How will the guidebook affect the experience of climbing at black? We've often wondered about overwhelming crowds, but generally think that the area is large enough (and dispersed enough) to accommodate the people. After reading this thoughtful post on the changing climbing experience in Leavenworth that goes along with increased traffic, we realize how little we can predict that way the Black Mountain guide will change the culture there. There are always consequences that ar

There is an astounding amount of climbing that still hasn't been documented, let alone attempted, on the mountain. Just last weekend we put up a low start to Room with a View Two. Tucked away over a chasm to the right of Once Upon a Time at the summit, the built-up landing of fallen logs is an architectural marvel and saves you from falling into a 30 foot crevasse between the jumble of boulders. The problem begins with an improbable toe hook overhead and then moves up positiv

Memorial Day weekend at Black was amazing! We went over to Ex-Patriot at the Black Mountain summit and found a bunch of trash some climbers left at the base. Here's how we expect things went: end of the day, climbing and drinking while watching the sunset, a little buzzed while packing things up, forgot to grab the leftovers. This is just a friendly reminder to pack out your booze after drinking on the rocks. Also, we prefer white wine in the summer.

After a multi-year hiatus, the black mountain blog returns to living form. I don't know exactly why we stopped blogging about our favorite mountain... something to do with work, moving, shifting motivation, moving again, then again. But why does it matter? We're back. The guide is getting close to completion. The mountain is in great condition. Wonderful. We're in the process of getting this site in good order. We'll be posting here, while also adding videos and photos in the

Black Mountain Bouldering is a guide with no grades. We've had countless conversations with people, "to grade or not to grade." Six years ago, when we first began to suggest the idea, most of the feedback was negative. Recently, however, we've felt a shift, with more and more people lending support to the idea. Here are some arguments for not having grades in the guide. Of course we'll give some guidance for difficulty, it just won't be as fine-grained as the V-scale. We find