climbing near Moses lake, Wa

[BJ]

I am looking for a place near moses lake to Boulder/climb, The nearest place I have found is on the Gorge road near Vantage...It is only a half-hour drive, but it would be nice to find a place closer to go in the evenings after school. Any help is appreciated...thanks.

[Griff]

Jeff Smoot's Rock Climbing Washington lists an area at the Potholes. He says it is like Frenchman Coulee, but shorter routes. Having never climbed there, I can't comment, but check out the guidebook. He does note that these are not sport routes; you will need a pretty comprehensive rack.

[robertm]

I have climbed there. I was looking for a good alternative to Vantage without the crowds. The routes are all REALLY short... around 25-30 feet at the most. The talus field on the approach was crawling with rattlesnakes and it was super hot since it is fully southern exposed (maybe good winter spot). It is kinda out of the way and I always felt like my car would become like all the cans, bottles, signs and appliances discarded along the road and riddled with bullet holes. You could hear some good ole boys unloading what sounded like some automatic weapons a few miles away... cool looking rock and it would be worth the "objective" hazards if the cliffs were twice as high.

[AJ]

I'd agree about Potholes (as far as rock climbing goes). Maybe I didn't find the good stuff, but we spent a wasted day exploring the area last Fall. I'm at a total loss why Smoot bothered to include it in his book. Definitely not worth the effort and I found the approach information to be rather lacking. On the bright side - there is some great wildlife viewing.