Berkeley Rocks
Indian Rock and the rest of the rocks in Berkeley offer
residents a unique situation where good quality toproping
and bouldering are available without driving long distances.
The Cragmont Climbing Club which became the Sierra Club
Rock Climbing Section started climbing at Indian Rock in
the 1930s. Dick Leonard published the first guide to
Indian Rock in the Sierra Club Newsletter the Yodeler
dated Nov. 13, 1939. This guide listed 12 routes from
class 4 to class 7(?). Dick also published a guide to
Cragmont Rock in the Yodeler on Jan. 19, 1939. The guide
to Pinnacle Rock was reprinted on Jan. 9, 1950, listing
first ascents by Dick Leonard, Jules Eichorn and David
Brower among others. Information about the routes on
Grizzly Caves (Grizzly Peak Rocks) was published in
Summit on 11/64. Even then the author, Edward Buryn
described the glass and junk at the bottom of the rock.
These series of guides show how rich the history of
climbing in the area is.
Indian Rock receives considerable traffic. The boulder
problems here are so dense that if you use a hold two
inches from another you are climbing a different route.
Due to the number of variations that are possible only
some of the routes are identified. Other rocks in the
area have a lot of routes but don't receive as much use.
They also have a higher percentage of more moderate
grade bouldering and toprope routes compared to Indian
Rock. On all of the rocks in the area there is nothing
over about 35' tall.
One suggestion for the visiting climber is to park
at Indian Rock, boulder there, and then walk to Mortar
Rock. Then walk on to Cragmont and Pinnacle rocks. That
way you could climb for a large part of the day.
