Cedar Creek Wall - Anyone?

[myers26john]

Has anyone done the Cedar Creek Wall off Washington Pass? If so, is it worth a go? Any beta? I'm trying to plan a trip or two to the North Cascades for this summer and saw this one in Burdo's guide.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

John

[erik]

my main boy crqzy jamie wnet out and did a couple years ago....said it was fun but not worth the effort due to less then wa pass quality rock....good adventure for all

i'll see him this weekend so i will ask him for more details...they always seems kinda hazy

[goatboy]

Cedar Creek wall is in a very wild, cool part of the range. However, the rock quality is not up to some of the other nearby formations. There are often backpackers camping in the Cedar Creek basin as well.

I would recommend "Archer" on Black Horse Point (also in Burdo's guide) over Cedar Creek for the following reasons:

The coolest things about this climb are the views, the position of the peak, the solitude in an otherwise crowded corner of the range, the sense of exploration, and most of all, the geology.

Views: Great looks at Silverstar and the Wine Spires, and the Liberty bell/Early Winters massif.

Position: Unusual perspective on the wine spires.

Solitude: Saw no one at all up there over a weekend, which I think is pretty common.

Exploration: When we climbed the route, there was no evidence (other than the guidebook description) that it had ever been climbed by anyone. Unusual for WA pass.

Geology: You climb a pretty steep (40+ degrees, I'd say) couloir (steep, hard consolidated snow -- we roped up in the couloir and belayed, placing rock pro in the walls on the right side) to get to a very cool stone arch, which you pass under, then walk across to access the first pitch. Very memorable.

The climb would be even better with more traffic for the occasional loose section and the cracks full of larch/pine needles.

Snow in the couloir is vastly preferable to loose rock, so I reccommend a June ascent after the rock is dry but before the couloir melts out.

The approach described in Burdo's book is, by the way, far from what he experienced. Burdo describes "hiking through open forest" or some such implication of an easy hike. It was a lot of bushwhacking and occasional 4th class rock steps, at least the way we went in (and out).

[myers26john]

Thanks for the info goatboy. I'll read up on your recommendation tonight in the book. I know Burdo's descriptions can often be a bit of a sand bag treatment. His description of Cedar Creek Wall suggests mutliple 5.7 pitches, the odd 5.8 and a single 5.9. Would you back this up? Was the route finding a problem?

[goatboy]

I have not climbed the route on Cedar Creek Wall Burdo mentions in his guide, though I agree with you that there is some odd calibration between different ratings in that book (I have climbed some other things in the Cedar Creek area and have found widely varying rock quality -- actually, some of the snow couloirs and scrambles are more enjoyable up there, for this reason).

On the topic of varying ratings, for example, the 5.7's in the alpine setting that he mentions (such as "Archer") are rather stiff and exciting for the rating, while the 5.10's at Fun Rock (in Mazama) are rather light and easy for a 5.10.

Whatever. If you do the Cedar Creek Wall, post a TR and let us know how it is!

Good luck.

goatboy

[erik]

so i talked to my boy crazy jamie yesterday about cedar creek wall, he said the rock quality sucked!!!! kinda fun for the adventure, but the rock quality sucked....alpinek saw there so he can tell you what crazy jamie was spoutin off, too!