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Jocelyn Danna (not in Pennsylvania). Photo by Urša Krenk.

Name

Jocelyn Danna

Age

31

Years bouldering in Pennsylvania?

8

Using one word, how would you describe Pennsylvania bouldering?

Raw

Top five Pennsylvania bouldering areas?

  • Haycock
  • Mount Gretna
  • Governor Stable
  • Sunfish Pond
  • Emmaus Boulders

Top five Pennsylvania boulder problems?

Just five?! This list is ever evolving, but right now I’m going to say…

  • Casey’s Crack – This one ticks so many boxes. aesthetic, kinda gnarly, and a little bit scary.
  • Gumball
  • Jen Savage (I’m just addicted to that little jump move!)
  • Bokow (I will always have a soft spot for this climb, as it was one of my first obsessive projects)
  • Funky Fridays

Top five Pennsylvania boulder problem names, yours or not, and why?

  •  “The never ending biscuit”- Who wouldn’t want that? 
  • “Savage hand orgy”- a well suited name for a diabase classic.
  • “Kinesthetic Awareness”- is just a badass name for a boulder problem. 
  • “No bedlam”- I actually don’t know why I like this one, but I definitely do.
  • “Momentary lapse of reality” – Sending a project can definitely feel like this.

Favorite Pennsylvania stone type? Why?

Diabase. It offers a very unique and precise style of climbing, and if you are open to learning it, you will become a certifiable rock technician. 

Favorite month to boulder in Pennsylvania? 

November, or anytime it’s in the range of 35-55 degrees and not humid.

Why do you enjoy Pennsylvania bouldering? What sets Pennsylvania bouldering apart from some other areas? 

I really enjoy the difficulty of Pennsylvania bouldering (particularly diabase), and the technical mastery required to send many of the lines. It demands respect, humbleness, and dedication. Spending session after session blowing off a smeary foot or deciphering a cryptic sequence on an easy/moderate climb can be frustrating, but it makes you a better climber (and arguably a better person, haha). I find the problem solving aspect of many PA climbs to be very engaging, and the sends here tend to be very gratifying because of the mental, physical, and sometimes even emotional effort involved. I also enjoy the remote feeling of some areas. It’s even more of an adventure when the climb you want to do is hard to find, or if you are lucky enough to find a new one.

Willing to share one memorable Pennsylvania bouldering experience that embodies “community”? 

I’ve met so many great people since I started bouldering in PA that it’s hard to pick just one experience that would fit here. The time the climbing community came together to do everything they could to ensure that state game lands remained open to the public? The time a friend found new boulders and invited a group of us out for a day of lichen scrubbing and FAs? The time my friend Liz Arce and I hiked up haycock mountain in snowshoes after a snowstorm to clean boulders and build snow landings? Meeting a Fontainebleau local in the parking lot and then giving him a tour of haycock, or just running into an old friend out in the woods? Just writing this and thinking of these experiences makes me so grateful to be a part of the climbing community in PA.