MTNEER

Just curious, were you refering to the 3rd or 4th edition of the guide?

Hi All, Yes Olympic Rock. Now, once all the jokes about portable hand holds and such die down, there is news. There is a new Climbers Guide to the Olympic Mountains due out in April. It will have, for the first time, sections covering Alpine Rock as well as Crags and Sport routes. There is some nice stuff here. For instance, in the Alpine Rock section is the SE Ridge of Mt. Washington. This is a many pitch, 10 hour route. There are several cragging area you have never heard of, that have dozens of obvious but unclimbed lines. Get the guide when it comes out and have some fun. After you have tried an area or added a route, go to olympicmountainrescue.org and provide feedback or route information. There is bouldering to be had for those of you hooked on that that particular addiction.

The OMR Website has the original date we expected to publish, but there was so much material and field research to deal with that the mountaineers gave us another season. The guide should be out sometime in April barring any printer disasters. Unfortunately, the webmaster wasn't part of the guidebook committee. Yes, the craggers get their own section. There is even some bouldering. We rely on you and your input to make the guide what it is. Please do provide appropriate information through the OMR web site: olympicmountainrescue.org

In response to PETMAC - There is no specific ice climbing section. We have updated the Winter Climbing part. There are some semi-technical climbs such as Winter Direct on Washington that are new. We had little input from you guys and ran out of time and energy to create an Ice Climbing section from scratch. The unit has a web site with a section specifically set up for input about guide book related things - new routes, problems with route descriptions, updates, variations and etc. The site is olympicmountainrescue.org. It is our goal to have this site be your updated reference between editions. So if you have information - share it with us. If we have sufficient input and global warming doesn't get too bad, maybe there will be an ice climbing part in the next edition.

Hi All, It's done!!! The manuscript for the 4th edition is in the Mountaineers hands. We expect that it will hit the streets in early 2006. Major changes - Huge revision of Bailey range (including GPS positions), Alpine Rock section, Crags and Sport Routes section, many new and updated routes throughout the range. Support Olympic Mountain Rescue and purchase a copy when they arrive at your local store.

The Mountaineers Publishing moves in mysterious ways. A SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) of when the 4th edition of the Climbers Guide to the Olympic Mountains would out is before the climbing season of '06. Several proofs have to be reviewed before the presses run.

This occures when granite climbers are trying to master the subtle nature of sandstone climbing.

Mission Creek Canyon is the same formation as Peshastin (Chumstick Formation). The are a few multipitch routes and many towers and more slabs. Swauk Pinnacles is on Blewett Pass Generally good stone and some really cool towers. Missiion Creek Canyon is straight south of Cashmere about 9 miles. Swauk Pinnacles is 2.25 miles west of Blewett pass. From the parking are you have to hike about a quarter of a mile. In both bolts predominate but there is some trad.

Hi All, I am currently working on a Climbing Guide to the sandstone Climbing areas at the center of Washington. Swauk Pinnacles, Mission Creek Canyon and etc. Some of you probably know that The geographic center of Washington in somewhere in Mission Creek Canyon. I am interested in information on Derby Canyon. Anyone climb there? Do you have some information on that area? I would be interested hearing about it. Thanks Dale

The road numbers are somewhat deceptive. The 56 spur is what appears to be the main road. The 50 road dwindles away to nothing in a little less than a mile. The Y occurs at a large switchback in the road where you can look west from the outside of the turn and see some of the Crag of Mt. Crag. The correct road continues on the west side. With 4WD you can easily drive to the logging platform (now that we cleaned it up a bit). Route finding is something of an issue in getting to the good stuff of the crag. It took me two tries to find the way over the subsiderary ridge. There may be a way to contour into the valley on the east side of the crag from the end of the road, but I haven't tried it with any determination. There is also a route in from the northwest, which I have not found, but doesn't seem to be any easier.

