New Jack City – Trip Report

On a mission to put in some time on lead before an upcoming trip to SLC, Walter indulged me on a trip down to NJC. New Jack City is outside of Barstow, and so it is a popular winter destination for many climbers. I like to call it New Choss City since much of the rock is falling apart.

Wednesday morning, we arrived and had the place to ourselves. Well, almost to ourselves. There were lots of birds nesting and flying around making a ruckus.

I was feeling quite jittery after downing two starbucks mochas. It took a good 2 hours for my heart to stop pounding. Neither of us have a guidebook for NJC, so I only know the names of three of the routes: Welcome to NJC, Step Across, and Little Red Book. We each climbed 6 pitches.

Walter worked out the moves to Step Across and Welcome to NJC, going for a redpoint, but being thwarted at the crux. He made a great effort, taking a couple falls, and moving on to finish the climbs. It was great to watch him battle through, and I’m sure he’ll get both of these very soon.

The highlight of my day was the onsight of some 10b (ish) route over by the “Boy Scout Wall”. It’s got a sketchy 2nd bolt clip, but I managed to figure out the moves. With a good belayer, the route is okay safety-wise. But, if a person misses the 2nd clip and falls, they would definitely hit the ground. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight!

So, that was my day out of the office. Tank top climbing in the sun! My only complaint is the day was too short.

One Response to “New Jack City – Trip Report”

  1. Walter says:

    Great job on the on-sight of the 10b, Clare! Good red-points too. Especially on Step Across and Little Red Book. Have fun up in Utah!