Okay, so I’ve been seeing “Cole Priest Boulder” pop up all over the place, and I finally decided to figure out what the heck it was all about. Turns out, it’s a climbing area, or maybe a specific boulder problem? I don’t know yet. I’m not a huge climber, but I do enjoy a good scramble, so I figured, why not?
First, I tried to find some info online. That took some time. After that I found out, that’s not much really helpful information.
So, armed with slightly more confidence, I packed a bag. I threw in some water, snacks (very important), and my old, beat-up climbing shoes that I dug out of the closet. My friend borrowed me his crash pad. Then drove to that place.
I get there, and, it’s… rocks. Lots of rocks. I mean, I knew it was going to be rocks, but there are just so many rocks. I wandered around for a bit, feeling a little lost. I see some folks with crash pads heading this way and that, so I kind of just… followed one group.
They ended up at a big, impressive-looking boulder. I watched them for a while, trying to see what they were doing, how they were moving. Some of the handholds are pretty obvious, big and juggy. Other parts I’m just, like, no way, man. How are you even holding onto that?
I finally decided to give it a go. I picked a part of the boulder that looked, you know, doable. Nothing crazy, just a few feet off the ground. I put my hands on the rock, got my feet set, and… started climbing! It felt good! A little awkward at first, but good.
I made it up a few feet, then got stuck. I couldn’t figure out where to put my foot next. My arms started to get tired, that shaky, burning feeling. I ended up just dropping down. It wasn’t graceful, but hey, I didn’t break anything.
I tried a few more times, different spots, different routes. I never got super high, but it was fun figuring out the moves, feeling the rock, using my body in a different way. I definitely felt it in my forearms and fingers by the end. I think my body is not used to this.
It was a cool experience.I wouldn’t say I “conquered” Cole Priest Boulder or anything, but I definitely had some fun trying.