Hi All, Saturday, Tony, John and I went to check out Sore Thumb. This tower erupts out of an already steep ridge. Unfortunately, we were about 300 ft. above the cloud base and so were in swirling fog and drizzle. I’m not sure whether it would have been more or less intimidating if it had been clear. The quality of the rock is quite good but it was too wet to climb that day. See access directions below. Sore Thumb 3825 ft (1166m) Sore Thumb is an astonishing tower at the end of a tall thin ridge. It is at fairly high altitude, so the access melts out in the late spring or early summer (often sometime in June). Geology: The climbing area is intrusive basaltic rocks set in the midst of sedimentary rocks of the Western Olympic Lithic assemblage. Notable on the southern aspect of the ridge, is large outcrop of conglomerate rocks with well rounded pebbles of a large variety of stone. Access: From Port Angeles, drive west 30 miles to USFS 2918. This is a few miles past the Sol Duc Hot Springs road. Turn left (south) onto 2918 and proceed 3.7 miles to USFS 2931. Turn right (SE) onto 2931 and proceed 5.9 miles to the 200 spur. Do pay attention to your odometer. As of this writing, the 200 spur was unmarked. You will find it in a saddle with broad turnouts just before 2931 starts a descent. The 200 spur is not for low slung vehicles, but it is an exhilarating drive. The spur ends in 2.4 miles. At the NW side of the small parking, find a way trail on the west side of the ridge. This arduously constructed trail follows the ridge top to the south face of Sore Thumb. Descend to the east to the airy trail leading around the east face. The East Face holds a number of routes but many possibilities exist on other faces as well. Map Resources Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park (Olympic Peninsula Recreation Map): Published Jointly by Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park.. Available at all ranger stations and visitor centers. USGS 7.5 minute series: Slide Peak On Sunday, John and I went to The Hamma Hamma River Rocks with the intent of finishing Edge Of Space on Black Wall. The recent rains left the route too wet and slimy to finish. So we concentrated on other parts of Black Wall. John pioneered the thin crack in the center of the wall on top rope. He found that it goes easier than we feared but still at a high standard. He gave it the working name of Knobs End. We then decided to try the large ramp on the right margin of Black Wall. It was also a little damp but not bad by early afternoon. The damp ramp got twisted in with an old rock and roll song and the name was born. The rope fouled when we tried to pull it down, so John got to lead the second ascent. It was an especially fine lead as it was his first. Route description below. Rampa Dampa Ding Dong - 5.5, pro to 1.5 in. On the right margin of Black Wall, find a large left going ramp with a large open book on the right. The corner of the open book provides plentiful easy pro. Thin cracks in the face near the top. Chains in place at top. 50 meter rope needed for rappel. First Ascent: Dale Boyle & John Stieber 2004.

