Stoney Point: Portrait of an American Crag

“When you grab an edge at Stoney, you’re touching a hold Royal Robbins caressed. When you step on a hold, you could be adding your boot scum to that of Bob Kamps. When you peel off Boulder 1 and land in the dirt, you’re thumping where Yvon Chouinard did.” —John Sherman, Stone Crusade

In late 2005, when I was a senior at the University of Southern California, new to rock climbing and greener than Gumby, those words would have meant nothing to me. Royal Robbins? Bob Kamps? Who are those guys? If you told me that Robbins climbed the first 5.9 in the country, or that Kamps put up some of the first 5.11s, I might have retorted, “5.11? Big deal. everyone climbs that grade.” Chouinard? He was that surfer guy who started Patagonia in my hometown of Ventura—was he a climber?

Ignorant as I was about climbing’s heritage, I never would have guessed that few crags in America could compare in richness of history to my local crag, Stoney Point.

Located roughly 15 miles northwest of the Hollywood sign, Stoney Point’s graffiti-stained cliffs rise above the town of Chatsworth like an ancient rampart. From Stoney’s modest peak, the entire San Fernando Valley is visible—a grid of streets, giant shopping centers, and beat-down storefronts stretching as far the eye can see. Almost 10 million people live within a half-hour drive, and with more than 300 days of annual sunshine, Stoney Point sees more traffic on a weekend than some crags do all season. The short cliffs and plentiful boulders have served as Los Angeles’ free outdoor climbing gym for more than 80 years, and some of the most prominent climbers in our sport got started here.

The rock quality at Stoney Point isn’t exactly world-class. The sandstone is too soft for sport climbing, and boulder problems change character on a regular basis as holds break. There are a handful of leadable trad climbs littered around the park, but most climbers spend their time bouldering and toproping. Though soft, the unique sandstone here produces a wide variety of interesting features, and just about any style of free climbing can be practiced.

Some are quick to hate on the broken glass, graffiti, and sometimes chossy rock, but those willing to put aside their preconceptions and climb classic, sandbagged problems in a historic setting will soon understand how Stoney Point earned its place in the history books.

As a young novice scumming up Boulder 1’s finest warm-ups with footwork akin to a newborn moose, I had no clue that climbers had been training on that same rock in the early 1930s. At that time, Stoney Point was the laboratory for the Sierra Club’s pioneering efforts to refine the latest in modern roped climbing and belaying techniques.