Oregon Washington Columbia River Gorge Cliff Walls?!?!

[boaz]

I am sure many of you have driven down the Columbia River Gorge either on I84 or on HWY 14 and thought about climbing all the cliffs that line the river...

I am wondering if anyone has climbed any or if there is info out there for why no one has yet. I know there is some climbing around The Dalles and horsethief butte. But i am talking about all the other cliffs that run from Arlington to Hood River. 

I imagine that being so close to the highway is a safety concern. Both for falling rocks and driver onlooking. There are plenty of places that are off the highway too though. Is that all that's stopping us? Is it protected land? Owned by who? Outside of just going and seeing who stops me and says whatever does anyone have some beta or input?

[dyerh]

I think I know what your looking at and I think that the main reason no one really climbs there is because of how bad the rock quality is. Lots of loose rocks and you can plan on doing some landscaping if you do go up. I had a friend try and climb Cougar Rock which is somewhat known, theres at least info on it, near Multnomah Falls and route finding was disasterous, their rope was covered in soot from the Eagle Creek Fire, and they actually turned around because a loose block fell on his partner, he was VERY lucky to escape with some deep bruises and scrapes. And you can expect that and alot more if do some adventure climbing there. There are a few kind of developed areas like Ozone, Rooster Rock, theres a few routes up Crown Point, and a few road side boulders, but one could say there’s some potential. It also rains alot especially right now, occasionally snows in the upper reaches of the gorge so not ideal. As for land ownership I have no idea. Theres a posibility there could be a few trip reports somewhere on here.

Best of luck to you 

[pcg]

Gorge Classic Climbs, Portland Rock Climbs, and Northwest Oregon Rock

all by Tim Olson

 

[JosephH]

Actually, back in the '90's a pair of guys who were both climbers and windsurfers hit pretty much everything climbable from Mosier to Maryhill on both sides of the river. Given the number of newly established Gorge crags, new Mt. Hood vicinity crags, Beacon, and Trout Creek I'm not sure why anyone would bother with most of the bits of climbable Gorge rock scattered about. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by JosephH

[Off_White]

Joseph, I submit to you that there is one reason, and one reason alone: Names In the Guidebook.