8 brave souls set out just as the sun rose on the last day of winter vacation to conquer the rocks of Echo Cliffs.
The journey there involved a wild ride up the scenic twists of Yerba Buena Road, deep into the Santa Monica mountains. This led to an equally adventurous hike/scramble/climb up and down the ridges of the Mishe Mokwa trail right to the shadow of the tall volcanic and sandstone “Echo Cliffs”. With perfect sunshine and just a hint of a breeze, the climbing was amazing. The spring admits might be new to USC, but they took to rock climbing like they had been doing it for years. Some of the routes which were crushed by our adventurers included “Ms. Pac-Man”, a short but interesting line up a edgy slab, “Xanadu”, a traversing climb on pocketed tuff, “Morning Glory”, a long route on varied terrain, and “Bushwhacked”, a steep 90′ long route.
Rock climbing wasn’t the only thing that happened on this outing. We had no less than four people discover that they were next-door neighbors, new friends were made, and scenery was enjoyed.
Despite a few bumps along the way and an equally curvy drive back, the whole crew made it out in one piece, having been given a fitting introduction to USC life – SC Outfitters style!