[TR] Static Point - Offline, Online, Pillar, Granite Jihad, CuriosCube 7/17/2010

[David Yount]

Trip: Static Point - Offline, Online, Pillar, Granite Jihad, CuriosCube

 

Date: 7/17/2010

 

Trip Report:

 

Rightline / Offline 5.10A 6P,

Online crux pitch 5 5.10B,

Pillar 5.9 3P to Granite Jihad 5.8 2P,

Curious Cube 5.9 2 pitches

 

Lee had visited Static Point last month, but his visit was short of spectacular. He didn’t get to climb, he barely made it to the rock. So I wanted to provide him a broad sample of slab granite near Index.

 

We got an early start and arrived at the unloved step sister of Online, named Offline or Rightline. Whereas Online has pitch after pitch of virtually impeccable, clean granite with very few features, Offline has big ledges, some vegetation and not as Bugaboo-clean granite. Whereas Online is known to be runnout, Offline is even more so. Whereas Online has chain anchors at every belay, Offline / Rightline has webbing slings and rap rings.

 

Both routes begin at the same flat ledge, Rightline begins on the rightside of the ledge and heads lightly right.

 

Partway up Pitch 1, looking down (5.7)

 

 

Looking up at Pitch 1 anchors above me, webbing at center of picture

 

 

Lee sprinting the top of Pitch 1

 

 

Lee beginning Pitch 2 (5.7)

 

 

Lee nearing the anchors for Pitch 2

 

 

Lee beginning Pitch 3 (5.8)

 

 

Pitch 3 anchors in exact center of picture, looking like a blob, and Pitch 4 anchors up and left, left of bush, beneath an overlap, in the shade, looking like white webbing.

 

 

Looking up at Pitch 4 (5.9), with the anchors near the top, left of a bush, beneath an overlap

 

 

5.9 crux of Rightline / Offline, anchors left of bush

 

 

The FA is listed as “unknown” by Darryl Cramer in guidebook Sky Valley Rock. Perhaps they wanted the line to describe a smooth curve that protruded to the left? They did put a bolt to entice this solution. Traveling to this bolt is a bit runnout and then from there up to the anchors is also a bit runnout. By Static Point standards…….runnout.

 

I honestly didn’t see the bolt when standing on the small crumbly ledge. It’s at this ledge where Cramer notes “worthless small cam can be placed in this area.” I placed 3 pieces, all small, none textbook. But I would argue the Pink Tricam was a reasonable piece. The Yellow Hugh Banner Brass Offset Nut was okay. The Black Tricam (new smaller size) was not so stout. I would end with advising no cam be placed in this crumbly area, passive is the way to go.

 

After I attained this crumbly ledge and placed my nest of small pro I wasn’t looking that far to the left of a direct line. What I did see was incipient moss filled cracks directly below the bush, these cracks clearly shown in Cramer’s topo. Even if I couldn’t get any pro between the small crumbly ledge and the anchors, at least the rock was heavily featured in a direct line. To dance out to the left was certainly much harder than the direct line. So I set out to see what I could see.

 

I glided up the features, arriving at the mossy streaks. After some wishful scratching with my nut tool, I discovered this gem of a placement otherwise fully obscured by moss

 

 

And then I dug out another TCU placement (horizontal as well) a couple feet up

 

Looking down from Pitch 4 anchors as Lee follows my line. In the picture you can see the small crumbly ledge below him. He is approaching my second excavated TCU placement. Following this variation, with pro, I say the climbing remains at 5.8 or 5.9

 

 

I believe the bolt is off the picture to the right, on that very smooth Static granite. Next time I’ll give that smoothness a whirl, but I rather enjoyed my chunky solution which yielded nice pro.

 

Lee beginning Pitch 5 (5.9)

 

 

Soon in the crux

 

 

Joining the Pitch 5 anchors for Online. In Jeff Smoot’s guidebook Rock Climbing Washington, his topo erroneously shows separate anchor stations for Online P5 and Offline P5. They share the same anchor.Then a quick 5.2 with no pro up to the top of the route(s). Rappel the route Online to the base of Pitch 5 and suggest to Lee he lead this crux pitch of Online.

 

Many climbers would never accept an offer to lead the crux pitch of a nice long line as they are rappelling the route and have never once been on the route. But I found out Lee is not most climbers. He gladly accepted the invite.

 

Lee is 2 bolts up P5 of Online and staring at the 5.10B crux

 

 

He makes the crux, clips the next 2 bolts and heads on up

 

 

Back on the ground Lee’s happy to have finished his first route at Static Point and also got to bag the crux on a second route.

 

 

We scramble over to the Lost Charm Tree and I combine the first two pitches of The Pillar 5.10A 6P, requiring a little simulclimbing for me to reach the anchors on the large ledge.

 

Lee launches up Pitch 3, enjoying the rightside of the Pillar flake.

 

 

Some arête pinching and ubiquitous smearing solves the right jutting flake edge.

 

 

Up higher Lee employs laybacks, arête pinching, underclinging and smears smears smears enjoying the impeccable granite at Static Point to reach the top of the Pillar.

 

 

Looking down the left side of the Pillar, nice climbing too.

