These are my favorite climbs in Joshua Tree up to 5.9! No distinction is made between sport vs. trad climbs or bolted vs. crack climbs. It’s all fun and games anyway, so I just picked the ones that had me smilin at the end. At first glance, it seems I gravitate towards the crack climbs, but there are a few bolted lines in each grouping as well. Routes highlighted in green are included in the Winger 60 Favorite Climbs guide. Depending on how the climbs are counted, looks like I’ve got about 28 routes that overlap with their list.
The routes are grouped according to grade, and listed in descending order within each grade according to how much I liked each route. I think it makes sense to compare routes of a similar difficulty. Accordingly, my favorite routes at each grade are:
5.6 and Under: Route 66
5.7: Toe Jam
5.8: The Flake
5.9: North Overhang
5.6 and Under
- Route 66
- Fote Hog
- Double Dip
- Mike’s Books
- Upper Right Ski Track
- Southwest Corner
- The Bong / Beginner’s One
- Diagnostics
- Gargoyle
- Nectar
- False Lieback
- Filch
5.7
- Toe Jam
- Buissonier
- White Lightning
- Geronimo
- Dolphin
- Leap Year Flake
- Leaping Leaner
- Let Your Freak Flag Fly
- Double Cross
- Double Dogleg
- Mental Physics
- Hex Marks the Poot
- Lazy Day
- Asian Fever
- Scrumdillyishus / Frosty Cone / Mr. Misty Kiss
- Lickety Splits
- The Swift
- Classic Corner / False Classic Corner
5.8
- The Flake
- Walk on the Wild Side
- Dogleg
- Breakfast of Champions*** (???)
- Bambi Meets Godzilla
- Cakewalk
- Catch A Falling Star
- Sail Away
- 200 Motels / Taken For Granite
- Gem
- Planet X
- Nurn’s Romp
- Dinky Doinks
- The Sound of One Shoe Tapping
- Beck’s Bet
5.9
- North Overhang
- Touch and Go
- Pope’s Crack
- High Strung
- Colorado Crack
- Popular Mechanics / Ace of Spades
- Invisibility Lessons
- Continuum
- Strawberry Jam
- Room to Shroom
- Orphan
- Alice in Wonderjam
- Crack 5 / Grounder
- Championship Wrestling
- Damper
*** this is the only climb on the list I haven’t done (just guessed the list position)