This page is a supplement to Rock Climbing Washington
, my guide to selected rock climbs in Washington. This page will be updated often to include route updates, comments and corrections to the guide, access information, as well as links to
trip reports, photos, and other online rock climbing resources. If you would like to order this guide, please go to the Books page for ordering information.
Rock Climbing Routes - Alphabetical Index to Links
Rock Climbing Areas - Keyed to Rock Climbing Washington
Climbing Route Links
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Climber on Godzilla
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- Clint Cummins has scanned his old Index guidebook, a great resource for looking up old, obscure routes and with good topos of all routes done through 1993 or so. This is a great resource for
Index climbers. If you see some old mossy, dirt-filled crack and think you might bag a first ascent, check Clint's guide first.
- Darryl Cramar's guide, Sky Valley Rock, is available in stores. It covers all of the routes at Index, plus Static Point, Zeke's Wall, Snoqualmie Pass, Ramone Rock,
Holoman Ridge, and some of the alpine rock routes on Index, Persis, Baring, and Gunn. It is a detailed and comprehensive guide. My only criticisms have to do with Darryl's
failure to give me credit for some first ascents, and the usual complaints about Index ratings. But aside from my petty gripes, it is a good guide and you should get a copy if
you plan to do a lot of climbing at Index or Static Point.
- Information about climbing in Darrington can be found at Matt
Perkins' web page -
http://www.seanet.com/~mattp/Darr/.
Matt has updated his page with great photos and topos of some of the best routes on Washington granite. This is a great resource for
Darrington climbers.
- The topo for Silent Running on page 95 of Rock
Climbing Washington is outdated
and inaccurate. A more accurate topo can be found on Matt Perkins' web page. According to Matt, the "meathooks" on this route reported previously by Micah Lauer are gone. The route is now said to be "a great route for the aspirant trad/slab leader" with some runouts that will "grow hair on your chest." Everything over 5.7 is reportedly well protected, with chain anchors.
- The topo for Dreamer and Safe Sex on page 107 of
Rock Climbing Washington is also outdated and inaccurate.
Matt Perkins' Darrington web page also has a very detailed topo of
these routes and the Urban Bypass (5.10b) variation.
- The Northwest Passage (10a) ** route is misidentified on page 97 of
Rock Climbing Washington. It is the route to the left,
starting with a crack. The route wrongly identified is a one-pitch 10c.
- You can download a guidebook to Mount Erie on the Climbers Home web site.
- There is an excellent online guide to Exit 38 (www.deceptioncrags.com), listing the many routes there and providing great graphics. Devotees of North Bend sport climbing and newcomers alike will appreciate this site.
- According to the DNR, the new trailhead parking lot and connecting trail to Little Si will be open by Spring 2002. The new trailhead will be located just off of Mt. Si road, a little past the existing parking area, on the left. Once the new trail is open, the old parking lot will be closed, and climbers should no longer use the private road to access Little Si.
- Matt Robertson has a trip report about climbing at Peannacle Point at Exit 38.
- I guess nobody likes Fossil Rock, or nothing happens there, because I have not heard a thing about Fossil Rock in years, and there is no web page extolling the virtues of climbing there.
- The Fossil Rock topos and map in Rock Climbing Washington (pages 186-190) are courtesy of Marlene Ford. I copied them from Marlene and Jim Yoder's Fossil Rock guide, with permission (or so I believed), but neglected to give credit where credit was due. This credit is supposed to show up in the next reprint, but until then, here it is. Thanks, Marlene and Jim!
- Click here for Beacon Rock State Park information.
- The USGS/Cascade Volcano Observatory web site includes this climb a volcano page about hiking up the Beacon Rock trail. Not much about actually climbing on Beacon Rock, though.
- I found this "interesting" and completely worthless web page about climbing at Beacon Rock on oxygen.com.
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Outer Space
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- Thanks to Lisa Therrell, Wilderness Manager for the Leavenworth Ranger District, for providing this update about access issues affecting Icicle Creek Canyon and the Stuart Lake trailhead this year.
- Viktor Kramar is updating his Leavenworth guidebook. If you have any route information, corrections, photos, or other useful input, please let me know and I'll pass it along to Viktor. Or you can
mail it to Viktor at PO Box 925, Leavenworth WA 98826.
