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Alex Kordick on Super Cool

Horsepens 40 is one of, if not THE, most unique bouldering areas in the world. Many people compare it to Font, the birthplace of bouldering. While I have never been to Font, HP40 does appear to have many of the same features, brain like slopers (think the Pusher Boss for all you gym rats) and blob like boulders.

Alex Kordick on The Flow

Some of the features are almost too unreal with giant “baby head” bulbs sticking out of the rock. In many ways it is very similar to The Channel here in Idaho but with amazing texture. If you have never climbed at HP40 it is impossible to describe the texture, it’s sticky and allows you to climb on things you wouldn’t normally be able to climb on (especially at The Channel)

Mike McClure on Landslide

The perfect texture

The climbing at HP40 is very, VERY hard to get used to and very hard to describe. It is small box climbing and often relies more on technique and one’s understanding of how to rock climb than physical strength. 8 years ago when I first came to HP40 I was a solid V5/7 climber breaking into V8/9s. I remember getting bouted on plenty of lower end grades, including a V1 that took me two solid days of work, not because it was hard but because I didn’t understand how to use my body to climb it. My best send of that trip was a burly little sloper slapping climb called Super Coola. In my opinion it is the epitome of the climbing at Horsepens: short, powerful, slopey and you must do it right or it feels way harder. Coincidentally this was Tammy’s hardest send there on this trip:

My goal for the area was to clean up a few of the classic lines that I couldn’t even touch last time like The Great White and Slider. After I managed to send both of these problems quickly I turned my attention to the prize of the pens as far as upper grades are concerned: God Module. On my first day it was so cold that the starting crimp would instantly grease from my warm hands, I could barely pull off the ground and my hands popped on more than one occasion. A few days later we returned and after about an hour of attempts I was able to pull off what was one of the craziest moments in my climbing experience:

While we only spent a few days at the Pens I think we got a true understanding of the spirit of climbing there. There are few climbing areas I have been to where I have been just as psyched to climb a V3 as I was a V11 but HP40 is one of those places. It is hard to devote time to an alright looking V10 when there is a world class, unique and near perfect V2 right next to it. Often I found myself not even looking at the guide but just finding the best looking problems and climbing them. Were they V2? V8? What were they named? Who knows, they were fun intriguing climbs. The climbing at HP40 is not about the sandbag grade or the Vblahblah sick gnarrness brah climbs and many who go there looking for that leave with their heads down. Although if you go there and climb problems that pull you in not for their grade but for their quality movement, rock and features you will leave head held high.

Tammy Stowe-McClure on Redneck