This page will include a variety of articles about climbing in Washington, including trip reports, area profiles, photo essays, historical perspectives, and occasional editorials. Climbers are invited to submit articles and photos for inclusion on the Features page. Please see the contact info page.

CLIMBING WASHINGTON'S MOUNTAINS    by Jeff Smoot An index of peaks and routes included and referenced in Climbing Washington's Mountains, including links to trip reports, route descriptions, photos, park service and forest service information, trail conditions, and more. This page and linked pages are in progress, so check back soon. read more

CLIMBING THE CASCADE VOLCANOES    by Jeff Smoot An index of peaks and routes included and referenced in Climbing the Cascade Volcanoes, including links to trip reports, route descriptions, photos, park service and forest service information, trail conditions, and more. This page and linked pages are in progress, so check back soon. read more

ROCK CLIMBING WASHINGTON    by Jeff Smoot An index of rock climbs throughout Washington state, keyed to the Rock Climbing Washington guide. This page will be updated often to include route descriptions, trip reports, photos, access information, corrections, new routes, and links to route and area resorces. read more

BOULDERING GUIDE TO WASHINGTON    by Jeff Smoot Bouldering has been described as "rock without risk." Yeah, right. Tell that to the guy who fell off a boulder problem and broke his ankle, wrist, leg, back, skull, spirit, etc. It is probably safe to say that more climbers have been injured while bouldering than while leading. The thing about bouldering is that when you fall off, you always hit the ground. Sometimes you land badly and hurt yourself. This is a guide to some of the best boulder problems and areas in Washington. It is a work in progress. I will be adding photos, topos, and problems as I go along, so stay tuned. read more

SELECTED TOPROPE CLIMBS IN WASHINGTON    by Jeff Smoot Bouldering has been described as "rock without risk," but I'd say that distinction is more appropriately applied to toproping. With a solid anchor and a good belayer, a rope from above eliminates nearly all of the risk from climbing. Granted, getting the rope up there might be more risky than actually leading the route, and you still have to contend with loose rock and such, but for the most part toproping allows climbers to push their limits by trying harder climbs than they think they could lead with the confidence that they won’t hurt or embarrass themselves too badly in the process. read more

ADVENTURE GUIDE TO MOUNT RAINIER    by Jeff Smoot An index of hikes, climbs, and winter routes included and referenced in Adventure Guide to Mount Rainier, including links to trip reports, route descriptions, photos, park service information, trail conditions, and more. This page and linked pages are in progress, so check back soon. read more

SUMMIT HIKES AND EASY SCRAMBLES    by Jeff Smoot My upcoming guide, Climbing Washington's Mountains, was originally intended to include a variety of summit hikes and easy scrambles. However, as the project progressed, it became apparent that to include most of the outstanding peaks and popular scrambles and climbs in the Cascades and Olympics, a majority of the easier scrambles and hikes would have to be left out. As a compromise, several popular and recommended summit hikes and easy scrambles from each region covered in the guide are listed below. For most of these peaks, a trail leads all the way to the summit. In a few cases, the trail's official end is short of the summit, but the summit is an easy cross-country hike or straightforward non-technical scramble. read more

WASHINGTON'S HIGHEST MOUNTAINS    by Jeff Smoot Like the 8,000-meter peaks of the Himalayas, Colorado's "Fourteen Thousanders," and the fabled "Seven Summits," Washington climbers have long aspired to climb the state's highest peaks, whether those rising above 9,000 or 10,000 feet elevation, or all of the high volcanoes, or whatever. Lately, as climbers have become more ambitious, the quest has been expanded to include the 100 highest peaks in the state. Only a handful of climbers has so far accomplished this feat, but the list grows longer each year as more and more climbers aspire to complete their 100th highest summit. Of course, this feat is complicated, not only by long approaches and difficult routes, but by the difficulty of defining which peaks comprise the highest 100. read more

URBAN CLIMBER: SEATTLE    by Jeff Smoot I wrote a brief article for Rock & Ice magazine's urban cragger department, about climbing and other things to do in and around Seattle. The article was published in the April 2001 issue of R&I. I was contractually obliged to give R&I an exclusive for three months from the date of publication. That three months is over, so I am publishing the article here. I have "improved" on the original article by including the original text, plus adding some better photos and links. If you're just visiting, or even if you live around here, you should find something here you've never done before. read more

WILLKOMMEN ZU HOLLE    by Jeff Smoot I am not proud - indeed, I am ashamed - to admit that I was, for three entire horrible, horrible days, the lowest of all known life forms: a Leavenworth tourist. read more