- Here is a link to Eric Hirst's review of Leavenworth climbing and all things Leavenworth. I especially appreciate the
reference to "Smoot's dismal Washington Rock" guide (I think that guide was written by someone else, but . . .). Although dated, it still rings true in many respects. If you replace the 1994 fires with the 2001 fires,
it's pretty much the same as Eric describes it. (Except that the miniature golf scene has greatly expanded in the past few years.)
- Viktor Kramar and Dave Bale have developed a new crag in the Icicle Creek Canyon.
Dubbed "Pearly Gates," this crag features mostly crack routes in the 5.6-5.11+ range, many around 5.9,
with good anchors. At Viktor's invitation, several other climbers have visited, cleaning up the crag
and adding additional routes. The rock is white granite reminiscent of Donner Summit, said to be some
of the best rock in the Icicle. To get there, hike up Snow Creek Trail to the first switchback, where
a faint climbers' trail leads across the creek and follows cairns up the hill to the crag; about 30 minutes
to approach. For information about particular routes, click here.
- The pair of peregrine falcons that have nested at Midnight Rock in years past have not been seen this year, but the "ban" on climbing at Midnight is still in effect through July 31st. This is a voluntary ban, but the Forest Service appreciates it that climbers have honored the closure. The nest is on the ledge between Twin Cracks and ROTC, and climbers are asked to climb no routes above Dead End Ledge (includes Wild Traverse, Black Widow, Easter Overhang, Twin Cracks, ROTC, In Search of the Perfect Pump, Stevens Pass Motel, Wasp, Sting, Flame, The Dagoba System, Roller Coaster Chimney, Frog Suicide) while the closure is in effect. Signs are posted at the Castle Rock trailhead and on a tree near Midnight Rock. Please don't disturb the nest. (Thanks to Susan Piper for the update.)
- The fixed pin on the last pitch
of the Careno Crag Regular Route (5.10b) is gone. The pin ripped
out during a short fall, resulting in a 40-footer. However, recent reports indicate
the pitch is not too runout without the pin.
- The route reported as Lou's Jam in Kramar's Leavenworth guide is
Creek Crack (5.10a), climbed by Mike Jakubal in 1982. There are a bunch of other insignificant routes that were cleaned and
climbed up on the boulders there back in the early 80s. On the boulder just up from the real Rat Creek Boulder, on the slabby face above the creek,
are two routes, a 5.10a slab leading to a groove up the middle of the face, and a 5.8 groove on the right side. They are probably dirty now.
I gave info to Viktor Kramar, so maybe they'll show up in his new edition.
- The Flake Route (5.7) on Domestic Dome was climbed by Chris
Gentry and Jeff Smoot circa 1980, approaching via the unprotected 5.7+
slab shown on page 256 of Rock Climbing Washington. We certainly did not
make the first ascent of the flake.
- Tumwater Tower - Rock Climbing Washington
topo on page 231 shows the route starting
with a chimney. That is a different route. The standard route starts
from the notch and traverses the big blocks. Thanks to my editors at Falcon for screwing up that one!
- Matt Robertson has a trip report about climbing at Peshastin Pinnacles that includes
fair commentary on some of the routes there.
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Satan's Little Helper
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- Information about new and old routes at Vantage can be found at Bill Robins' web site,
http://users.owt.com/wrobins/. This is a great site, with excellent
photos and graphics.
- There is supposed to be a new guide to Vantage coming out soon. It was expected in June, then July, now August . . .
- A Department of Fish and Wildlife decal is required for parking at Frenchman Coulee climbing areas, where posted. According to the Frenchman Coulee Climbers Coalition web site, you can buy the decal at the Colonial Store in George, Washington. You can probably also get it at any place where hunting and fishing licenses are sold. The cost is $10, which is a lot cheaper than the $66 ticket that you get if you don't have one. Click here for more information.
- Red M&Ms was misreported as 5.11b in Rock Climbing Washington. It's 5.11d. Some people swear it is 5.12a. Maybe before it was bolted!
- Tangled Up in Blue was misreported as 5.10c. It's 5.9. Somebody gave me bad beta. So if you thought you cruised a 10c, sorry.
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Andy Fitz leads Ed's Jam (5.8), The Bend
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- You can order a guidebook to some of the new routes at The Cave and elsewhere on the Climbers Home web site.
- A Washington Fish & Wildlife decal is required for parking at Oak Creek. The decal costs $10, and is available at most sporting goods stores and wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold. If you don't have one, you risk a $66 ticket. Click here for more information.
