There wasn't a lot of bolted routes, but I got to lead the few moderate routes that were there - a multi-pitch 5.7 and another 5.8. The rest was all Brian leading amazing trad routes.
The rating on a lot of the routes is really bizarre. The older routes, from the 60's and 70's, the "classics", are way harder than the rating. A 5.7 will feel like 5.9. The newer routes are definitely easier. A lot of the routes didn't have an option to rappel down, so we had to walk down from the rock, which is way sketchier than climbing.
The temperature during the day was pretty brutal, but there is so much variety to choose from so we were able to find shady walls. The highlight was a route called the Skyline on the Morning Glory Spire. It was a "classic" 5.8, super exposed, on a windy day, with some hard moves, but it felt amazing to make it to the top and check out the view.
We met a ton of people, most of whom were from somewhere one of us has lived or will soon be living at - Burlington, Boston, Boulder and etc. I love climbing communities just for that - everyone is friendly and loves to chat.
After two days of non-stop climbing our time at City of Rocks was done. Yesterday morning we got up early, packed up camp and actually organized things in my car. You can almost see out of the back window! Before we left Idaho for good I really wanted to try this particular bolted 5.9 route. The start of it was a super tough 5.10 slab move that I could not get no matter how much I tried. Frustrating. But I left my mark on the route - I scrapped my knee on the rock so bad it bled. I really hope people are creeped out when they see it. Brian tried it as well but wasn't motivated enough to pull through and continue. It wasn't even 9 am and we were both completely exhausted.
So we drove to Jackson, WY and went cliff jumping into Snake River with some of Brian's friends. Awesome! So great to be back in this town.
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