boulder

In the face of constant negative prognostications and outright attacks by pundits and politicos of all stripes, how is it that California, like Sisyphus, keeps pushing such a giant boulder up an ever-growing mountain?

"There was a huge bang and a horrible screeching sound. Next thing we knew, we were under huge boulders, stuck without anywhere to go," he says.

Crews placed 5,900 tons of large boulders, known as riprap, along the rail, which are intended to absorb flowing water and stabilize potential runoff that may obstruct the rail.

There are several boulders in the first mile of the hike, including one area where you can scramble about just under half a mile in.

Climbing, which had four medal events in Paris, will have six in L.A. by splitting the previously combined disciplines of boulder and lead in addition to speed climbing.