Thanks - Tis done. MTNEER

Hi All Below is the first draft of the Low Pass (Gladys Lake) , Lillian Lake , Cameron Pass traverse for the high alpine traverse section of the Climbers Guide To The Olympics Mountains. Those that are familiar with the current description realize it very minimal. The GPS waypoints are not filled in for this writing. Please review and comment on this description. Lillian Lake to Cameron Pass When planning this traverse one should take into account that Lillian Lakes is a quota area. A limited number of permits are issued for this area at any given time. This route is described from north to south, but could be done just as well in reverse. The traverse begins on “Low Pass” which is just SW of Gladys Lake. This pass may be reached either by following the Obstruction Point - Grand Pass traverse, or by descending to Grand Valley and hiking up to Gladys Lake. From Gladys Lake, hike briefly toward Grand Pass until a large meadow is reached just after crossing a small stream, but before the rocky ridges in the valley floor (wp?). Here you can see the large swithchback that ascends to the top of Low Pass. From the top of Low Pass (wp?) travel S while descending the W side of the pass. Traces of the Lillian Lake trail that was abandoned in 1949 can still be found, but are quite sketchy. There are a number of route finding errors that are commonly made when hiking to Lillian lake. The first of these is to descend too quickly and too far when leaving Low Pass. A moderate descent or following the traces of the old trail will bring you to a point about a third of the way up a large talus field. Here you have three options. The first is to cross the talus field and gain the crest of the rocky ridge on the other side. A point can be found to get off the ridge to the south and descend the broad grassy west facing slope. The second option, is to cross the talus field aiming toward a talus covered bench that is both near the rocky ridge, and the lower margin of the talus field. Descending SW from the bench you can find a narrow sloping passage between the toe of the rocky ridge and a nasty gully that parallels it. This passage will allow you to contour around the toe of the ridge and out onto the grassy slope mentioned above, but considerably lower. The third option is to descend into the meadow just below the talus field. The old trail likely traversed the top of this meadow. It is possible to climb out the upper right (SE) side of the of the meadow and join the second option just below the toe of the rocky ridge. This is quite arduous at best. The south margin of the meadow is, for the most part, impenetrable Alaska Cedar and brush. However, a good route can be found near the lower end of the meadow. Here the woods suddenly recede south. A heavily used game trail can be found in the upper left (SE) corner of the area. The game trail leads out to the grassy slope. There is a second meadow below this one that should not be descended into as there is no easy passage out of it. Once out on the grassy slope, an easy descent can be made into the huge, exquisite meadows of the valley floor. Many excellent camping options are available here. Contour across the valley floor crossing several creeks. Here the second major route finding errors are made. It is common for hikers to leave the west side of the valley floor too soon and too steeply. This does work, but entails much steep side hilling and brush. At the last stream, it may be better to go downstream a short distance and contour around as much of the two intervening ridges as you can, in meadow and open forest, before climbing up toward the broad basin holding Lillian Lakes. Once in the large glacier carved basin, hike to the lakes which are tucked high in the head of the basin using a minimum impact route. Good campsites abound around the Lakes. For many this will be their destination and they will return the way they came. To continue to Cameron Pass, hike to the scree/talus or snow slope south of the lake. Late in the year a good trail climbs this slope. This trail is easily seen from the lake in the midday sun. It is not so visible when shadows are on the slope. The trail/snow easily gains about 400 ft to a small pass. From the pass the views of both the lake and the Lost River drainage are spectacular. A good trail leads S across the west face of McCartney Peak and around the ridge down into the head of an unnamed creek drainage. This is a very pretty area of rock, streams and meadows. The trail gets a little sketchy here but still can be followed out of the drainage and up on to the ridge to the south. At this point, the trail vanishes. The urge to head for the ridge tops should be suppressed. Instead, continue a gently rising contour into the head of the next drainage. In this drainage you will encounter a few streaks of scree coming down the valley floor. Angle up to the SE across scree, meadow and wood. Getting to the ridge crest too quickly will require a significant descent to pass a deep notch in the ridge. From the notch, upper Cameron basin is visible. From the notch, a slump ridge provides easy travel S until a scree slope is encountered. Get as high as possible before launching out into the scree. A faint trail that leads above the stunted trees may prove helpful. In dry weather, this is the most tedious bit of hiking on the traverse. Fortunately, it is fairly short. Once clear of the scree, you can fully indulge the urge to head for the ridge top as you hike S to Cameron Pass. From Cameron Pass, a party can continue by trail to make a loop back to Obstruction Point via Cameron Creek and Grand Pass, or continue S through Lost Pass and into the Dosewallips. Strong fast parties can easily make Lilian Lakes in one day from Obstruction Point. Less strong parties or ones that want to enjoy meadows in the floor of the Lillian River valley should allow 1.5 days or more. The section from Lillian Lakes to Cameron Pass should be allowed a full day, assuming you didn’t want to stop in one of these wonderfully isolated upper drainage areas.

