Wallowas climbing

[hippos_are_evil]

Yo,

 

I'm planning on going out to the Wallowas in August with a buddy for camping and such and was wanting to see if there is any decent rock climbing out there. I'm not needing 5.11R or anything, maybe even low fifth class to practice simulclimbing.

 

thanks!

 

 

[Drederek]

Not sure if Spring mtn is in the Wallowas but it must be close. Very nice basalt.

[Hendershot]

Spring Mountain is in the Umatila Forest I believe. I have been to Spring Mountain once. There is a link off of Whitman College's website for it.

 

Next to Wallowa Lake is the Eagle Cap Wilderness. The Eagle Cap area is a great range for backpacking, but I'm not aware of any established routes. There is a ranger station just as you enter Enterprise, but the keep 9-5 hours Mon-Fri.

[John Frieh]

Matterhorn has some rock routes.

 

The outdoor program leader at Whitman is a great guy... send him an email and he should be able to help you out.

[Greta]

Matterhorn has some rock routes.

 

The outdoor program leader at Whitman is a great guy... send him an email and he should be able to help you out.

 

or Sacajawea. These two are probably your best bet for finding reliable beta as they are the most popular peaks in the Caps.

[dinomyte]

I took a great backpacking trip through there last fall, summiting Sac and Matterhorn. I took a lot of photos of these from all angles, though probably not close enough to see great detail.

 

My site is at www.lebre.net. Look under Outdoor Activities.

[Off_White]

Here is Kevin Pogue's website: link

 

It has an online guide to Spring Mountain along with a decent synopsis of cragging areas in a wide radius from Walla Walla. I've added it as a link in the RC Links sticky thread in the rockclimbing forum.

[ClimbingPanther]

Very little info is out there on Wallowas climbing, which is probably because there isn't much worth the trouble in there. Matterhorn looks awesome but is limestone and super crumbly. Sketchy for rock climbing.

[fheimerd]

Only been there in winter but definately some mountains. Some of the rock is granite and some volcanic depending on the peak. Most mountains would probably have can be summitted without a rope and gear.

[G-spotter]

Terminal Gravity said something about alpine granite Grade IV's in da Wallowas.....

[drater]

I've seen walls from the heli up in da Eagle Caps that looked that big easily. Might be grey limestonez tho.

[AlpineK]

I can't speak for climbing, but I've done a bunch of bc skiing in the Wallowas. Skiing there was great and you could see a lot of peaks that looked like they might have good climbing.

 

I'm not sure how much cragging there is close to the car, but if you're willing to walk I bet you could find some good climbing.

[Jake_Gano]

I believe Steve House put up a big rock route on benthos buttress in the early nineties. It went at 5.10. I don't have any additional beta on that climb.

[shapp]

There are several routes around Benthos buttress, VERT knows about these. Also Wallowa Lake Green Stone (or some refer to it as the dihedrals) which as some 1 and 2 pitch routes. I have climbed at the greens stone but not Benthos, though I know where it is and how to get there. I wouldn' really focus on climbing while on your trip, much better for hiking, if you are going to drive that far for climbing you could probably do better.

[chelle]

There is some vary cool climbing out there. I did a weekend trip with Terminal Gravity a few years ago and we had an awesome time working on a project of his. One of my best trips ever.

 

Contact him via this site or at the brewery in Enterprise for beta. I am sure he will be full of lots of ideas.

 

Have a blast.

[anjali]

I live in enterprise, just climbed at the dihedrals yesterday. Mixed trad/sports routes. You'll need trad pro to get to some of the bolts higher up. They all start trad. Nice climbing, a bit dirty and a bit hard to find. Best bet is to use the info in fred barstadts Eagle Caps guide, last segment in book. Also, my neighbor, David Jensen, an amazing photographer now, pioneered the first ascents of the Benthos Buttress, and named it. The rating system has changed since he played on it (5.9 was HARD back then) so there may be other ratings floating around. He said 6 pitches, crux at the top, could probably do it in less pitches now. Roughly 600 vertical feet. Approach would take good part of a day. We are lookin at a fall attempt on it. It is not bolted, some routes are pretty loose, real alpine stuff. Hope this helps. There is an exceptional climbing area on the idaho side of the Snake River in limestone with 150 plus routes, much bolted, at Big Bar. It is scorching in August, though,with rattlesnakes and poison ivy. 3-4 hours from Joseph on loop road, 1 hour from Halfway, OR

[jport]

Thanks for the info. anjali!

 

There's also lots of great cross-country scrambling throughout the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Pick a trailhead, hike a few miles and see what you can find. After seeing the west face of the Matterhorn, I'm intrigued by the possibilities... crumbly rock, though.

 

Many of the taller mountains (such as Eagle Cap, Sacajawea, and the Matterhorn) have easy hiking alternatives to the top.

 

If you've never been, it is a very scenic range! Definitely a "must-see"!

[macmurtb]

Hells Canyon isn't that far either. There are some routes there. Wallowas are beautiful in the summer (better in winter though!). you really feel like you could walk and climb mtns forever. Went with he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned's parents and got lost (sort of), and it was actually pretty enjoyable. Bush wacked our way to Aneroid lake which was really beautiful. Make sure to hit up the Mtn Air Cafe for some huge ass pancakes before you head out on your trip. It is in Joseph-can't miss it.