Stavrogin Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 me and some friends want to start doing a little rock climbing. where are some good places we can go near bellingham where we can set up a top rope and climb some easy routes? Quote
dberdinka Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Grey Wall along the railroad tracks at Larrabee. Maybe 100 yards south of where the beach trail crosses under the tracks. Just below the parking lot on top of Mt Erie in Anacortes is a wall well suited for toproping. Quote
Bill_Simpkins Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Mt. Erie- Sunset Slabs, bit of a hike, but super easy, huge anchors, nive views. There are a couple of low-moderate routes on the right. Larrabee- Boat Launch Wall. Drive to the boat lauch and look south. You have to top tope from the top because of the length. Bring a super long sling to back up the metal anchor that is pounded into the wood. Quote
hohm Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Agree about Sunset Slabs....absolutely the safest place around to learn how to climb. Bring some long runners to reach from the anchors over the edge, and you can have fun ticking of several short routes on the west facing slabs, all within 30 feet of each other. The views are great too! Then, when you gain more confidence, head around the corner to the south face of sunset slabs, and you have more challenging and slightly longer routes. Quote
lost_arrow Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 i am going to a wedding in bellingham - so trying to get the most bang for my francs and cant afford the time to drive to mt erie - can someone give more detail about climbing in larrabee - rather do roped climbing but will boulder too. 5.10 range? is it all tr or are there trad/bolted lines? thanks for the input. Quote
hohm Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Frankly, the roped climbing at Larabee is mediocre at best, unless you like sandy slabs, but the bouldering is not bad at Clayton Beach. If you have time, hike up to Oyster Dome, where there are several good climbs in the 5.10 range, both bolted and trad. Quote
lost_arrow Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 oyster dome is in larrabee? easy to find? directions? thanks hohm Quote
hohm Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Oyster dome is about 45 minutes uphill from Chuckanut Drive, and the parking is about 6 miles south of Larabee State Park. It is the huge hunk of stone hanging on top of Chuckanut Mountain, and the climbs start above the infamous Bat Caves (follow the signs). There are several trad climbs on the lower face, and some nice bolted routes on the upper face. Its not exactly "roadside cragging" though, so make sure you have a few hours to devote to the experience. Quote
Farrgo Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 i think that oyster dome, technically is in the state park??? but considering the approach, you could probably just drive to mt. erie and still get more climbing in. Quote
RyanTriplett Posted July 13, 2004 Posted July 13, 2004 i think that oyster dome, technically is in the state park??? no. it is located atop blanchard mountain and is managed by the washington state department of natural resources. if you have the time and have not been there, it is a must do. for cragging, ummm ... the ham is not the place. Quote
ashw_justin Posted July 13, 2004 Posted July 13, 2004 Larrabee does have a couple of short cracks. There are some descriptions here: http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/listArea.php?AreaID=1375 Oyster Dome has a couple 5.9/5.10 sport lines but they are short and not really worth the hike. The views from the top, however, are worth the hike... Mt. Erie has some good sport. It really isn't too far from I-5. For 5.10 sport I'd recommend the Orange Wall. Quote
hohm Posted July 13, 2004 Posted July 13, 2004 Yes, Larabee does have a couple of nice, albeit short cracks. The one called "sand in your crack" in the above post is fun, and can be has hard as mid 5.10 (variation) as long as you dont mind the rain of grit. About Oyster Dome....there are actually at least half a dozen nice 5.10ish sport climbs there, and a couple of harder ones. And the slanting trad route up the left side (5.7) is a kick, especially if one continues to the top of the dome. And yes, the views from the top all the way to Victoria are killer... Quote
ashw_justin Posted July 13, 2004 Posted July 13, 2004 At Larrabee, those two cracks on the lower side of the train tracks are better than the "sand in your crack" one... Quote
Distel32 Posted July 13, 2004 Posted July 13, 2004 here is a small piece of not chossy rock in bellingham, yay! Quote
Bill_Simpkins Posted July 13, 2004 Posted July 13, 2004 It is faster to drive to Mt. Erie than to hike up to Oyster dome. You'll probably have the most fun at Larrabee if you don't have much time. Try the Grey Wall, Pink Wall (on tracks between Larrabee and Clayton),Cornflakes (just south of Grey Wall), Boat Launch Wall, Clayton Beach, The Point (at Larrabee where the lovebirds make out on the rocks). Quote
Stavrogin Posted July 16, 2004 Author Posted July 16, 2004 i'll probably head down to larabee tomorrow. i read somewhere about the gov. lister wall down there too, is that any good? the sunset slabs sound good too, and i'd like to check them out at somepoint. where can i find directions to them? also, are they ever mountie infested? Quote
Distel32 Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 lister is closed basically. Plus you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Quote
hohm Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 Stavrogin, I dont know about Sunset Slabs at Larabee, but Sunset Slabs at Erie is pretty much beginner territory. And yes, classes are often taught there, due to the abundance of fixed anchors and low angle climbs. There are a couple of interesting lines on the South Slab though, moderate and pretty clean. Quote
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