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Post by erick on Dec 15, 2016 15:41:29 GMT -7
Tomorrow were going to Bishop  and after the trip we are headed to the Simi Valley to visit some friends. We will probably only have a day to climb, and I know neither location is really a "destination", but if I were to visit one of these place which should it be? If your a local and want to play guide for a day Ill buy you beer. |
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Post by MarkAnderson on Dec 15, 2016 21:56:24 GMT -7
I've never climbed at either, so hopefully someone else will chime in, in which case, ignore me.
That said, I explored both areas on foot ~10 years ago. At that time, Malibu was much easier to access. It's in a proper park with good trails and such (although I think you may have to get around seasonal bodies of water to access some crags). Echo is more wild, was not easy to find, and involved a bit of mild bushwhacking.
The climbing at Malibu looks much more like gym climbing (shorter but steeper). Echo looks more Smith-like; think The Dihedrals, but with may more pockets (I think the rock at both places is "castic flow" or something, which is similar to tuff in terms of its geology, but its way softer and much more pocketed. Very similar to Enchanted Tower in NM in case you've ever been there). The lines at Echo look more impressive/inspiring, but more involved. Echo has chipped routes. I don't know about Malibu. If I had one day, I'd probably go to Malibu simply because it seems less complicated.
[Edit to add, after thinking about this some more, and checking the comments on MP, it turns out I have climbed at Echo. I must be getting old, haha. My recollection is that we went so I could try Power of One, but we didn't go back for whatever reason, probably because I thought the route was too hard for the amount of time I had]
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