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Rick Rice topropes Bat Crack (5.9), Minnehaha
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- Click here to check out Jim Speaker's online guide to Spokane rock climbing. Only 15 routes at Minnehaha and Tum Tum are covered. Jim's print guide, Spokane Rock Climbs, has beta on all the Minnehaha boulder problems.
- Marty Bland has a new guide out, "Inland Northwest Rock Climbs," covering a reported 600 routes and boulder problems in the Spokane area. It's in most climbing shops. Looking through the guide, and knowing just a little bit about the area and rock over there (expecially the limestone), it looks like Spokane has a lot of the best sport climbing in Washington.
- Bryan Burdo is said to be soon to publish a guide to all of his new creations at Mazama. From what I've heard, Bryan is going to turn Mazama into a sport-climbing destination. It has also been rumored that Bryan is coming out with a new, all-inclusive guide to North Bend sport climbing areas. Hopefully he will do that, since the Exit 32 guide is woefully outdated (unless he updated it and I just haven't seen it, which is possible).
- Matt Robertson has posted two trip reports about climbing at Mazama, one about Fun Rock and another about Other Crags that gives you a good idea of what that's all about.
- The Western Front Online published an article about Bellingham Rock Climbing. You can sure tell when a writer doesn't know a thing about climbing, can't you?
- Information about climbing in the Walla Walla
area can be found on Kevin Pogue's web site,
http://people.whitman.edu/~pogue/climbing_areas.html.
- From The Cougar Adventurer (9/29/00 edition) - Granite Point
Granite Point, sometimes referred to around [WSU] campus
as "The Rock", is only about 40 minutes out of Pullman,
on the Snake River. For the small area that it is, it offers
quite an extent of climbing levels ranging from 5.6-5.13a. All
of the routes are top-roped or bolted so no pro is necessary,
but be sure to carry plenty of webbing. The Rock is also a
popular place to hang out, swim, and cliff jump on hot days.
To Get There: Head out of Pullman like you're going to Colfax and take a
left on Wawawi Rd. Cross HWY 195 and stay on Wawawi Rd. until you reach the
river where the road changes names. Granite Point will be on your right. It
is the only piece of granite along this section of river and is hard to
miss.
- Thanks to Micah Lauer for providing a topo of Granite Point. There is a photo posted on Kevin Pogue's web site.
- If you are interested in a guide to artificial climbing walls in the Seattle area, go to the Books page for
details about my self-published guide, Pumping Concrete, which features the UW Rock, Marymoor Park, and Schurman Rock. A note: Schurman Rock is closed at present
while Seattle Parks tries to figure out how to either save it from erosion, move it to a more stable site, or rebuild it.
According to the park director,
it has been closed for over 2 years now, due to a large vertical
crack in the east face of the rock. Structural
engineers said that the crack is due to ground
depression, mass wasting and freeze/thaw cracking.
Because part of the problem with the rock is mass
wasting, that is the entire hillside is sliding
down, so the rock may have to be torn down and
re-constructed on flat ground. Thanks to Thomas Breit for
providing this information.
- Gordon Schryer has published a Climbing Guide to Marymoor Rock, a great resource for
climbers willing to brave the crowds and circus-like atmosphere of Marymoor Rock.
- Here's a link to a page about Marymoor Rock, which doesn't really qualify as a "crag" but
is a popular artificial climbing wall located at Marymoor Park in Redmond.
- A Washington Fish & Wildlife decal (now called a Vehicle Use Permit) is required for parking at Banks Lake and Potholes, as well as several other climbing areas in the state that happen to be on Fish & Wildlife land. The decal costs $10, and is available at most sporting goods stores and wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold. If you don't have one, you risk a $66 ticket. Click here for more information, including a complete list of all locations where the decal is required.
- Here's the Washington State Parks official Banks Lake page. It's actually Steamboat Rock State Park, but who cares? For information about climbing at Banks Lake, check Kevin Pogue's website.
- Here's a link to some photos of climbing at Banks Lake. These guys seem to have the right idea.
- Here's a link to a trip report about Banks Lake ice climbing for those who are into that sort of thing. Here's another ice climbing trip report.
Other Rock Climbing Resources
Nothing yet. Sorry!
Climbing Washington's Mountains
Climbing the Cascade Volcanoes
Adventure Guide to Mount Rainier
100 Highest
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