Suggested Routes at Vantage

[mountainmatt]

I am new to the area and hitting Vantage this weekend for the first time. Any suggestions on good routes around 5.7-5.10a?

[TrogdortheBurninator]

Sadly, most of the best routes are also the most popular. The ones that get a lot of traffic have way less loose rock and are often justifiably popular. Are you looking for cracks or sport climbs? Most people start at Sunshine wall because it has lots of good routes and gets sun. Any of the 3 and 4 star routes in the book are pretty good IMO.

 

A few Suggestions

 

5.6 - Stokin the Chicken (hard 5.6 IMO)

5.7 - Seven Virgins and a Mule

5.8 - Crossing the threshold, Vantage Point

5.9 - Don Coyote, Tangled Up in Blue

 

There are a bunch more too. PS, wear a helmet!

[mountainmatt]

Prefer trad, but sport lines are fun as well.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

Do you have the book?

[MCash]

A few Suggestions

 

5.6 - Stokin the Chicken (hard 5.6 IMO)

5.7 - Seven Virgins and a Mule

5.8 - Crossing the threshold, Vantage Point

5.9 - Don Coyote, Tangled Up in Blue

 

There are a bunch more too. PS, wear a helmet!

 

Also:

 

Party In Your Pants - 5.8

Air Guitar - 5.10A

George and Martha - 5.10A

Pony Keg - 5.9

Steel Grill - 5.9

[matt_warfield]

Trad (place lots of gear in this rock):

Seven Virgins and a Mule (5.7)

Party in Your Pants (5.8)

George and Martha (5.10a)

 

Sport:

Clip 'Em or Skip 'Em (5.8)

Throbbing Gristle (5.9)

Ride 'Em Cowboy (5.9)

Jig Saw Direct (5.10b)

 

Sunshine Wall is most fun when not highly populated.

[mountainmatt]

Picking up the book tonight. I have also been looking at:

 

http://users.owt.com/wrobins/

[DirtyHarry]

TR Red M&M's

[matt_warfield]

I would suggest concentrating first on routes in the book and venture onto the Robins routes when your spirit of adventure is especially strong.

[MCash]

If you're feeling strong try Sinsemilla (10c), or TR it off a gear anchor. It's a beautiful stemming box with 2 fingercracks. Probably the best 5.10 at Vantage.

 

[mountainmatt]

Stemming and finger cracks are the best The online guide seems to indicate that most things are OW

[Mr._Natural]

just the last 15 feet or so or many of the roots like G%M and Air Guitar, its really a shame.

[thestidham]

hey speakin of vantage, I haven't climbed there yet but wanted to hit it up for a couple of days before memorial day weekend. I'm going to sasquatch that saturday and sunday so might as well do some climbing while I'm at it. I'm working on getting people from edgeworks gym to go but if anyone has any interest in hitting it up with a few of us hit me up. happy climbing!

[tyree]

Blue Autum is a sick 5.10 offwidth, climb it if you got the gear. Its very good!!!

[chucK]

Here's my recommendations:

Some Vantage suggestions

[catbirdseat]

Chuck, is Disaster Factor protectable? If so, what gear?

[chucK]

IIRC it was mostly smaller stuff (cams and nuts) in cracks (but I could be wrong, you might want to bring three #5's ). You can protect the first 20 feet or so (crux?) in the crack climb to the right (some 5.9). Unless you consider that cheating .

 

The crack climb to the right is good too, but I don't remember the name.

[k.rose]

Catbird, Disaster factor takes a couple of long slings (for the chockstones) then smaller than tips to finger size above there. It's great fun too, if yer into that sort of thing. Cheers.

[catbirdseat]

Catbird, Disaster factor takes a couple of long slings (for the chockstones) then smaller than tips to finger size above there. It's great fun too, if yer into that sort of thing. Cheers.

I finally led Disaster Factor. I placed a Camalot 4.5 below the first chockstone, then slung that, and pulled the Camalot, I placed a #4 Bigbro about halfway between chockstones. Finally, I chickened out and placed a big nut in the crack to the right before squeezing into the crack below the big second chockstone and hauling up onto it, what I thought was the hardest move. I didn't bother to sling it because once on top of if you have a nice little crack that takes all sorts of nuts. I placed the big camalot up under the leaning slab to protect the exit move. I think this route can be led with no big gear at all if you are willing to use that crack to the right. Edited March 12, 2007 by catbirdseat

[Jens]

Just to weigh in with my two cents.

Vantage is much better than it used to be with all the new lines.

I like to crack climb but in my opinion, almost all the trad lines at Vantage suck REALLY bad. The joy is the artistry of face climing movement over the entablature. Leave the cams at home and bring draws.

In college as a vantage local at CWU in the early 90's we'd go to Vantage on a spring Saturday and would occasionally be the only car. We'd done almost every single established route but these days, their are a ton of lines and projects.

 

[MCash]

Catbird, Disaster factor takes a couple of long slings (for the chockstones) then smaller than tips to finger size above there. It's great fun too, if yer into that sort of thing. Cheers.

I finally led Disaster Factor. I placed a Camalot 4.5 below the first chockstone, then slung that, and pulled the Camalot, I placed a #4 Bigbro about halfway between chockstones. Finally, I chickened out and placed a big nut in the crack to the right before squeezing into the crack below the big second chockstone and hauling up onto it, what I thought was the hardest move. I didn't bother to sling it because once on top of if you have a nice little crack that takes all sorts of nuts. I placed the big camalot up under the leaning slab to protect the exit move. I think this route can be led with no big gear at all if you are willing to use that crack to the right.

 

Looking cozy in there.

 

[catbirdseat]

Just to weigh in with my two cents.

Vantage is much better than it used to be with all the new lines.

I like to crack climb but in my opinion, almost all the trad lines at Vantage suck REALLY bad. The joy is the artistry of face climing movement over the entablature. Leave the cams at home and bring draws.

In college as a vantage local at CWU in the early 90's we'd go to Vantage on a spring Saturday and would occasionally be the only car. We'd done almost every single established route but these days, their are a ton of lines and projects.

Jens, I couldn't disagree with you more. I enjoy both the trad lines as well as ths sport lines. I think the sport climbs that are most popular are not the best ones. People like the arete routes just because they are like climbing in the gym. The best routes are, as you say, on the entableture, down at such places as Millennium Wall, M&M Wall, etc. Edited March 13, 2007 by catbirdseat

[MCash]

The sport climbs on Sunshine Wall are the absolute worst routes I have ever climbed. It's basically a wall with a bunch of notches chipped out. Like climbing a ladder. It's worse than the gym because atleast the gym varies its holds, these are all flat jugs. Boring.

 

I like Vantage's trad climbs. The chipped out holds and stemming rests make it possible to lead harder cracks than I normally could. They also add variety to the climbing.

 

That being said I think the lower cliffs offer some pretty nice face routes.

[kevino]

I agree about the lower cliffs. The rock totally changes formation from the columns and creates some great faces/routes. M&M and Powerhouse, etc.

[kevbone]

Bro.....the best climbing there is when you go to Smith. If you like holds that flex, its a great place. But if you are going there, I found the harder the climb the better the route. Go down to the lower tier and climb on the 11's and 12's. The rock was far superior to the 5.6-5-10's. Just my thoughts. Very pretty view though.