tieton river canyon climbing

[Uncle_Tricky]

Great spot, good weather, nice free camping along the river. Less of a nuked dustbowl than the coulee with a lot fewer people. The rock is columnar like Frenchman's, but andesite instead of basalt and the rock and ratings are more solid. Lots of cracks, corners, faces and aretes, with lots of edges for feet. Easy to lead one climb, then toprope a couple nearby. If you search the archives, people have made a buncha good recommendations for specific climbs.

 

Royal Columns has the largest selection of stuff in the 5.7-5.9 range, with plenty of more difficult climbs. The Bend has longer climbs, mostly cracks 5.9 and up with a few mixed or bolted 10+ climbs. Both are mostly shady in the morning and sunny in the pm. The Cave is good if you want to clip bolts and get morning sun. There's several more very cool cliffs up the river. Enjoy...

[Jens]

Enjoy the serenity of the tieton

 

It amazes me. It is only about 25 minutes longer drive than Vantage, has some nice bolted lines (especially at the cave), has the same rainshadow effect as Vantage.

 

Vantage is mobs of people and dogs excavating routes that get "re-cleaned" with every ascent and Tieton goes begging for climbers. Tieton has clip ups, cracks, multipitch, and if you want a challenge, harder routes than Vantage. Oh and a lot of really good easy ones to.

 

Just a word of warning though, In my humble opinion,if you go to Teiton, you will probably never go to Vantage again.

[allison]

Last time I checked there was no guide for Tieton, is there one now? As a sporto weenie type, a current guide would be great.

 

As previously stated, the rock forms up just like columnar basalt, but you don't find huge chunks in your hands that used to be, er, holds, unlike the loose basalt at FC.

 

FC=helmet all of the time

Tieton=helmet only when you feel like it, and it is not necessary.

[Uncle_Tricky]

There's also 10 or 12 selected climbs covered in Nelson's Classics Vol 2. Tieton is also covered in the WA Rock book, tho not very completely or accuratly.

[thelawgoddess]

looking for an alternative good-weather climbing spot. any comments?

[Jason_Martin]

Lots of rattlesnakes... But fun besides that.

[Andy_Fitz]

Some Tieton thoughts:

 

Fire raged through the lower canyon recently. I haven't seen it yet, but from what I understand the Bend was totally scorched. I'm checking into whether there are any official restrictions. Even if there aren't, IF the damage is as bad as I hear, I'd encourage people to avoid the Bend for the rest of the year. With the ground cover gone, it could turn into an erosion nightmare. In particular, walking around on top of the crag (like a lot of people do to get off Ed's Jam, Local Knowledge, etc.) could lead to a lot of dirt washing down those nice cracks!

 

There is a new Tieton-only guide in the works, in the very early stages. Although Jeff Smoot's book has some errors (what guide doesn't?), his guide can get you around the Royal Columns, Bend, Moon Rocks, the Cave, Lava Point, Rainbow Rocks and Wildcat (except where a photo was pasted over some text).

 

The idea of a new guide brings real mixed feelings for me. On one hand, I'm psyched to have more people enjoy the work my friends and I have put into our routes over the years. On the other, the Tieton is--as others have said--a special area where you can often have a whole crag in a mellow, scenic setting to yourself. It's always been inevitable, though, that more people would (re)discover the area and another guide would come out. With that in mind, I have some things to ask:

 

1. Treat the area with respect. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stay on the trails and in the established belay areas. Drop your pack on dirt or a rock, not on the grass or on top of a bush. Don't travel in a posse where everyone will mill around chewing up the ground like a herd of cattle. This area shows impacts easily and doesn't recover well. If you see rock art (which you probably will at one area), LEAVE IT ALONE AND DON'T EVEN TOUCH IT!

 

2. If you're thinking about doing a new route: With the exception of Lava Point, the cliffs in Smoot's book are not "new cliffs"; they are all established areas. At the Royal Columns and the Bend, if there's a line you see that's not bolted, I guarantee you're not the first person to have seen it and thought about it. It's been purposely left alone. There's no ethic against bolting in the Tieton--I've bolted a good 70 routes there myself--but we don't want squeeze jobs or pointless 3-move variations. By the same token, please don't clean a new crack at a place like the Bend (where a LOT of cleaning is required) unless it promises to be a true classic. There are enough other, established routes that go unclimbed.

