The Country Club Boulders

Today was a gorgeous day for bouldering! Crazy, right?! It’s the end of January and I’m in MONTANA! I thought they got pummeled with snow and sub-zero temperatures this time of year?!

Apparently they normally do. The locals tell me that our current stretch of warm weather is not typical for this time of year so I guess I won’t get used to it. But I sure will enjoy it!

There are so many new bouldering areas for us to explore right now since we’ve only been here a few weeks. The options would feel overwhelming for someone as indecisive as me, but fortunately I don’t have to decide where we boulder.

You see, I have a free lifetime membership to Rob’s Really Fun Guide Service. Ok that’s not really a real guide service – don’t Google it – but bouldering with my husband Rob truly is like having my own personal guide.

Here’s how it works.

Once we decide we’re going to boulder outside on any particular day, Rob proceeds to pick a destination, then scours the guide book for the highest-rated problems that he feels will be in our range. (Or maybe he looks for dope problems first and then let’s that determine our destination? I honestly don’t know. Maybe he’ll comment on this post and fill us all in.)

At any rate, all I know is that Rob’s Really Fun Guide Service comes up with the plan and leads the way.

Just so you get an idea of what this looks like, here’s an old photo of him scouring a guidebook for us – check out that intensity! Sexy!

Rob’s Really Fun Guide Service hard at work!

My guide loads our crashpads, navigates to the designated parking locale (I occasionally assist here by reading the directions printed in the guidebook) and confidently leads the way down the trail to the boulder he has selected for us.

He even brings the psych! I mean, what more could you want?!

It’s really pretty great to have your own personal guide service and just show up as a participant. (I don’t even have to tip the guide…well, not monetarily anyway.)

For my part, I do pack the snacks and water, and lots of layers just in case. Oh and the try hard! Can’t forget that! We each have to bring our own.

Today my personal guide service chose to introduce me to the Country Club Boulders. It’s only a 10 minutes drive from our house. How rad is that?!

We absolutely love how convenient so many of the bouldering areas are here in Billings. I mean, they are literally right in the city! These are at the base of the Rims and the views are spectacular.

The trails are well-established making the boulders easy to find. Plus Whipper can run free. When the pup is happy, momma’s happy!

Clubhouse Boulder

We started out at the Clubhouse Boulder. While we set up our crashpads, put on a little music and dropped a layer, Whipper enjoyed munching on what we think might be some sort of wild wheat? Help me out here…what is this?

What is he eating?

Whatever it is, it must be pretty tasty because Whipper loved it!

We warmed up on “Slopers in My Face” – a V2 and the easiest problem on the boulder. Despite the somewhat sandy and sketchy top out, we both enjoyed it. Here are the slopers…in my face…and Whipper spotting? More like photo bombing!

“Slopers in my Face” – Clubhouse Boulder | Country Club Boulders | Billings, MT

Next up was “Slam Dunk” (V3) which promptly shot me down although I gave it multiple legit tries. That thing is hard! Or maybe it’s just that I’m not good at hucking. Regardless, I’ll come back for it. It’s part of defeating the Rimrock Dragon so I’m determined to send it! (The Super Sand Land guidebook is so fun – well done, Joel Anderson!).

We moved on to the problem I was most excited about trying: “McLovin!” (V4).

You know why I was excited, right? It’s not because it received 3 stars, although that does make it more enticing. I’ll give you a hint: my last name is Fogle…

You know, “Fogell” from the movie Superbad? He picks the name “McLovin” for his fake ID…Ok well you obviously haven’t seen it if you’re still scratching your head. And if you’ve seen this 2007 classic then my one word hint was all you needed to put two-and-two together.

At any rate, “McLovin!” took many attempts and the ponytail flew (as I fell) multiple times. But I finally got it! Man did it feel good to top that thing out!

Whipper was nearby to cheer me on as you can see in this photo.

“McLovin!” – Clubhouse Boulder | Country Club Boulders | Billings, MT

Rob and I had completely different footwork on this one, so I chose this photo to display the correct beta. The hand/heel match he was doing to get the terrible sloper up and right is totally bunk beta – don’t try it that way! – the heel comes later. Trust me, I’ve been doing this a lot less time than he has. Wait, what?! Moving on.

I had Rob take a video of my send which I almost decided not to add to this post because it wasn’t pretty. But then I figured, that’s life, right? Not every send looks effortless and styled. So here it is anyway.



“McLovin!” – Clubhouse Boulder | Country Club Boulders | Billings, MT

We both thought this problem was Superbad ass! If you go to Country Club Boulders, get on it! The movement is fun, and some of the holds are even pretty solid (Billings isn’t called “sand land” for nothing.)

Circuit Board Boulder

Next up was the Circuit Board Boulder. Four problems, V2-V5, and ALL with 2-3 stars. I flashed “Left Circuit” (V3) – one problem further to defeating that Rimrock Dragon – but struggled long and hard before ticking off “Long Lips” (V4).

Talk about a cryptic problem to decode. But we did and it was awesome! Isn’t that one of the best parts of bouldering – figuring out the beta and deciphering the movement? So fun!

I gave “Daddy Long Lips“, the V5, a few attempts, but that V4 took a lot out of me – not to mention some skin on my arms! – so I’ll have to come back to it when I’m fresh.

We considered hiking to another boulder, but by that point the sun was setting and a chill was moving in so we wrapped up for the day instead.

Bottom Line:

We will definitely be back to the Country Club Boulders!

Reasons you should go:

Easy Access and Proximity to town

Amazing Views

Fun Boulders with Rad Movement

You won’t defeat the Rimrock Dragon without bouldering here!

If you go, post a comment and let me know what you thought. Or if you’ve been, tell me your favorite problem or how to get a Slam Dunk out here!

Rock on!