BETA PHOTO: Happy Hour Crag. Photo taken from Witches Tower.
Description
A south-facing wall that keeps the sun for a long time. There are a number of pleasant moderates on this quite frictiony (is that a word anyways?) rock. Unfortunately, not all of the routes are able to take advantage of that rock quality. Some of the routes are nothing to write home about. That doesn't mean you should write off the rock; there's a number of cool routes, mostly in the middle of the rock. The crag is 70-120 ft high. It can get quite popular after work or on weekends.
Pass Cob Rock on the left at 6.6 miles. 100 yards further is a pull-off on the right for Blob Rock. 100 yards further there is a pull-off on the left side of the road (at 6.8 miles). Park, cross the road, and find a steep trail that heads directly up towards the rock. Take the left branch at trail forks; the right branch heads up to Security Risk.
Hiking time is about 10-15 minutes to the crag.
An easy path leads up around the left (west) side to the top of the rock; this is also used to descend from routes that don't have bolt anchors.
Begin beneath the obvious left leaning V- slot roof near the middle of the crag. An awkward mantle brings you into the short but technical crux - the narrow V-slot with a thin fingers crack. Good smears and bomber fingerlocks through the crux. Solid 10a. ...[more]
This place can get crowded on the weekends in the summer! If you go mid-week, you can usually have your choice of routes. Also, its a good place to go to introduce people to outdoor climbing...
-Chris Flom On Sunday February 3, 2002, an unidentified climber took a 100 foot fall to his death. He was considered an expert climber, but was not wearing a helmet. Whenever you climb there are risks, amateur or expert. He knew the risks and died doing what he loved. Hats off to you.
Jon - you're not kidding. I would avoid this rock at all costs during the weekends. We were short on time and went a couple of Sundays ago in hopes of doing a few quick routes. Major mistake. My girlfriend was climbing Last Laugh and almost had a rope thrown down on her by someone wanting to top-rope a 5.8 close by. We left after one route. This crag has become a mecca for beginner climbers looking for quality top ropes. Unfortunately, not all of them are too climbing savvy yet and are a bit lacking when it comes to basic etiquette (i.e. don't throw ropes on people).When I was at the anchor, there was so much yelling and confusion amongst the beginners that I thought someone was going to fall off. For a better and less crowded area, deal with the heat and try security risk.
Aside from the crowds, happy hour is a great place for some after work and quick routes. I've had great luck in early season.
I really love Happy Hour as a great place for after work climbing. I'm getting a little concerned, however, about the profusion of trails beneath the crag. Perhaps the Access Fund could continue its fine work in the area by establishing an "official" trail to the crag. In the meantime, I might suggest that folks stick to the slab approach across from the parking area that climbs directly up to the crag. This will minimize erosion on the hillside.
Does anybody know if the closure on Happy Hour is still in effect? I drove by there today and I saw people on the rock. I also saw people on Blob Rock the other day. But I did see a sign still up on The Riviera. Is this closure only for the Riviera or is it for all crags in this area?
In early June, Ron Olsen and I replaced all the rappel/lower hardware in the fixed anchors on this crag with 5/16" quick links and 3/8" chain links. In the process, we removed all smash (lap) links; the ones on the anchor of Grins were especially bad most likely due to the not-recommended practice of belaying and lowering directly through the anchors.
This effort was part of the American Safe Climbing Associations (ASCA - www.safeclimbing.org) Clean Anchors Campaign. They could use your support!
Is the crack directly left of I, Robot a designated route? If so, what is its name? It goes at about 5.4 or so. Instead of scrambling up the left side to set up a top-rope I like to lead this to get to the top. Come here on the weekends if you want to witness some scary and unsafe climbing practices.
Really enjoyed this rock. The guides claim there are some bolts at the top left usually listed as route 3, but I couldn't find any. Also don't get upset with us newbies who are TRing. Those of you aid climb and get there after we are aleady in the process of setting up, just ask if you can climb a route first. People like me realize that you are going to tie up a route a lot less than TRing.
Anybody know when the 2 big peace symbols were painted on Happy Hour? We drove past there today and I think they are in the Cheers vicinity and are probably 6-8 feet in diameter. Very obvious from the road. Makes you want to wring a few necks.
If these peace-niks on rappel had cajones, they would paint the modified Mercedes symbol on the Pentagon. Instead, the individual(s) have created a trite gesture of vandalism that is utterly devoid of meaning. Good job, kids.
The peace signs were there on Saturday, May 20th. They look really bad! Does anyone know how to get the paint off without damaging the rock? Happy Hour is one of my favorite rocks and I hate to see it damaged like that. If someone has experience getting paint off of rock, please let me know. Is paint thinner the best way to get this off?
Thanks to whomever took the trouble to clean the spray paint vandalism at Happy Hour on Sunday - I don't know if they succeeded in getting it off with the bucket of soapy water - but perhaps using a solution of ethanol might work.
Happy Hour Crag
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