A Day at the Local Crag: Cragmont

I’ve been sticking around the Bay Area these past few weekends.  Weddings and bad weather have kept me away from Yosemite, but I’m still out there climbing and thinking about some big ideas for the future.

This past weekend Jen, Terri, Dan and I planned on heading up to the Valley to do some easy climbs–it would be Dan’s first time out for years and Terri’s first ever outdoor climbing experience.  We awoke Saturday to a forecast of rain and concluded that a Bay Area weekend would be best.

After a lazy morning, Jen and I met up with Terri and Dan and we went up to Cragmont.  I’ve lived in the Bay for over 3 years and it’s hard to believe that I had yet to climb at such a historic, classic crag that’s only 15 minutes from my house.  I guess being “Sierra-centric” has its drawbacks.

We went up, set up some topropes and had a great day of teaching, learning and even some dry tooling.  Terri had her first outdoor climbing experience and Jen learned how to lead belay.

Dan gets himself back in the game.

Jen gets the feel of crack climbing as she tops out.

After a nice afternoon at the crag, we cruised down the hill to Cheeseboard, picked up some pizza and wound down over good food, drinks and conversation around my backyard firepit.  The Valley?  No.  A great day climbing with friends on a local gem chocked full of history?  Absolutely.