 

With that said, here are some of my Tieton favorites:

 

Royal Columns:

 

Mush Maker (5.7 handcrack)

Little Known Wonder (long 5.7 stem box)

Inca Roads (classic 5.9 finger crack)

Orange Sunshine (.10b gently overhanging fingercrack)

Paul Maul (sustained .10c fingers)

Columns Holiday (.10c old-school sport, can supplement w/ gear)

Price of Complacency (.11b overhanging arete, sport)

Morning After (.12a arete, sport, great finish)

 

The Bend:

 

Private Passion (5.7 handcrack)

Ed's Jam (5.8, long hand crack)

Treatment Bound (.10a fingers)

Salmon Song (.10a roof)

Intent to Deliver (.10b stemming, thin pro but solid, a great climb if it's still clean)

Pure Joy (.10c fingers, balance)

Ambient Domain (.10c stemming)

Tragically Hip (.11b/c true arete liebacking, 1988 bolting style corrected in 2000 [i.e., I retrobolted it])

 

The Cave (all sport):

 

Recreational Jugs (.7)

Where's the Cave? (.9)

Cave Walk (.10a)

Caven Image (.10b/c)

Mark's Window (.10c)

Children of Chaos (.11a)

Aboriginal Design (.11b, long)

Middle Passage (.11b, long)

Stones in the Pathway (.11b/c, long, need #1 Friend and #0 TCU)

Abandonings (.11c, long, I think it's four stars)

Bloodstone (.11c/d, I wish it was longer)

 

Rainbow Rocks (all sport):

 

Black Celebration (.11a)

Ice Cream Girls (.11d, exceptional)

Angle of Refraction (.12a)

 

Lava Point (all sport):

 

Artificial Instemination (.9/.10a)

Lavaland (w/ alternate start on left) (.10b)

Saint of Circumstance (.10c, bulge pulls)

Get a Job (.10c)

Tangled up in Tie Dye (.11a)

Solid Froth (.11a, interesting crux)

Vesicular Homocide (.11b/c, 2 routes left of Solid Froth, my favorite)

Igneous Journey (.12a or .11c if you cheat, current leftmost route, 1 route left of VH)

 

Honeycomb Buttress (all sport):

 

Honeycombs (.11a, unique)

Land Down Under (.11c, unique)

Anaphylactic Shock (.11d/.12a, unique)

 

Wildcat:

 

Wildcat Crack (long .10c fingers)

A Flake Worse than Death (.10c mixed, stemming)

Rhythm & Sorrow (.11a, mixed route, hand/finger crack & bolts)

Colonnade (.11a/b, mixed, finger crack & bolts)

Casual Detachment (.11b sport, bearhug column, toe hook to clip)

Turn to the Vices (.11c sport except #1 Friend for end, stemming)

 

Reservoir Wall (above Rimrock Lake):

 

Drawdown (.11b/c, sport)

 

Have fun!

[Guest]

quote:

---

Originally posted by allison:

Last time I checked there was no guide for Tieton, is there one now? As a sporto weenie type, a current guide would be great.

 

As previously stated, the rock forms up just like columnar basalt, but you don't find huge chunks in your hands that used to be, er, holds, unlike the loose basalt at FC.

 

FC=helmet all of the time

Tieton=helmet only when you feel like it, and it is not necessary.

---

Words of wisdom from a real master of rock.

[RopeGunHooker]

Tieton is horrible. Don't go there or the giant rattlesnakes will eat you. All you sport weenies go to Smith Rocks instead.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Moon Rox has some good climbing and is worth visiting. Just thought I would mention it since nobody else did.

 

Looks like you might have chickened out on Squamish due to weather forecasts. I saw flebleblbleblblelble and fern up there

 

I did redpointed Klahanie Krack.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Oh yah and the guidebook deal-

 

My friend bought one in Yakima last fall. If they are still in print then there are more comprehensive details out there than Smoot's trash.

[Dru]

i bought a "dirtbag Guide" to Tieton River for like $10 at Leavenworth climbing store about a year or two ago. it has a blue cover and is a bunch of spiral bound photocopies. it gets you around.

[monkeyboy]

The bridge to Royal Columns is out. You have to cross at the bend and walk back. Way too hard of an aproach. Not worth it. Should probably just stay home.

[Freeman]

The guidebook is Tieton River Rock - A Climbers Guide by Christensen and Christensen published by the Wilderness Athelete in Yakima (no ISBN).

 

The bridge to Royal Column is out - we had the crag to ourselves saturday afternoon. Of course with the Tieton-Yakima flip-flop going on its better to be on the River <g>.

 

as an aside, we watched an interesting little saga. Saw a Black Widow "herding" a beetle over to its web where it proceeded to kill it - beetle was about 10 times the size of the spider.

[thelawgoddess]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman:

Looks like you might have chickened out on Squamish due to weather forecasts. I saw flebleblbleblblelble and fern up there

---

you guessed it, cavey. sorry i missed you guys, but we had a great time out at the cave in tieton. forgot my rock shoes in the car, so i had to climb in my mountain masters - that adds a whole 'nother dimension to the leading game. also took my first "real" leader fall (not counting that one grounder in l-worth). ouch!!!

 

we wanted to hit the royal columns - too bad nobody told us about the bridge being out beforehand. apparently there's a tyrolian traverse cable set-up just near where the bridge used to be though ... have to check it out next time.

 

btw, for those who have never been. there are TONS of snakes and HEINOUS approaches. better stay safe and sane and go to the coulee.

