Thursday, January 13, 2011

Northwest Branch- The Tick

The Tick at Northwest Branch is another good area for the solo boulderer.  The landings are flat, and all of the problems are low enough that falls aren't bad in any case.

From the parking lot, walk down the trail until you've passed Chaos Roof and the Trailside boulder, then go down to the river.  Look for a place to cross just above the falls and make your way to the flat rock at the base of the Tick (map).  Can't miss it right now with the spraypaint!

Tick Boulder (explanation of number symbols here )

1.  The Tick Traverse (V2):  Start at the left end and traverse right without using the lip until you reach the prow, then top out to the right.

2.  The Tick (V0):  Sit start on the large left-facing sidepull, and move up through the crack and crimps to the top.  Dyno from the crack to the top and it's a V1.  Lots of positive holds and a good lip make a great first topout for a new climber.

3.  The Traverse (V5):  Start on a jug on the right arete, and traverse left using the holds in the crack for hands.  One of my favorites!

4.  Kiss the Prow (V3):  Starting with right hand in a dish and left hand pinching the arete, get your feet up and move straight to the top.
Damien Jones on The Tick Traverse

Me on The Traverse

4 comments:

Zach said...

Please tell me the shot with all the graffiti is an old one. Last time I saw this block it was in good shape. Olivia, Luke and I put in some work one night on that sucker too. Great problem

Robin said...

Unfortunately, that's a current shot... It really is a great problem though. Sometime when you're around we'll have to get you back on it!

Zach said...

the jenky feet at the area around where you are in the second shot are what make the difficulty IMO. as long as the spray paint hasn't affected the friction there the problem is probably fine but it's a shame because it was the prettiest bloc there.

Robin said...

Luckily the spray paint didn't affect the good footholds, unlike the mess at Ilchester. You're right that the feet are what make this problem hard, at least until you figure them out. Where my right foot is in the picture, there's a great crystal that you can dig into while crossing your right hand to the next hold. After that it's just a few easy but fun moves to the finish.

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