Climbing at Horse Pens 40

Last December I got the opportunity to go climbing at Horse Pens 40 in Alabama with three of my good friends and wanted to share some of the wonderful experiences.

First off, a party of 4 was  a great size for this sort of trip. My buddy on the left (Reese) and his fiancée (Danny) met Sham (far right) and I in Texas and we drove to Horse Pens. The camping was awesome with water and fire pits. It was cold at night but the main cabin stayed open till midnight and we would go there and play cards and talk till it was time to climb into the sleeping bags. I recommend anyone who wants a semi-rustic experience for camping that is only 50 feet from the boulders this is the place for you.

Now Reese is a solid V5/V6 boulder'er and was sending some super hard stuff the entire time we were there including some of the classic lines of Horse Pens. I show a picture of Mortal Kombat which was this super hard slab climb that Reece was working on. We didn't have time to take our own picture since as this photo shows the landing was super sketchy and I give Reese much props for even taking that fall so many times.

I could go on about all the great sending that was done by my friends including our friend Danny who is all of 4 feet 11 inches tall and sent two of Horse Pens V3's. Instead I want to tell some about the climbs I managed to finish and some of the ones I left for next time.


Completed Climbs during our 4 day trip

Spirit (Heel Hooks to slab to crimpers)

Bumboy - V3 (The hardest V3 in the south)
Spirit - V3 (Photo on the right)
Earth Wind Fire - V3
(Featureless Slab with a great fall zone)
Twix Lips - V3
Never Trust a Mustach - V4
(Great heel hook hand match to a BIG throw to a tiny crimp then a long 20 foot hall)
Lady Slipper - V2 (Fun tall big holds)
Tic or Tie - V4 (Tough few lines)

Sandbox (I hated this "easy" V2 with the worst feet ever!)

Climbs left for next time

Boogie Wonderland  V4 (Uncompleted)
Sandbox - V2 (Worst climb in the south)
Hammerhead - V5

(One of the first climbs you see at HP, hanging upsidedown for 10 moves to a tall topout near the stage)
Popeye - V5 (Super hard moves on tiny holds in a overhung area to a rough top out)
Millipede - V5

(Climb near Bumboy...like trying to scale the back of a dinosaur)

Looking down from Hammerhead at Popeye

 December was a great time to go climb in Alabama. The air was crisp, you stuck to the rock like a magnet, it wasn't super crazy busy, and the daylight lasted till 7 or 8 pm.

The people that own/run Horse Pens 40 were really friendly and the price to camp was very resonable (15 dollars per person per night...I think). You are still close to a big city so if you need supplies it isn't a long trek but you are remote enough that you could spend a couple months climbing and camping away from it all.
I plan on going back to Horse Pens sometime in 2011 to Hammerhead, Millipede, and Sandbox for sure...and to explore the rest of the amazing climbs.