Hi All Below is the first draft of the Low Pass (Gladys Lake) , Lillian Lake , Cameron Pass traverse for the high alpine traverse section of the Climbers Guide To The Olympics Mountains. Those that are familiar with the current description realize it very minimal. The GPS waypoints are not filled in for this writing. Please review and comment on this description. Lillian Lake to Cameron Pass When planning this traverse one should take into account that Lillian Lakes is a quota area. A limited number of permits are issued for this area at any given time. This route is described from north to south, but could be done just as well in reverse. The traverse begins on “Low Pass” which is just SW of Gladys Lake. This pass may be reached either by following the Obstruction Point - Grand Pass traverse, or by descending to Grand Valley and hiking up to Gladys Lake. From Gladys Lake, hike briefly toward Grand Pass until a large meadow is reached just after crossing a small stream, but before the rocky ridges in the valley floor (wp?). Here you can see the large swithchback that ascends to the top of Low Pass. From the top of Low Pass (wp?) travel S while descending the W side of the pass. Traces of the Lillian Lake trail that was abandoned in 1949 can still be found, but are quite sketchy. There are a number of route finding errors that are commonly made when hiking to Lillian lake. The first of these is to descend too quickly and too far when leaving Low Pass. A moderate descent or following the traces of the old trail will bring you to a point about a third of the way up a large talus field. Here you have three options. The first is to cross the talus field and gain the crest of the rocky ridge on the other side. A point can be found to get off the ridge to the south and descend the broad grassy west facing slope. The second option, is to cross the talus field aiming toward a talus covered bench that is both near the rocky ridge, and the lower margin of the talus field. Descending SW from the bench you can find a narrow sloping passage between the toe of the rocky ridge and a nasty gully that parallels it. This passage will allow you to contour around the toe of the ridge and out onto the grassy slope mentioned above, but considerably lower. The third option is to descend into the meadow just below the talus field. The old trail likely traversed the top of this meadow. It is possible to climb out the upper right (SE) side of the of the meadow and join the second option just below the toe of the rocky ridge. This is quite arduous at best. The south margin of the meadow is, for the most part, impenetrable Alaska Cedar and brush. However, a good route can be found near the lower end of the meadow. Here the woods suddenly recede south. A heavily used game trail can be found in the upper left (SE) corner of the area. The game trail leads out to the grassy slope. There is a second meadow below this one that should not be descended into as there is no easy passage out of it. Once out on the grassy slope, an easy descent can be made into the huge, exquisite meadows of the valley floor. Many excellent camping options are available here. Contour across the valley floor crossing several creeks. Here the second major route finding errors are made. It is common for hikers to leave the west side of the valley floor too soon and too steeply. This does work, but entails much steep side hilling and brush. At the last stream, it may be better to go downstream a short distance and contour around as much of the two intervening ridges as you can, in meadow and open forest, before climbing up toward the broad basin holding Lillian Lakes. Once in the large glacier carved basin, hike to the lakes which are tucked high in the head of the basin using a minimum impact route. Good campsites abound around the Lakes. For many this will be their destination and they will return the way they came. To continue to Cameron Pass, hike to the scree/talus or snow slope south of the lake. Late in the year a good trail climbs this slope. This trail is easily seen from the lake in the midday sun. It is not so visible when shadows are on the slope. The trail/snow easily gains about 400 ft to a small pass. From the pass the views of both the lake and the Lost River drainage are spectacular. A good trail leads S across the west face of McCartney Peak and around the ridge down into the head of an unnamed creek drainage. This is a very pretty area of rock, streams and meadows. The trail gets a little sketchy here but still can be followed out of the drainage and up on to the ridge to the south. At this point, the trail vanishes. The urge to head for the ridge tops should be suppressed. Instead, continue a gently rising contour into the head of the next drainage. In this drainage you will encounter a few streaks of scree coming down the valley floor. Angle up to the SE across scree, meadow and wood. Getting to the ridge crest too quickly will require a significant descent to pass a deep notch in the ridge. From the notch, upper Cameron basin is visible. From the notch, a slump ridge provides easy travel S until a scree slope is encountered. Get as high as possible before launching out into the scree. A faint trail that leads above the stunted trees may prove helpful. In dry weather, this is the most tedious bit of hiking on the traverse. Fortunately, it is fairly short. Once clear of the scree, you can fully indulge the urge to head for the ridge top as you hike S to Cameron Pass. From Cameron Pass, a party can continue by trail to make a loop back to Obstruction Point via Cameron Creek and Grand Pass, or continue S through Lost Pass and into the Dosewallips. Strong fast parties can easily make Lilian Lakes in one day from Obstruction Point. Less strong parties or ones that want to enjoy meadows in the floor of the Lillian River valley should allow 1.5 days or more. The section from Lillian Lakes to Cameron Pass should be allowed a full day, assuming you didn’t want to stop in one of these wonderfully isolated upper drainage areas.

