Friday, April 11, 2008

No. 132 - Stoney Point Outcroppings

Stoney Point Outcroppings

Stoney Point Outcroppings
Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Santa Susana Pass Road, Chatsworth – map
Declared: 11/20/74

When taking pictures at Stoney Point in Chatsworth, I ran into a man who first scaled this prehistoric rock formation forty years ago. Since then, he told me, he’s climbed all over the world, and he’d bet that more rock climbers learned how to climb at Stoney Point than anywhere else on earth.

Stoney Point Outcroppings

The Stoney Point page at Mountain Project says that many great climbers trained and practiced at the Los Angeles landmark early in their careers, climbers including Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, Bob Kamps, Ron Kauk, John Long, and John Bachar. The website also lists about thirty different Stoney Point climbing routes, including Beethoven’s Wall, Turlock, and Nabisco Canyon.

Stoney Point Outcroppings

See a series of Stoney Point climbing videos on Jon McCartie’s Vimeo site.

Stoney Point Outcroppings
Stoney Point Outcroppings

If you’re ever in the area, even if you’re not a climber, you should still stop by Stoney Point, today a 76-acre Los Angeles city park. Even at its base, you can make out all sorts of caves, potholes, and dens throughout the formation, perfect for 19th-century bandit-hiding. When there, I saw not only boulderers but also strollers, taking in the site. Sadly, patches of graffiti were unavoidable.

Stoney Point Outcroppings
Stoney Point Outcroppings

I stopped by Stoney Point last Sunday afternoon. On any other day, I would’ve been following in the footsteps of Robbins, et al, scrambling up the cliffs and crags, but, unfortunately, I left my biners and grigri back in the car. In addition, it looked like a significant amount of work.

Stoney Point Outcroppings

Up next: Minnie Hill Palmer Residence and Dynamite Shack

4 comments:

gc said...

This is gorgeous and looks like a lot of fun to boulder up. I'll have to make a day of this and the Santa Susana Stagecoach trail (#92) soon, before the summer heat hits.

Floyd B. Bariscale said...

You're too late, GC. Summer has struck.

Diallo said...

Stoney Point is great, but if you really want to have a spooky time in Chatsworth, go up Santa Susana to the site of the old Spahn Movie Ranch, where Manson and the Family stayed.

The Ranch buildings have burned down, but the creek and everything else is still right there.

Major Spooky.

Anonymous said...

...also in them thar hills

http://ideas.veer.com/piece/8582

fp