are west facing; perfect for morning climbs on a hot, sunny day. DirectionsThe Lonely crags are in the Mission area of Kelowna, just past the Kettle Valley housing development. Travel up Chute Lake Road, past Summerhill Estate Winery. At the top of the hill, veer right for 1.5 km. Drive through the Kettle Valley subdivision and turn left up the mountain, at the Chute Lake road sign. The road winds up the hill. At the fork for the Seaton House of Prayer, stay right. Climb up a small steep bit and park on the right, just before the log house, or on the left, just after the house. Alternatively, you can drive onto the dirt road that runs between Helipad and Lonely Boy ... just a bit of a dip getting over the ditch. Safety ConcernsAs mentioned on Kelowna Rock home page, Matt Tobey had written in regarding XXX on Lonely Girl ... "The top section looked extremely fractured and it appeared as those the whole top section of the climb is hardly holding in there. Its not moving from what I can tell - but I wasn't about to start tugging on it. Maybe its been this way since it was bolted.." I checked it out, and found a whole possé of climbers enjoying the crag. Matt is right, this route is on a detached block, which is why it is called Triple X, and in the next guidebook, the meaning of the name will be clarified. (And on a clarifying note, the Skaha trad route, Itching To Climb, refers to the poison ivy that grows in the crack.) Fortunately, on close inspection of several climbers, it would appear there has been no change in the rock on XXX. This 5.9 lead gets a lot of traffic, so glad it is not doing any visible shifting. For those who haven't got their redpoint on Miss Carriage, made a minor adjustment to position of third bolt. Still have to make all of the same moves, but now you will clip before, rather than during, the crux. Hopefully, this will reduce the broken bone count on this route.
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