[matt_warfield]

quote:

---

better stay safe and sane and go to the coulee.

---

and a good time to start would be this weekend, with the access fund's volunteer trail work and Kurt Smith's Kickin' Access party. See Andy Fitz's posts earlier this week. He still needs volunteers and it's lookin' like a good time!

[thelawgoddess]

don't forget your shrooms and headlamp for the bat tunnel!!!

[matt_warfield]

quote:

---

don't forget your shrooms and headlamp for the bat tunnel!!!

---

Please advise! Smith's show?!? Something else?

[Cpt.Caveman]

I like to practice leading in my sneakers. It's a regular deal and improves my footwork.

 

You didn't go to Moon Rox? Wildcat Cliff is intimidating but if you have a ropegun it's good too.

[thelawgoddess]

quote:

---

Originally posted by matt warfield:

quote:

---

don't forget your shrooms and headlamp for the bat tunnel!!!

---

Please advise! Smith's show?!? Something else?

---

nope; you can do it any weekend. it's the little slot you go through on the way to the sunshine wall ...

[thelawgoddess]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman:

I like to practice leading in my sneakers. It's a regular deal and improves my footwork.

 

You didn't go to Moon Rox? Wildcat Cliff is intimidating but if you have a ropegun it's good too.

---

mountain masters suck for edging!

 

i didn't have a ropegun with me. why weren't you there???

[rbw1966]

quote:

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Originally posted by thelawgoddess:

. . .it's the little slot you go through on the way to the sunshine wall ...

---

Oh my! Back to the soft porn again.

[Dru]

quote:

---

Originally posted by thelawgoddess:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman:

I like to practice leading in my sneakers. It's a regular deal and improves my footwork.

 

You didn't go to Moon Rox? Wildcat Cliff is intimidating but if you have a ropegun it's good too.

---

mountain masters suck for edging!

 

i didn't have a ropegun with me. why weren't you there???

---

you just need to size them tighter.

[Cpt.Caveman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by thelawgoddess:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman:

I like to practice leading in my sneakers. It's a regular deal and improves my footwork.

 

You didn't go to Moon Rox? Wildcat Cliff is intimidating but if you have a ropegun it's good too.

---

mountain masters suck for edging!

 

i didn't have a ropegun with me. why weren't you there???

---

You're making up excuses. Get out there and take more whippers.

[Peter_Puget]

Bored so here are few of my comments on Andy's recomendations:

 

Inca Roads (classic 5.9 finger crack)

I remember this as being a bit larger than fingers and only so so. The route to the left is a fun TR or lead.

 

Orange Sunshine (.10b gently overhanging fingercrack)

Sandy on top. Not really sure why people like this guy so much.

 

Paul Maul (sustained .10c fingers)

I Hated this one. Not really jamming at all as the crack has weird constrictions.

 

Price of Complacency (.11b overhanging arete, sport)

Stellar route! Excellent rock. Steep too!

 

Morning After (.12a arete, sport, great finish)

Lots of thin edging! Good route.

 

The Bend:

 

Salmon Song (.10a roof)

Rock quality only so-so

 

Pure Joy (.10c fingers, balance)

Much harder lead than the rating would suggest. Off balance is right! Good route.

 

Ambient Domain (.10c stemming)

Hard to place pro on this guy. Crack a bit grubby. Maybe it is me but I wouldn't recomend this one. Backed off 10 years ago and did it a couple ago and hated the experience. I felt it was a much harder lead that Trag. Hip.

 

Tragically Hip (.11b/c true arete liebacking, 1988 bolting style corrected in 2000 [i.e., I retrobolted it])

Retrobolt made this climb much more fun.

 

The Cave (all sport):

Some of the long routes here are great. My fav is the one that goes over the roof near the top. Lots of climbing in only a few feet. I bet in a few years they will be grease fests tho so go do them now.

 

Rainbow Rocks (all sport):

 

Black Celebration (.11a)

OK crux near bottom. Short.

 

Ice Cream Girls (.11d, exceptional)

Best route I have done in the Tieton! One of the best sportos in WA.

 

Lava Point (all sport):

Great views! The routes are short.

 

Honeycomb Buttress (all sport):

 

Honeycombs (.11a, unique)

Fun climb! As are most of the routes on this face

 

Land Down Under (.11c, unique)

Awkward. Can be climbed in the rain.

 

Anaphylactic Shock (.11d/.12a, unique)

Second(?) bolt was a desparate clip with groundfall potential if I remember correctly. Otherwise good route. Top gets wet in rain.

 

Wildcat:

 

Wildcat Crack (long .10c fingers)

Can do this climb with little real jamming. Good pro.

 

Colonnade (.11a/b, mixed, finger crack & bolts)

If this is the route (trad bottom and bolted top to left of Wildcat)I am thinking of its. Bring thin stuff!

 

Tieton