A Walk In the Park, Part 1    by Jeff Smoot A historical perspective of the first and second free ascents of City Park Index Town Walls, Washington I met Todd at Joshua Tree during the spring of 1984. This was before Todd had decided to become a self-aggrandizing media-hog, although he was admittedly up to something along those lines. Todd told me, and anyone else within earshot, that he was on a quest to free climb the hardest cracks in America. That was what he called it - a "quest". Naturally, I asked him if he was going to try City Park. He pressed for details, but seemed unenthusiastic when I expressed some reservation about whether it would really go free. (Either that or he had heard about our weather.) Todd didn't want to waste his time working a route that wouldn't go. After all, he was on a quest. read more

A Walk In the Park, Part 2    by Jeff Smoot Continuation of the City Park saga During the winter of 1985, Todd had a newfound sense of urgency that made it imperative that he begin working on City Park as soon as possible. It seems someone had told him that Alan Watts was coming to Index to free-climb City Park. Todd, of course, knew what Alan had done on The Stigma, and he also knew that Smith Rock was only six hours' drive from Index. In reality, Alan hadn't actually said he was going to come up and try City Park. I only said so to get Todd riled up. I honestly didn't care who freed City Park, or when. I just thought, since both Alan and Todd seemed capable of the feat, one of them ought to get his butt up to Index and at least try it. I figured Todd was still on his quest. I knew as soon as he heard Alan was going to try City Park, he'd race up from Wyoming to beat Alan to it. Imagine the infamy of losing the glory of making the first ascent of the hardest crack in the world to a scrawny kid from Madras, Oregon! Knowing Todd, he would be unable to resist the challenge. read more

A Walk In the Park, Part 3    by Jeff Smoot Final segment of the City Park saga For those who don't already know, Hugh Herr is a bilateral amputee. He lost both of his legs to frostbite in a blizzard. His story has already been documented countless newspaper and magazine articles, and even a book, so I won't repeat it here. Suffice it to say that Hugh had two prosthetic legs below the knee. He also had (and still has as far as I can tell) a strong spirit of determination. He had not let his disability stop him from climbing. Not only had he continued climbing, he had excelled at it. read more

THE "BIG CHIWAUKUM"    by Jeff Smoot Why did I climb Big Chiwaukum? Perhaps it was simply that the peak rose above 8,000 feet, adding a measure of respectability to an otherwise inconspicuous mountain. Or perhaps it was that the mountain was something of an enigma, barely mentioned in Beckey's guide, and not mentioned in any other guide or journal I could find, nor ever climbed by anyone I had ever met. Or perhaps it was that I was working on a guidebook and thought Big Chiwaukum was big enough, interesting enough, and mysterious enough to check out, for better or for worse. It turned out both better and worse than I expected. My dog liked it, too! read more

THE MONTE CRISTO TRIANGLE    by Jeff Smoot During one week in late August 2000, I climbed Cadet Peak, Columbia Peak, and Kyes Peak, the three highest summits in the Monte Cristo region of the North Cascades. It was an eventful week, not only for me and my climbing companions, but for the entire Washington climbing community, which mourned the loss of Michael Wessels, an enthusiastic climber who was killed in a fall from Monte Cristo Peak. read more

KEGGER’S LEDGE    by Jeff Smoot During the early 1980s, I fell in with a bad crowd of Leavenworth locals, including the baddest of the bad, Cliff Dangler. (His name has been changed to protect his identity, in case he decides to run for public office someday.) This was back in the days when Cliff rode a motorcycle and hung out at Das Berghaus bragging about his secret crags, long before Cliff became the decent, upstanding citizen he is today. Cliff is a different person now. He's downright respectable. So don't let anything in this story change your opinion of Cliff. He's alright. read more

GUNN PEAK SAFARI    by Jeff Smoot Gunn Peak is a striking rock peak rising above the North Fork Skykomish River valley just east of the town of Index. At 6,245 feet elevation, it is the highest summit in the vicinity of Index. I climbed it last summer with Morgan and Robert. We had a great time. read more

BONANZA PEAK-"WHAT A PAIN IN THE BUTT."    by Morgan Balogh Bonanza Peak, elevation 9,511 feet. This is the highest non-volcanic peak in Washington State and the North Cascades. We climbed it on July 7-9, 1995. All I can say about this peak is "What a pain in the butt." This is a true "alpine challenge." Bonanza is famous for its quality of rock. To quote Fred Beckey, "Rain or warm temperatures are liable to begin stonefall. In many respects Bonanza has something of the quality of the large peaks of the Alps and Canadian Rockies." Beckey makes this characteristic sound like a compliment. Come on Fred, stop beating around the bush and say it: the rock is broken, crumbling, all-around crap, just like the Alps and Canadian Rockies. read more