Washington Crack Workshop

[whirlwind]

there are some awsome cracks in the lower gorge as well

i don't really know their names, cuel sister? blood clot vector are the only ones i've done.

[dberdinka]

In Squamish some of the best 5.9 cracks I've climbed are located at the far end of The Papoose. Laid Back is 70' of grunty hands and Mushroom is a sustained thin hand crack. Mercury Vapor looks excellent as well. In the Smoke Bluffs these routes would be more popular than Penny Lane, at the Papoose they go begging for climbers. Check them out.

[eric8]

there are some awsome cracks in the lower gorge as well

i don't really know their names, cuel sister? blood clot vector are the only ones i've done.

 

Yes the cracks at the lower gorge are nice. however, climbing basalt cracks doesn't require the technique that granite cracks do. so for a crack workshop climbing granite cracks is the way to go.

[RuMR]

hmmmmmm....don't know if i agree with that...

[Gary_Yngve]

What Eric might be saying is that the cracks at Vantage and Tieton (and maybe Lower Gorge?) offer more options on the adjacent face, whereas at Index, those face options generally aren't there.

[RuMR]

hmmm...some of the basalt areas in central oregon are ALL jamming with no feet/features...if anything granite offers smears etc....

[DirtyHarry]

when Gary goes to Indian Creek he just uses the features.

[Peter_Puget]

Rumr is right about some of the Oregon cracks being so damn good for jamming. How do you think Watts became the best crack climber in the states back in the 80’s? Bill’s list is full of fun climbs but Lion’s Chair and Sunshine aren’t what I would really call crack routes. If I was trying to learn to jam, I’d head to the Gorge.

[Peter_Puget]

Oh Yea…check out the Snoqualmie Pass crags for some great jamming practice. Easy to TR.

 

Clash City – Fun fingers/thin hand

Train In Vain – Thin Hand

 

Anne w/an E – Flared hand fingers.

 

Mouse - Fingers

[larrythellama]

granite cracks= slabby. basalt, sandstone= steep.

 

peter we went up there once...nice little area...tho the smell of auto exhaust at the lower crag sucked. there is some cool shit up on the hillside. kix is looking for granite...he needs to look there.

[wimsey]

Central Oregon crack climbing is excellent but it's sweet spot is in the solid 5.10 -5.11 range. Great for tuning up or getting in shape but not really beginner territory. That said, the lower gorge is the place to start with some nice easier routes that, as pointed out, don't require pure jamming technique ( but allow you to work on it.) Then head to the outlying areas for jamming nirvana.

[eric8]

Harry last time I checked Indian Creek was sandstone and no one mentioned climbing sandstone here.

 

My reasons behind the granite/basalt statements are

1.Granite is slabbier in general and so requires better footwork and/or better technique.

2. in general there are more features for feet in the lower gorge and at tieton than at index/leavenworth. So I find myself high stepping less.

3. You can just stem a lot of basalt cruxes, this ties in with #2.

4. I onsight harder at the lower gorge/tieton than I due at index/leavenworth and I climb at index/leavenworth way more so I attribute that to my shitty technique/footwork

[RuMR]

slabby is irrelevant if talking about pure crack climbing...ie, your talking about foot placement in cracks and jamming in cracks...so the slabbier the easier in pure crack climbing...

 

face is different; however, this topic is about CRACK...

 

 

 

when exactly do you highstep in a crack?

 

regarding your onsighting "harder" in one place or another could just mean that the ratings are not correlated between the areas...or another way of putting it is that a squamish "5.10a" is really just an index 5.9 in disguise...blah blah blah

 

Edited May 3, 2006 by RuMR

[G-spotter]

yeah but the lower gorge is harder than leavenworth so he should be climbing lower not higher there!

[DirtyHarry]

Especially now because you can smear on the ticks.

[E-rock]

Don't know what eric8 is talking about.

 

The lower gorge at Smith is the closest thing you'll see to sandstone splitters in the Northwest. Try fingerlocking in one of those motherfuckers versus some sweet-ass Squamish finger crack.

 

In general, the steeper the climbing, the more important it is to have good footwork. For straight in jamming, like the kind we all MEAN when we're talking about pure crack climbing, footwork is a bit less of an issue than it is when face climbing.

[wimsey]

1: The lower gorge is not the closest to sandstone splitters in the NW or even central oregon.

 

2: Last Chance provides fingerlocks just as nice as any "sweet ass Squamish fingercrack."

[RICHARD_CILLEY]

Sure,go practice cracks on basalt or sandstone then take the masterclass at Midnight Rock.Smear your way up Supercrack etc.

[Drederek]

The basalt cracks have so much more variation to them (on average, exceptions occur) that I think they force you to learn a lot of different ways to position your hands in them. The granite cracks are generally smoother and you can repeat the same jam a few times before the width changes and you have to change. Granite cracks are more enjoyable to be sure but basalt cracks can definitely be more problematic.

Added: I'd rather climb a nice 5.8 granite handcrack like Dogleg than a 5.8 basalt handcrack like First Blood

Edited May 18, 2006 by Drederek

[sprocket]

"Added: I'd rather climb a nice 5.8 granite handcrack like Dogleg than a 5.8 basalt handcrack like First Blood"

 

Hmmmm.. Dogleg is perfect hands for me and First Blood is wider than my fists and was probably the scariest/hardest thing I led last year!

[selkirk]

Added: I'd rather climb a nice 5.8 granite handcrack like Dogleg than a 5.8 basalt handcrack like First Blood

 

First Blood, hand crack?

A good joke perpetrated by the guidebook authors. No "hand crack" requires a #3 or larger camalot.

[wimsey]

Nice job on Supercrack; I don't think too many have sent that. You'll certainly like some of our grad level fissures here in central oregon. In particular, I think you should check out Redsides. I'd be honored to hold your rope.

[matt_warfield]

Nice job on Supercrack; I don't think too many have sent that.

 

Four that I know of. Not sure if Mr. Cilley has partaken. Certainly at the high end of expertise due to difficulty and range of size. Definitely badass at time of FA!

[Drederek]

"Added: I'd rather climb a nice 5.8 granite handcrack like Dogleg than a 5.8 basalt handcrack like First Blood"

 

Hmmmm.. Dogleg is perfect hands for me and First Blood is wider than my fists and was probably the scariest/hardest thing I led last year!

Maybe I was thinking of Mushmaker and was fooled by guidebook authors when I looked it up... scariest/hardest brings the memories back... I do recall some sideways fists now

[andyf]

Mush Maker is perfect hands (for me, and I have small hands); secure enough that I used to FS it pretty regularly.

 

I wouldn't say the same for First Blood!