Moss Rock Preserve - Crag Beta

Location:
I think people will find this info pretty useful. My first trip out I got a bit lost.
The following map shows where you want to park to access the boulders.

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Do not enter the park next to the plaque, just follow the trail that leads up the hill parallel to the street. With a short walk you'll be in the park and you will see the rocks.

Guide Books:

By the time this is posted the new guide book for HP40, Moss Rock Preserve and Palisades Park should be released from Greener Grass Publishing [link] The book should cost $24.95 and is available online from the publisher and locally from the First Ave Rocks Gym in Birmingham [link] or local Mountain High Outfitters. The book was not available for purchase while I was at Moss Rock but I took a look at the advance copy of the book at the gym and it is definitely worth it if you are planning to visit HP40 too. If you really don't want to spend any money the Dr. Topo guide can be found online with some careful looking although I don't recommend the Dr. Topo guide as it is not very comprehensive.

Where To Stay:
There is no camping at Moss Rock Preserve. I was staying at a friend's place in Birmingham and making the short drive everyday I wanted to climb at Moss Rock.

Food:
I did all my eating in Birmingham. I recommend Dreamland if you are craving some BBQ. Golden Temple if you are craving healthy vegetarian or vegan cuisine. Lucy's Cafe is a good place to hit up for tasty sandwiches.

Wi-Fi:
There are plenty of places to get wi-fi in Birmingham but  my favorite cafe was Lucy's Cafe.

Moss Rock Preserve Bouldering! - Day 2

I didn't have too much planned for my last day at Moss Rock. My goal was just to tidy up the climbs I've been working on and maybe do some easy fun problems.

The Heart Problem V2

The first problem I did was called the Heart Problem. If you look carefully you can see that my right hand is in a heart shaped hold. It was fun and easy to find.

Scrutinizer V4 

After that short warm up I was ready for the Scrutinizer! Since I had the beta down and was well rested I got it in the first go! The climb is pretty straightforward except for the transition towards the end. Get a low right foot and do a left heel hook to make the transition.

Scrutinizer with the heel hook beta

V3

Doing the top out portion of a V4

A V4 climb that has been down graded to a V2 in the new guidebook...

There is a climb right next to the Scrutinizer that was a series of burly moves. I was initially told it was a V4 but apparently it has been down graded to a V2 in the new guidebook! If it is a V2 it is definitely the most burliest V2 ever with campusing moves.
That's one thing I'm realizing about south east bouldering, a lot of problems are being down graded in grade. Sandbaggery abound. Don't be too discouraged if you find a easy grade climb that you just can't seem to get.

Moss Rock Preserve Bouldering! - Day 1

It was good to finally be back outside bouldering! The weather was nice and I was ready for a good day of climbing but there was one problem. I had no idea how to get there! But Stephanie and Amanda from couch surfer came to the rescue! They called while I was going in circles and they not only guided me to Moss Rock Preserve over the phone but was going to come out and show me around Birmingham. Thanks to them I was finally back outside bouldering!

V2

I had the Dr. Topo guide that but I found it to be not too helpful. Luckily I met a local climber that was able to point me to couple of fun climbs.

 

V3

One thing to note for bouldering in Moss Rock is that there are many climbs where obviously good holds are considered off for the problem. For the V3 problem I believe one of the holds on the right is off. This made it hard to go around by myself and say I really climb any of the established problems I found. This was a bit frustrating but also liberating. It allowed me to just jump on routes without really worrying about the grade of the climbs.

V5 Sit Start, I did just the last portion of the climb.

Easy Highball, Probably a V1

 V3?

 Towards the end of the day couple of guys showed me a fun traverse called the Scrutinizer V4. It was a fun climb so I ended up spending probably way too much time on it. I had the front portion dialed down and I could do the crux end move without a problem but I had a hard time linking it all together. I must have tried it more than 10 times! I eventually decided to call it a day but promised myself to get the climb done the next day after a bit of rest. All in all a good day.