DREAMER (III, 5.9) Green Giant Buttress, Darrington, Washington        topo

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Pitch 6 on Dreamer

Green Giant Buttress is an immense crag, one thousand feet high, with abundant cracks and slabs, but only a handful of routes. Anywhere else, Green Giant Buttress would be criss-crossed with dozens of routes. But here in Washington, despite all of its obvious potential, the crag is rarely visited. Logging roads end tantalizingly close, but with no trail, the buttress seems relatively remote. Those willing to struggle through brushy clearcuts and across unbridged streams will usually be rewarded with a Yosemite-scale crag all to themselves. All of Green Giant's obvious lines were climbed early. The big chimney system on the left, Avoidance (III, 5.8), was first, the crack system up the middle, Botany 101 (III, 5.8) next. With such apt route names, these routes certainly did not lure many climbers to Green Giant Buttress. But things changed. In 1979, several fine Darrington free climbs were established by Duane Constantino and Chris Greyell, including the classic of the area, Dreamer, a ten-pitch route taking a direct line of intermittent cracks and knobby slabs, with no pitch harder than 5.9 nor easier than 5.7, establishing one of the longest and most classic moderate free climbs in Washington.

The approach hike begins at the end of Copper Creek road. Despite a reputation as being brushy and difficult, the approach is fairly straightforward and not all that long, following an abandoned mining road and old trail through hemlock and fir forest and across Copper Creek, where Green Giant Buttress looms nearby. Once across a talus field, the route follows the right side of a stream to the base of slabby waterfalls, then takes a rocky gully through the dense slide alder to the brushy slopes below the buttress. It's not really as bad as some people say, unless you miss the gully and have to fight your way through the brush.

The route has been cleaned up in recent years, with a direct start added, and a more direct variation (Urban Bypass, 5.10a) to the third and fourth pitches that has become popular. To climb the direct version, scramble up slabs from the highest erect cedar tree to a ledge with anchors, then more or less straight up from there two pitches (5.7) to the second belay atop a flake. From there, the Urban Bypass connects the bolts straight up the slab; alternatively, traverse right onto the Safe Sex variation (IV, 5.8), then back left higher up to rejoin the route at the fourth belay. The next pitch has a 5.7 or 5.9 section right above the anchors, your choice. The sixth and seventh pitches are solid 5.9, and are complex and technical. In the words of Matt Anderson, who has probably logged more time on the route and variations than anyone, "they come high on the route and involve technical climbing skill, rope management, routefinding, and a tad bit more gumption than many parties have in their pocket when they get there." Assuming you don't bail before the 5.9 pitches, definitely don't bail after unless you're pressed for time. The route eases up above, with two fun, knobby 5.8 pitches and a runout 5.6 pitch to the top, where you get great views of the surrounding mountains, including Three Fingers and Whitehorse Mountains and Sloan and Glacier Peaks, to name only a few. Two-bolt anchors have been placed at every belay station, making it feasible to rappel the route, a much better alternative than the old scrambling route down the back side.

A seven-pitch variation start was added by Matt Perkins and partner in 1990. The route, Safe Sex (IV, 5.8 or 5.9), climbs mostly easier rock to the right of Dreamer, with better protection, making it a good option for those who don't feel confident leading runout 5.9 friction.


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