'Newbie' in the area...

[sherlock]

Hey all, I'm new to the area and wondering what some of the better crags are in the area. Got sick of living in Sacramento and decided to come up here. Interested in aid (maybe A2/3 stuff) and 5.9-5.10 trad lines. Looking at the 'Washington' guidebook by Smoot, it seems like there are many to choose from. Thanks!

[chucK]

Assuming "here" is Western Washington

 

Index

Washington Pass

Squamish (a more CA-scale drive but worth it)

Leavenworth*

Tieton*

Vantage (marginal but dry)*

 

Darrington's cool too, but it's a sport area mostly.

 

* actually on East side of crest so usually drier weather, but longer drive (shorter if you're based on the east side though)

[dalius]

If A2/3 5.9/10 is what you're looking for, then I'd say you've got a lifetime of climbing around here. For cragging I'd suggest hitting up Index(1.5hrs) and Icicle Creek (outside of Leavenworth, 2-2.5 hrs from seattle). They are both granite. They both rock. Index is a really steep cliff, with not all that much below 5.10, and plenty of aid possibilities. Icicle Creek, is a huge valley full of granite as far as the eye can see, with crags dispersed throughout. For some even more impressive cragging, drive up to Squamish, B.C., the little Yosemite away from Yosemite. It's about a 4hr. drive. This place has huge. Big walls. little walls, you name it. And it's all granite. You couldn't climb all the stuff in a lifetime.

 

Those are the best crags around here for what you're interested in. But then you have all of the alpine climbing in the cascades, and there's just way too much to list here. One place in particular that you might want to check out, though, is Washington Pass, on Hwy. 20 in the North Cascades. It's alpine climbing, but really close to the road, so it's almost like alpine cragging. Again, it's all granite (I'm totally biased and fully admit to that) and there are peaks and spires all over the place. The Libery Bell group has tons of stellar routes, both free and aid, as do the Wine Spires (Burgandy, Chianti, etc...) up by Silverstar.

 

There you go. A lifetime of climbing. Enjoy!

[plexus]

Hey Chuck,

 

Not to nitpick too much, but I wouldn't say Darrington is sport climbing, not the way the bolts are runout. Exit38, hell yes to sports climbing.

[erik]

i agree with chuck..it is sport climbing but with some flavor added!!!

 

 

[sherlock]

New aid technique...

 

Hey, at a local set of boulders down south I started trying a new aid technique for seams or featureless faces. Basically, the problem is that you can't really put traditional pro in and mashies/thinstuff/ just won't always work. What I've been playing around with is like frying ants. I took the plastic Frenel (sp?) lens out of an old overhead projector and used it to focus sunlight on the rock. The temperature rises enough to melt the rock in a small spot. Once it has melted a spot about the size of a dime, I remove the lens and quickly push a hook in. The hook sets in and the whole thing cools pretty quickly - and before the hook melts (though it probably loses its tempering). The whole thing takes just a few minutes and allows a placement that will hold body weight, though not much more. The benefits are that it is quiet, less ugly and takes less effort than putting in rivets/small bolts. Waaaay less sketchy than some of W. Harding's tricks. I rigged the lens up on a cheater stick with the hook and that seems to work pretty well, though you do have to be careful not to get any of the webbing in contact with the hot spot. Anyways, thought the wall-rats out there wouldn't mind a new trick. Of course, it does need sunlight to work, so WA may not be the best place to try it... But hey, anyone know of any good spots locally to try this trick? Any link ups between aid lines that would be juicy to try?

 

 

[Bronco]

Check out the N. Norwegian Buttress on Mt. Index.

[ScottP]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that granite crag in Renton.

approach beta

[dalius]

Sweet crag. Best of all, it's so damn close!

[catbirdseat]

sherlock said:

New aid technique...

 

Hey, at a local set of boulders down south I started trying a new aid technique for seams or featureless faces. Basically, the problem is that you can't really put traditional pro in and mashies/thinstuff/ just won't always work. What I've been playing around with is like frying ants. I took the plastic Frenel (sp?) lens out of an old overhead projector and used it to focus sunlight on the rock. The temperature rises enough to melt the rock in a small spot. Once it has melted a spot about the size of a dime, I remove the lens and quickly push a hook in. The hook sets in and the whole thing cools pretty quickly - and before the hook melts (though it probably loses its tempering). The whole thing takes just a few minutes and allows a placement that will hold body weight, though not much more. The benefits are that it is quiet, less ugly and takes less effort than putting in rivets/small bolts. Waaaay less sketchy than some of W. Harding's tricks. I rigged the lens up on a cheater stick with the hook and that seems to work pretty well, though you do have to be careful not to get any of the webbing in contact with the hot spot. Anyways, thought the wall-rats out there wouldn't mind a new trick. Of course, it does need sunlight to work, so WA may not be the best place to try it... But hey, anyone know of any good spots locally to try this trick? Any link ups between aid lines that would be juicy to try?

 

Most rock would explode before it melted. A nice tall tale though.