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Tammy Stowe- McClure on Fat Cat

Little Rock City (aka LRC, aka Stone Fort) has one of the most unique settings I have ever climbed at…It’s on a golf course. Ok, maybe not ON the course, but right next to the course. So close in fact that to get to the back area of the City you must cross a tee box. At first I was a little bummed that LRC charged a parking fee until I realized it was not as bad as what they could be charging: green fees!

One of the most famous problems at LRC is The Shield, an amazing line that sweeps out a giant bulge. I had my eyes set on this climb for many years until we were getting ready to leave for this trip and I watched a few more vids of the climb. While it looked cool, the last move looked VERY reachy and I tend to climb fairly weak on reach moves. I might have told myself I wouldn’t send this thing before I even saw the problem but I still wanted to try it. In person the line is even more amazing than in photos and video. As Ander Rockstad told me “the line just sings to you when you see it.” Unfortunately it was raining the day that I tried it and after 8 days on I wasn’t even able to make it to the reach move (excuses, excuses).

Mike McClure on The Shield

The rock at LRC is just as unique as many of the other areas in the South. LRC tends toward the crimpy side of things so it felt a little more like the climbing that I am used to but again with better texture than anything I have touched out west. The most astounding feature at LRC is the branching etched like cracks. On a sunny winter day it’s often hard to tell the crack systems from the shadows of tree branches. The Shield is a prime example of this. So is an amazing problem that Tammy did called Fat Cat:

Another interesting aspect of Little Rock City is the sweeping fractured faces that are very reminiscent of some of the granite climbs of Little Cottenwood Canyon or the McCall Scree Field. One such climb is the amazing Instinct:

While some of  the features on these faces look like granite, one touch of the rock and there is no mistake that you are climbing on sandstone. I remember my first go on a problem called Celestial Mechanics, another climb that reminds me of granite. The crux involves a a big throw with a bad right foot smear. On my flash attempt I held back a bit fearing my foot would blow off the seemingly miserable smear. After hitting the pad I reached up and felt the blackened foothold. In my experience a black foot hold, especially a smear at the crux, is usually very polished…not in south: perfect texture. On my second go I felt a bit more confident in the friction the rock provided and sent. Ander sent quickly afterward:

Tammy had a very good time at LRC as well sending many hard lines including a flash of the amazing Hueco like problem called Super Mario and a short, steep and VERY burly refrigerator block called Diesel Power: