Hasler Flats Trip

I headed to Hasler Bluffs this past Monday with my friend Domhnall to do some climbing, and check out the potential for new routes and bouldering in the area. One of our goals was to get a rope on at least one new line at Hasler Bluffs. When we arrived at Hasler Flats, we first stopped to check out the new area, then headed over to Hasler Bluffs. We walked the length of the crag to check it out (Dom hadn't been to the area before), then we decided to lead (what we thought was) a moderate bolted route that wasn't in the guide. It turned out to be an oddly bolted 11-, so I took some hangs at the bolts trying to get psyched to boulder up to the next bolt, which always seemed to be in an odd spot and a little too far away. After we finished with that route, we went down to the base of the crag and did some bouldering on the blocks down there. We repeated Anonymous Arete (Dom flashed it, very nice!), and then cleaned up a new line on the adjacent block. We worked it and finally sent it - it's a really classic compression problem up a steep bulge (probably V4ish).

Then we headed back up to the cliff where I led Nose Goblins (5.7), which is a fun route with good gear, although I felt that there were some loose flakes on the route that could maybe have been pried off to make the route safer. We moved the rope over, and Dom made quick work of a .10b crack. We moved the rope over again, so we could toprope a new line that climbed through a beautiful orange wall with a big roof at midheight. It looked about .11b from the ground, but it turned out to much harder and more technical than I thought (partially because some of the rock was covered with a beautiful patina, which meant that the friction in those sections was a bit reduced). Such an amazing route - hopefully I can get out there to put bolts in it soon. There is a lot of potential at Hasler Bluffs for hard routes in the .11+ to .12+ range.

There is a (somewhat outdated) guide for Hasler Bluffs written about a decade ago; it is certainly worth having if you are planning a trip to the area. The guide (hosted by the Prince George section of the ACC) can be found HERE. I am hoping to write a new Hasler Bluffs Guide this year, but we'll have to see if I have time.