Cougar Land

Development has continued this fall season at Willow Canyon, aka Cougar Land. Pat and I have been climbing in the Bobcat's Den, and 5 new lines have been added. Pat did the FA of Hijacked Herd on the left side of the roof. Hijacked Herd starts in a large horizontal crack and climbs out jug pockets to a top out on rails. Sam T added an endurance line that traverses the lip of the roof from left to right. It's easily over 60 feet of climbing. I added 3 new lines to the cave: The Elk Graveyard, Remnants of the Herd, and Remnants of the Acid. I started projecting The Elk Graveyard last fall when we discovered the new world. It took numerous days of figuring out the most efficient sequence to link the climb together. Like most of my projects, this turned into an epic of falling at the end for several days before I finished it. A few weeks prior to my ascent of The Elk Graveyard, I did a climb called Remnants of the Herd. Remnants of the Herd starts in a pocket complex and climbs out more pockets and underclings to a feet first finish. The low start is called Remnants of the Acid and consists of one of the longest moves I've ever done on a roof, followed by a bicycle to navigate the next 2 pockets, a difficult swing, and then climbing Remnants of the Herd.

The Elk Graveyard FA filmed by Justin Bowen.

The Elk Graveyard First Ascent by John Cooper from Justin Bowen on Vimeo.

Remnants of the Acid 2nd Ascent by Patrick Fitts.

Remnants of the Acid from Patrick Fitts on Vimeo.