Static Point

[glen]

Anyone been up to Static Point recently and have info on if it's dry and ready for some climbing?

 

 

[Alex]

glen said:

Anyone been up to Static Point recently and have info on if it's dry and ready for some climbing?

 

Went to Static Point Sunday. Its as dry as a bone. We got sunburns, good climbing! I think the top of the fourth pitch of Online could stand a bolt replacement. There's alot of trash (shotgun shells) in the parking lot, so if you go, do your part and take a trash bag and take some of that stuff out with you.

 

 

[catbirdseat]

Can anyone tell me what is the earliest in the season they have been able to climb at Static Point?

[klenke]

Heck, you could have gone up there at the end of January (two weeks ago):

Snow levels for the showers this weekend are supposed to be as low as 1,000 ft, so climbing there this weekend would be problematic, not to mention simply getting there over 2,000-ft Olney Pass.

 

Note that this (resurrected) thread ought to be in the North Cascades Forum, not the Alpine Lakes Forum.

[mattp]

Can anyone tell me what is the earliest in the season they have been able to climb at Static Point?

 

If I remember correctly, several of the routes were put up in January or February. I've climbed there in December and February.

[To_The_Top]

Lots of precip in the area yesterday.

[shapp]

Bring a bike, the gate is closed till april

[bwr]

The gate was open on Saturday (2/12/05) - you can drive almost to the parking area where the trail starts before you get stopped by downed trees.

 

The hike in had some snow on the abandoned road, and none on the trail up into the woods. The rock itself was pretty wet and unclimbable with some snow at the base, but would have probably been great one day earlier after several nice days.

[klenke]

BWR: How much snow on the road at Olney Pass? Thanks.

[bwr]

No snow at all on the road all the way to the trailhead.

[shapp]

I called the PUD about the gate two weeks ago and they said it would be closed until April. I verified this twice. What is the deal with the gate? Is is supposed to be open or can they close it at any time?

[bwr]

Don't know what the deal is. At the registration booth there are three roads, and two of them were gated. The gated left one I think may be considered the continuation of the Sultan Basin Road (also FS6120?). The middle one (FS6129?) was open and is the one that heads towards Static Point. The rightmost one (Corona Mine Rd?) was also gated.

 

We saw no cars on the way in after the gates but did pass one on the way out, so we weren't the only people back in there.

Edited February 15, 2005 by bwr

[DavidW]

American Pie and The Corner were done on a sunny, snowless January day when there was ice in all the drainages but the rock was warm and dry.

[klenke]

I called the powerhouse guys down thattaway a couple of weeks ago (425-783-5549) to inquire about closure of the (middle) gate. He said it should always be open, but you know how those guys lie.

 

The left gate goes down to the dam. Maybe about 10 years ago it was open and I drove over the dam and on the road that cuts across the south side of Bald Mtn. I got stymied by inundated roadway at Williamson Creek. The road has been gated at the pass for a long time (certainly ever since 9/11).

 

The middle road is usually always open, but then chucK and I had to bike the road once last March because the gate was closed.

 

The right road is always gated. It leads to the Kromona Mine (head of Middle Fork of South Fork Sultan River). The road would be drivable but now you need a bike. It's about 4 miles to the end at the river crossing below the mine.

 

Thanks for the conditions info, BWR.

[mattp]

The approach hike was all in 1 - 12" snow, but the rock was dry February 20. The gate was open, and the spur road into the valley where Static Point lies was driveable to withink 1/4 mile of the former parking place. Warm white granite awaits!

[David Yount]

 

In general climbing is good from March to early November, but never on sunny summer days at Static Point.

 

 

September, 2012

Before you drive out to climb at Static Point it's easily worthwhile to place a phone call to ask if the South Shore Gate is open at Spada Resevoir. The gate is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from May 1 to October 31, except for 1) roadwork, or 2) dangerous conditions. And in my experience it's not rare for them to decide there exist dangerous conditions, and they have roadwork to perform every year during Spring to Fall.

 

The Snohomish PUD contols the gate and their website will give the gate's status. But the actual page with the gate's status is buried in several layers of choices and the navigation is not intuitive nor descriptive. But here's the URL as of September 2012:

http://www.snopud.com/PowerSupply/hydro/jhp/jhprecreation/jhpsultan.ashx?p=1500

 

425.783.1774 Karen Bedrossian (or her subsequent replacement)

425.783.8804 Barry Chrisman

 

If you don't reach either of them you can call the main number and seek other suggestions from the operator

425.783.1744, or 877.783.1000

 

option 0 to speak to an operator at Snohomish PUD and ask them about the current status of the South Shore Gate at Spada Resevoir. Ask the operator for the direct phone number and the full name of the person they will connect you with, for your records.

 

If the gate is closed, you can still climb at Static Point, just add 3 miles of casual downhill mtn biking or hiking.

 

Sometimes you must park at the registration station at Olney Pass if the right gate, South Shore Road, is closed. The right gate is the South Shore Road, take this. The three miles (on road Nf-6129 around the reservoir / lake) to the decommissioned spur road is gently and consistently downhill (fast and easy on a mtn bike). When you arrive at a large bridge (crossing the inlet to Spada Resevoir), the spur road is just past on the right and is blocked by several boulders and a large snag placed crosswise. Park here. You used to be able to drive part of this spur road, but now you park in a pullout on the South Shore Road.

 

You can climb all year long at Static Point. Several routes were first climbed in January. The granite slab faces south and dries relatively quickly. In the winter when it's a sunny day the climbing can be at it's best, as the friction of climbing shoe rubber reaches it's maximum at 49F, I've read. If the South Shore Gate is not opened and if there isn't snow at the 2000-foot Olney Pass, then a casual 3 mile downhill mtn bike ride accesses the old spur road (this spur road can be biked for a few minutes but quickly turns into hiking only because of dozens of deep gorges cut into the road).