Inform and Inspire

Welcome to Upstate Bouldering, designed around bouldering in the Upstate region of South Carolina. This website is intended to inform the reader of local spots in SC, Western NC and Northeast GA, as well as a blog of my experiences climbing at these great spots. I hope everyone learns of a new place to climb or is inspired to climb somewhere close to them. If you have any comments, please send me an e-mail.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Pedra do Urso-Portugal




We have just got in from the morning session at Pedra do Urso...the place is AMAZING! The rock is similar to Boat Rock granite with small pebbly inclusions on somewhat featured slabs with large huecos splattered in between. The landscape reminds me of all of the pictures of Hueco Tanks I've seen, with boulders for literally miles and miles in a scrubby desertish environment. The area is about 1500m up and about 10'c cooler than the small town of Covilha that we're staying in. This should be a world destination with the quantity and quality of boulders and problems around...and if the right people find out about it, I'm sure it will be. The guidebook lists about 150 routes, but there are 1000's of untouched boulders as far as the eye can see. We crossed the road from the "developed" area and found some of the best routes around, completely covered with lichen, waiting to be exposed. I'll post some pictures later so everyone can see the near infinite possibilities. We went for a quick afternoon session, yesterday, to the undeveloped side and I missed the crashpad on a highball slab and twisted my ankle pretty bad...but it wont stop me from climbing what I can, while I'm here. Ben Moon and Jerry Moffit werent kidding when they said that this place is "endless".

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