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Swauk Pinnacles


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Does anyone know about a book called, "Swauk Pinnalces: A Climbing Guide" by Dale Boyle? I can't find any refference when I google it it, but I do know it has existed. My question is, does this book reffer to the craggs onto of Bluett Pass, or does it reffer to the Peshastin Pinnacles?

 

I never bought a copy but it's the Blewett Pass stuff not Peshastin.

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Yeah, I saw it on Amazon.com and didn't want to buy it if it reffered to Peshastin Pinnacles, because sometimes the craggs on Bluett Pass are named interchably with Peshastin. I bought the book, I hope the book is cool. They haven't made two many copies of them because I can't find them anywhere else.

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  • 7 months later...

I've climbed perhaps 10 routes at Swauk Pass. Mostly crap. Short, mungy and uninspiring. However it is a great place to spend a day hiking and exploring away from the crowds. The crags are spread out over a few square miles and 8-10 years ago there was a faint trail. I suppose hunters could have kept it up. There is also one boulder there with a 40' horizontal roof. The guide is quite clear that the area known now as blewit pass is really swauk pass. If you're going to check it out I'd hit it down from the pass rather than up from below. The towers you can see a few miles down toward Leav from the pass are fairly representative of what the outcrops look like.

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Go hunt up Chumstick Snag if you want a classic climb on Swauk sandstone. It's described in the original Guide to Leavenworth Climbing Areas by Fred Beckey and Eric Bjornstad, as " a spectacular little sandstone pinnacle...". Fred says, "it is difficult to spot, even from the highway". Here are the directions:

 

" drive north from Leavenworth 4 miles on the Plain road, and exit left on a short dirt road called Spromberg Canyon to a farm at its end.Taking care both of bulls (yep, they were there, alright ) and charged fence wire, follow the meadow paths to the wooded spur that divides the valley. Climb to the ridgetop and continue on about 1/2 mile until just above the snag. It is easiest to follow the ridge until the Snag is below and to the left, and then make a very short descent to the upper saddle."

 

The south face or standard route is rated 5.7,1 hour, (by 1950 standards), and the SW face at 5.6, 2 hours,done in '63. The rock is good quality with juggy solution holes, or huecos, with thin cracks. We used to use knifeblades and Lost Arrows, nowdays you could probably use cams or chocks in some of the huecos, and thin wires or minicams in the cracks; there used to be some bolts (well, what we used to call bolts) at strategic points,and a few fixed pins, including a summit rappel anchor, but it's been years, and I have no idea what's there now. Very fun little spot, quite a lovely place.

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I certainly didn't pay 49 bucks when I bought the book. I got it for 10 I think. Thats good to know though, if anyone wants to buy my book Ill sell it to you for 45 bucks. PM me. :poke:

 

Did you ever make it out there? Most of the climbs are very short and sandy. Like the other poster, it is a place to go if you do not want to see any other climbers though.

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