Hi All, Ann & I went to the Jefferson Lake area this past weekend. Saturday was pretty damp so we worked on mapping and cataloging the Jefferson Lake boulder field. Sunday was clear and warm so we worked on Jefferson Creek Wall. The “in progress” route on the central wall was still too wet to finish, so looking around, we noted that there were several other lines that we could do and were dry. We chose one on the SE spur, and did it onsight, cleaning and bolting on lead. There could be several more pitches but none as steep. Information about this area below. Jefferson Lake Area The Jefferson Lake area offers something for a variety of climbing styles. Just before the Lake there is an interesting and fun boulder field. Just after the lake, and beside Jefferson Creek is a cliff that offers some pleasant climbs. Just above this and around the corner is the astonishing and intimidating north face of Mt Washington. Road Log in miles 0 Junction of US 101 and USFS 25 (Hamma Hamma Recreation Area) 6.45 Junction of USFS 25 and USFS 2480 8.65 Junction of USFS 2480 and USFS 2401 10.1 Undeveloped basalt rocks with interesting side canyon 10.4 Undeveloped rock with white side canyon cliffs 12.7 Half Loaf Rock (undeveloped) 14.8 Boulder Field 15.3 Jefferson Lake 17.0 Jefferson Creek Wall Access: From US 101 follow the Hamma Hamma River road USFS 25 to the USFS 2480. Turn sharply left onto the gravel USFS 2480 road. In 2.2 mi. turn right onto USFS 2410. All the sites are at the road side on 2410. Jefferson Lake Boulder Field Surprisingly little development of this boulder field has been done. There are eight large boulders and several smaller ones. Not all of the boulders are appropriate for crash pad use and so a few boulders have bolts in place. All boulders have an easy walk off/down climb. Boulders are listed from the northeast to the southwest. Red Head - Enjoyable south face. Easy down climb on SW corner. One bolt. The Prow - Hard east face, easier northwest corner. Walk off south. Flat top. Two bolts in place. Amphitheater - Impressive west face. Easy access to top from the east. One bolt. Spear - Nice West face. North side easy. Road House - Right beside the road on the north side. South face has many options. Walk off north side. One bolt Sleeper - Beside the road on south side. Doesn’t look like much but overhung SW face has some very hard possibilities. Imperial Cruiser - West face holds some classic boulder routes. NW face has possibilities but needs cleaning, South face generally easy. Access/down climb behind trees on SE Corner. Needs bolts. Yoda - Large flat top, hard west face. Walk off north. Jefferson Creek Wall Jefferson Creek Wall is a semicircular, pillow basalt wall, incised into the end of a rocky ridge. The two arms of the semicircle form the SE & NE spur ridges. The south side of the ridge offers even more walls. Trad protection is rare in the Central Wall area, so most routes will be sport climbing. There is a large boulder just south of the wall. Central Wall Route in progress SE Spur Blood for Oil - 5.7+, 7 clips & chains. Start climbing just to the left of the point where the SE Spur comes closest to the road. A series of small ledges take you to an alcove just to the right of a prominent knob. Chains are located here. NE Spur Good lines - no routes yet.

There has been a good bit of new development in the McCleary/Cushman Cliffs area lately, especially to the right of the Open Book Area. Since McCleary/Cushman Cliffs will be included in the 4th edition of the Climbers Guide to the Olympic Mountains, I would very much like to have new route info to include in this edition. You can provide the info on this site or at the olympic Mountain Rescue website: olympicmountainrescue.org Thanks MTNEER

Hi All, Brad and Claire joined Ann and I in Ellinor Towers this past weekend. We focused mainly on Red Tower although we did some exploration of the surrounding towers. There were way too many routes for such a small party to make much of a dent in. The south face of Red Tower is very clean and very steep. As you go around to the north side (either direction) it becomes less steep and less clean. We noted at least two routes that seemed quite good that we didn’t get to. One potential route at the junction of the south and east faces was particularly attractive. It is shaped like a large “C” and looks to offer good trad pro. The routes we did get to were on the South and SW faces. On the SW face Claire and Ann put up a pleasant short route. This route they called Hairy Crack - 5.5, pro to 1” & 2 clips. The route follows a right going crack until it ends, then angles up and a little left. The crux is getting off the ground. On the south face, Brad put up an excellent route that follows the obvious crack system. He cleaned and inspected the route on rappel. Then, after one bolt was placed at the crux, he lead this strenuous route. Calling one spot the crux, in this case, is somewhat deceptive, as the route is quite continuous in it’s difficulty. The route is Flett’s Violet – 5.10a, pro to 2”& 1 clip. Begin at the top of the rib just under the south face. Step across onto the south face and follow the crack system to the bench. Leave the bench on the left side and climb to belay bolts behind the dead tree. No one in the party could follow so it needs to be climbed again to verify the rating. To get to Ellinor Towers drive as you would to get to the upper Ellinor trailhead. Just prior to crossing the last creek (about 150 yards short of the trailhead); find a well flagged trail on the west (uphill side) of the road. This trail follows the southern margin of the clear-cut (north side if the creek). The trail passes through several Beargrass meadows that are just spectacular now. The flowers are not only an amazing sight but wonderfully fragrant. After about 15 minutes you will arrive at boundary rock at the upper margin of the clear-cut. Follow the trail from the north end of boundary rock uphill to the top of a talus slope. Red Tower is to the right. Red Tower is about 5 minutes from Boundary Rock.

