Lead low grade class 5 and 4 rock climbs??

[plark42]

Hello CC'ers-

 

I have a lot of experience climbing snow and ice- and with snow and ice pro and anchors- but I do not have any experience with rock gear. I want to get into climbing/scrambling up class 4 and low grade class 5 alpine rock climbs, but I don't know where to start with rock pro/anchors. any suggestions?

[Clampooner]

Perhaps you should be more specific. Do you want easy climbs to stich up with pro on lead? TR-able cracks to practice placing pro in? Suggestions for those easy alpine climbs you want to eventually get into? Or, do you just want a few cracks next to the ground to make an anchor on?

[plark42]

I want to find easy alpine rock climbs to lead... but before that I want to learn to place pro (stitch up) and build anchors for a lead climb.. some suggestions would be wonderful- maybe some class 4 stuff where I could sling rocks and horns and won't need any active/passive pro...

[Clampooner]

The Tooth can be done simply with a bunch 'o slings (don't need any pro) and approach shoes. All the trees you can sling, and only one real 5th class move. You may find more 5th class difficulty on a weekend, but that'll just be climbing over all the other people on the route.

 

There are a couple of easy cracks at exit 32 on one of the REPO walls that can be toproped. You can TR crack systems that cover all but the largest gear. A couple of places near the base that you can make anchors on too.

 

[Edited to say: I'm a moron. These are not OR suggestions]

Edited August 14, 2005 by Clampooner

[plark42]

where can I find "the tooth" and which freeway are you speaking of? take exit 32? is that I-5? in WA? thanks for all the help

[Chriznitch]

I want to get into climbing/scrambling up class 4 and low grade class 5 alpine rock climbs, but I don't know where to start with rock pro/anchors. any suggestions?

you have "Freedom of the Hills"...right?

Some routes that fit your wishes in Oregon choss are:

Broken Top, Northwest Ridge

3 Fingered Jack, south ridge

Mt Washington, North Ridge

Mt Jefferson, summit pinnacle

Smith rock, TONS

[Clampooner]

Guess I should read a little bit before assuming that everyone is from Seattle. Disregard my suggestions, they are for local Washington things that are NOT worth a drive from OR. I don't know squat about what's around Portland.

 

Spending a couple hours online should help some as well for the gear and anchor placements. Check some of the posts in the Trip Reports section of this site. If you see any you like check out www.summitpost.org for additional info.

[knelson]

I want to find easy alpine rock climbs to lead... but before that I want to learn to place pro (stitch up) and build anchors for a lead climb.. some suggestions would be wonderful- maybe some class 4 stuff where I could sling rocks and horns and won't need any active/passive pro...

 

Find someone with some experience and hook up with them. Follow their leads, examine their pro placement, understand why they placed what they placed where as you're cleaning it, and ask them questions. Do this a bunch. THEN move on to worrying about leading and what routes to do. Get the basics down before you get on the sharp end of that rope. And the only real way to do that (and not *think* you know what you're doing because you just read a book) is through some type of mentoring.

[plark42]

The problem is finding the mentor- I will be moving to Northern Cali in september.. hopefully I'll find someone there.. I was thinking of taking an alpine multi-pitch rock class and then joining a mountaineering club- that way the leaders will have some idea of what type of skills I have... it's easy to say I'm a NOLS Alaska mountaineering alum in order for peeps to know the extent of my glacier/snow/ice travel skills. I also prefer to learn from experienced teachers than a friend who just wants to climb.

 

Thanks for the info everyone.. keep them comin'

[Kevin_Matlock]

Sounds like you need to spend some time at a crag first. It's not the best thing to learn rock skills like anchors and placements in the alpine. I'd suggest simply learning how to climb in a toprope-type environment first BEFORE trying to tackle an alpine summit much less leading it! Besides, you can learn more in a controlled environment and hone your skills more before taking them out into the wild.

 

There are some easier technical climbs in OR (washington/jack/thielson) but these don't require much in the way of anchors, placements or whatever so you wouldn't be learning what you are after. And honestly, if you were to try and setup some complicated, multi-point anchor on one of the climbs I've mentioned, you are more than likely going to get a sarcastic comments or leers from others simply trying to quickly & safely cruise the summit.

[ashw_justin]

There are some easy cracks at Smith.

 

Just stay away from anyone with chalk. If you breathe any of it, it is highly contagious and you run serious risk of infection, resulting an intense and depraved desire to buy rock shoes that are two sizes too small and go "pull down on some sick little edges, bro."

[plark42]

I've spent considerable time crag climbing in Colorado (though not in a few months).. I did a lot of top roping on climbs that were often too hard for me but I tried anyway (like 5.10+)... I've done a lot of bouldering too so I feel confident with my movement on rock- I am most interested in the class 3/4 area right now anyways.. I am in no sense of the word ready to tackle a class 5 climb yet on the crags or in an alpine setting..

 

When my girlfriend gets healthy we're going to tackle thielsen.. Thanks for the input!! keep em coming?

[climbher]

Horsethief Butte in the Columbia Hills State Park on the Washington side of the Columbia across from The Dalles is a great place to practice placing pro and leading easy rock. Take I-84 to The Dalles, cross over the Bridge into Washington and go right on Highway 14.