ASK Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 Hey! I will be traveling to Seattle (on business) around Memorial Day this spring. And I thought it would be great to take a few days off and go climbing. Can anyone suggest to me any descent trad climbing in the vicinity of Seattle? Please point me to the resources (how to get there; typical conditions; available guide book(s); web links, etc). Yeah... I also should start looking for a partner Anyone interested? Thanks in advance. ASK akarnoup@hotmail.com Quote
TrogdortheBurninator Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 May is a great time of year for Leavenworth. High quality granite with hundreds of climbs from single pitch to multi-pitch. It is east of the mountains so weather is fairly reliable. Viktor Kramer wrote the guidebook, Leavenworth Rock. There are other options, but most will probably agree this is the best for when youll be here. If the weather is good, you could tour Index and Leavenworth. For more options, check out Rockclimbing Washington by Jeff Smoot. Quote
selkirk Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 Leavenworth would definitely be the place to go if the weather is reasonable. If the weather is bad in the Seattle area keep your eye on Smith Rocks. It's about a 6 hr drive so not too close but it's much drier. May up here can sometimes be fantastic and sometimes wet as hell. Frenchmans Coulee and Tieton both have some reasonably good trad as well but aren't quite as nice, convienent for camping/hanging out, and have slightly lower quality routes than Leavenworth or Smith. Quote
mattp Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 Leavenworth has great climbing generally one to three pitches, though there are some longer routes there. The scenery is great and, as Trog noted, the weather tends to be slightly better on the east slope of the mountains. The camping is good. 2 1/2 hrs drive. If you want steep cracks, Index is closer to Seattle and offers some of the best crack climbing anywhere - generally one to five pitches. 1 1/2 hours drive. Camping is limited. If you want longer routes with slightly more of a wilderness feel, tending toward slab climbing, Darrington has several granite domes only 1 1/2 hours drive from Seattle. It is a rainy area. Camping is good. Depending on the Spring weather, a variety of granite rock climbs with an alpine feel may by then be high and dry, with some snow on the approaches, up at Washington Pass (3 1/2 hours). Great views! Good campgrounds are nearby. For world-class climbing, head to Squamish. 3 1/2 hrs drive. If it rains, as it often does on Memorial Day, head to Vantage for one-pitch sport and trad climbing in the Washington desert. Tieton is slightly less reliable, but also a good wet-weather refuge from the west side rain belt. MaNY Of these In Eric and Lucie's bus trip - look for it with Google. Google "Index rock climbing" etc. and you'll find other sites, too (like my Darrington site). A summary or profile of many Washington climbing areas appears here: Washington Climbers Coalition web site Quote
chucK Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 You can look at this page I made, crags near Seattle for an overview and some biased recommendations. Quote
ASK Posted January 11, 2006 Author Posted January 11, 2006 Thanks for good info! MattP's and ChucK's links were especially informative. Quote
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