Hi All, Ann & I returned to the Hamma Hamma River Rocks again Monday. We went for the Middle crack on Black Wall. It went much easier than I anticipated at about 5.8 or so, but the crux move is committing. As you know, Space One flew above 60 miles Monday, so we are calling the route Edge of Space in recognition of this achievement. The route is about 75% done, but since I have already put in a rappel station with chains, the route is usable now. You can cut across under the bulge to the chains. Pro is mixed, but mostly trad to 3 inches. The second pitch will follow the line straight up from the chains. The lower crack will probably go in the 11s. Now that the chains are in, this could be top roped. I hadn’t noticed it before, but just to the right of the lower crack, is a thinner crack that looks to be a 10 and protectable with trad. A short traverse from the chains would get you to a good place to add an anchor for this route. To get to Hamma Hamma River Rocks, drive 11.6 miles up the Hamma Hamma and there they are. We also took the opportunity to explore some other possibilities. At the Lower Lena trailhead we found a nice little wall that we just have to call Outhouse Wall. It is pillow basalt, but the pillows are quite large and often flat on top. There is a very nice bench running along the bottom of the wall. We didn’t have time to do any development. To get to the wall go to the right (east) side of the outhouse. Turn right (east) and walk about 50 yards to a pair of large boulders. At the boulders turn up hill and climb straight up the thickly moss covered talus to the base of the wall. 10 to 15 minutes hiking time. We also looked at a rock we are calling Vista Rock (it may already have a name). The views up the Hamma Hamma valley from this rock are just fabulous. The east side is pretty steep and clean. It is quite a large rock. I think it will be more than one 60 meter lead. The face is broken by a couple of benches. This may be a pretty cool thing. It certainly bears more investigation. By the time Ann & I got there it was 4PM, and in Monday’s heat we began to feel like bugs on a skillet. We bailed and went to find shade and a cold beer. To get to Vista Rock, Go to USFS road 2502 (0.15 miles short of the Jefferson Lake turn off). Drive 1.1 miles up the road. At about 1 mile you will enter larger second growth on both sides of the road. Look for a trail heading south (left) into the woods. Park here and walk about 200 yards to the top of the rock. Easiest hiking to the base of the rock is on the east side.

Many of you have noticed the huge walls on the west side of Mt. Zion. As a part of the survey we went up there Sunday. The results: 1. We found no easy way to the base of the walls. It is an hour to an hour and a half of rough hiking no matter which way you go. There is a flagged route up to the the large wall with the arched overhang. A lot of brush and blow down at the start. 2. The Rock - It is almost a conglomerate stone. Many pebbles in a matrix that varies unpredictably from marginal sandstone to hard dirt. This may not be news for many but I felt it needed to be validated. Perhaps in the future, someone will find that some of those lines that are so enticing from the road, will actually turn out to be really good. However, with the limited time available to me I'm going to move on to sites with easier access and and better stone. MTNEER

