We spent days climbing in Horse Pens 40, Rocktown, and The Stone Fort [Little Rock City] and also visited some less popular areas like Zahnd and Laurel Falls. Horse Pens is probably my favorite climbing area in the country. The rock there is perfect and forms the craziest bulbous features that are tons of fun to climb on. Everywhere you turn there seems to be another classic problem, whether it be an amazing tennis shoe highball or a seemingly impossible slab. Plus, the area is one of the most climber-friendly places I have ever visited. The Schultz family owns the place and has a great operation set up that welcomes climbers with open arms. The concentration of the problems there is another plus and I love this about the place. I often have the most fun when I devote an entire day to running around and climbing as many problems as I can, and Horse Pens is perfect for that. Still, I am always humbled when I climb there, as I usually spend a good chunk of my time falling off problems that I think I should be able to do. The climbing style required for southern sandstone is markedly different than that needed for Colorado granite. While Colorado climbing usually involves lots of crimping (one of my strengths), the South is all about slopers (one of my weaknesses). But climbing at Horse Pens forces me to be a better climber. It makes me focus on body position and finding the middle ground between trying too hard and not trying hard enough. It makes me pay attention to and trust my feet and forces me to be creative in my movement. Most importantly, climbing in Horse Pens reminds me that moving over rock is one of the most fun experiences a person can have.

It was very neat for me to return to Horse Pens more than seven years after first visiting the area. When I was younger, I thought that this place was the end all of bouldering and couldn’t imagine anything better. After traveling around to various areas since those initial visits, my opinion of Horse Pens is essentially the same. To me, it is still one of the best bouldering areas in the country (and maybe the world? More on that after visiting Europe…) If you are looking or an ego boost or an abundance of liberally graded problems, Horse Pens is not the place to go. But if you love climbing and want to have a great time doing it, I highly recommend heading that way sometime.