Ann and I returned to the Hamma Hamma River Rocks this past weekend. Mother Nature presented us with a parade, a parade of little rain showers. Since this was not a happy thing for rock climbing, we worked on access. We brushed out and flagged the route to Bubble Wall, both sides of haven Rock, and the west side of the rock with the large right going roof, all the way up to the chains. Haven Rock is the first large rock west of Black Wall, on the north side of the road. It has a huge overhang on the road side, which is a cool place to get out of the rain. Bubble Wall Access Route – Walk about 200 short person steps west of Black Wall. This will bring you to a place under an open talus field. You will find a trail nicked into the road cut and/or orange flagging. Follow the trail and flagging up the talus field and into the woods. A short traverse in the woods brings you to the base of Bubble Wall. From the base of Bubble Wall you can traverse to the right, which brings you under the white, west face of a formation we are calling the Visor. This may offer some climbing but the base is not a real comfortable area. Sunday dawned sunny. So, we tried the cracks on Black Wall. There are three major, right going, cracks. The top one is almost horizontal under the roof, and the lowest one has a pretty overhanging start. We tried the lowest and middle ones. All though the wall itself had pretty well dried out, the cracks were still a bit slimy. Clearly, the middle crack will go easily but needs two bolts. After backing off Black Wall, we moved 50 yards east to the smaller wall. We are calling this Frog Lily Wall for the abundance of Fritillia Lanceolata growing along the base of both walls. This is a really neat flower that wears camouflage. The flower is 1 to 2 inches across, but unless you know to look for it, you could sit down inches from it and never see it. We added bolts and chains to the route we prepped the weekend before. It is called Hummingbird Liberation – 5.7, 6 clips. This route lends itself to technique. Quite a fun route.

The directions for this area are super simple. Drive 11.6 miles up the Hamma Hamma and there you are. For routes on Black Wall you could just about belay from your front seat.

Hi All, We kicked off this season’s effort at the Hamma Hamma River Rocks. We had superb weather. It was still a little early for Black Wall (the big wall next to the road) as there was some water running on it. So we went one level up, to what we are tentatively call Bubble Wall (lots of basalt pillows). Bremerton John and his partner Jeff fired off a nice route there, onsight trad. John’s initial impression was that it was in the 5.8-5.9 range. A very nice effort. Sunday, Ann and I cleaned and prepped a nice 20-meter route on the short wall just east of Black Wall. It feels like it will probably go 5.7 or so. Then we added TR bolts to the boulder just across from Black Wall (River Rock) and to the last one upstream (the one with the right going roof route). The roof route is going to be pretty hard. When we left Sunday evening, I felt a bit like a kid being drug out of the candy store. This is going to be a great area. I learned a few things. The very black pillow basalt is very hard and bolts I had been using won’t work. So my bolt kit will change slightly. I confirmed to myself once again that, when attempting new route in the pillow basalt - hammer, knife blades, and Lost Arrows should be in your kit. Pillow basalts are rather grudging about providing pro. A season of not climbing makes a huge difference (had my shoulder rebuilt last year). We plan to go back to the Hamma Hamma the second weekend of May. After that, maybe some of the higher areas will start melting out.

The section of the Graywolf Ridge from Baldy to Walkinshaw is covered in the High Alpine Traverse section of the Climbers Guide To the Olympics. The upcoming 4th edition will include a few traverses over several summits on the needles ridge. If you do this traverse, input to 4th edition is welcomed. You may contact myself, Bremerton John, or the Olympic Mountain Rescue website -olympicmountainrescue.org

There are a number of fine cragging areas in the Olympics. Fortunately, only a few have been explored. So, those of us that are allergic to climbing things already done, have free rein. The McCleary/ Cushman Cliffs are an area that is in between. It has some exqusite areas already developed and some even better areas untouched. the only proviso is that you should expect to wear out a couple of wire brushes for a FA. To get there: Access: Travel west toward Staircase Ranger Station on WA 119 from Hoodsport to the ‘T’ with USFS 24. Turn left. In 1.6 miles, the end of the blacktop is reached. At 3.9 miles, find a parking area on the left (Lake side). There is an excellent wall by the lake, but the majority of the climbs are on the uphill side of the road. Find a trail across the road from the parking area, which divides in all directions. Follow the trails to to a plethora of fine climbs.

The High Alpine Traverse section is receiving a considerable amount of attention in the 4th edition. Some new ones will be added and we are very open to suggestions. We are introducing the use of GPS waypoints with this edition. Our requirement is that the waypoint has to be taken at the site, not picked off a map. By the way, the Baileys and Associated Traverses is being extensively rewritten. Mtneer