 

 

Lee vaulting up a variation to the upper part of The Pillar. This 2 pitch variation is Granite Jihad and I’m giving it a rating of 5.8 and 5.8 though the FA gave it 5.9 and 5.10A/B. Lee is headed for the fold (dihedral) in the overlap

 

 

Further up the first pitch of Granite Jihad, and notice the Great Flake to the right, which is the crux on Lost Charms.

 

 

Beginning the second pitch (5.8)

 

 

Lee is at the first bolt and eyeballing the next two. Somewhere in there is the reported 5.10A/B crux. Probably pulling the overlap?

 

 

After moving thru the overlap and many moves higher, Lee surveys what he’d done. We agree it was great climbing with fun moves and it goes at 5.8

 

 

Now finished with Granite Jihad 5.8 2P we’re at the anchors for I Found It 5.10C which I looked at a few days prior. I didn’t feel like giving a go last time, but today I’m feeling good so I start up the featureless granite. Here’s the picture from last visit

 

 

The bolts are 1/4-inch, rusted badly, the hangers are Leepers. It’s good to climb silently around such time-bomb pro. But I’ve caught 4 leader falls with my bare left hand at Static Point, each time I’d estimate the force to my hand was about 35-pounds. Which means the top pro is seeing well under 150-pounds of force (assuming the rope has negligible friction between my hand and the top carabiner).

 

Bouyued by my pseudo math-physics I’m comfortable to give it a whirl. Problem is, it’s much too hot. The material used for rock shoes has maximum friction at about 49F and it’s presently mid 70’s and direct sun. My shoes are buttering off otherwise good 5.10A foot holds. I make it to the first bolt, but need to step on it to get past it. I make it to the second bolt but need to pull and then step to make it up and past it. My shoes are slipping unlike I’ve ever experience at the Point. I’ve never climbed when it was this warm.

 

I think I can discern the crux above me, which concurs with Cramer’s topo. My feet can’t even hold onto 5.9 foot holds. Buttering. How can I beg my way past the crux? Not today. I down climb and down aid back to the belay, and we rappel down Shock Treatment to Spencer’s Ledge. Then quickly scramble up to the Old Milwaukee Tree.

 

The Curious Cube 5.9 6P was the first route at Static Point. I find it interesting that the 3 men in the FA are not listed in any other routes? I find it further interesting that 2 of them are named Dave: Dave Johnson and Dave Pickard. Also with FA at the Point are Dave Whitelaw, Dave Tower and Dave Jay. That’s 5 men with the name of Dave putting up lines at Static Point. What happened? Didn’t Dave Gunstone get the memo?

 

Looking up at Pitch 1 of the bolted variation to Curious Cube

 

 

There’s now a 5.7 start variation to Curious Cube for Pitch 1. Rather than the runnout 5.9 this less runnout is published at 5.7 but I’ll still tell you it’s about 5.9 anyway. I’ve climbed plenty of 5.7 pitches all over this wall and none of them comes close to this tricky smear-fest. Further, this pitch felt harder and more technical than all of the 5.8 pitches I’ve climbed here. It’s a wonderful pitch, but consider it 5.9

 

 

Looking up at Pitch 2 (5.9)

 

 

I’m not sure what the FA had in mind. I wanted to follow the topo, but the temps were hot, my smears were failing. Maybe when the temps are reasonable I’ll saddle up and see how far I can ride this line? I kept wanting to follow the published line to the left…. but I just wasn’t see anything I liked over there. I continued straight up and then realized I was climbing into the unkown.

 

I couldn’t make out any bolts, anywhere. I was in granite bliss. But I wanted some pro. I had climbed about 30-feet up past my last pro, and none of this vertical was easy. Certainly none of it was reversible. If I wanted to retreat to my last pro I could only accept a slide and hope Lee was rabbit quick in grabbing up the slack rope. No.

 

That was not an option. So I kept smearing upward, promising I’d re-evaluate at the next rest. But when I got there my options had not changed. I had no pro. I couldn’t see any bolts or rock features that might allow pro. I couldn’t down climb.

 

I can see an anchor. It’s above me, slightly left, easily over 40-feet away and seems to involve stiff moves the final 20-feet. I see another anchor. Way off right, farther away. But the climbing seems far more reasonable. Oh man…..

 

No other option but keep padding upward. Surprise! A piton. Even if I’ve no idea where I am the piton tells me that somebody has done something vaguely like this before me. Then I begin a slow rising traverse to some janky anchors. When I reach the anchors I have almost no composure. I grab at the relic webbing, close my eyes, and breathe.

 

Lee coming up Pitch 2.

 

 

Beginning up 30-feet of hot buttery smears

 

 

We’re now at the top of Pitch 2 on Static Cling. I have worked off route from Curious Cube to the next route to the right. I look up at Pitch 3 of Static Cling 5.10A 3P

 

 

It’s just way too hot for my technique to work on this route today. Time to head down and enjoy a little secret. As you hike down the trail to the road, at a left switchback, a cairn sits to the right. Walk to the edge of the large drainage and view the marvel

 

 

Three feet deep, clear, and the water temp is similar to a heated swimming pool, 76F

 

Here’s the view from the pool, which is in fact Static Peak, the mountain that Static Point Wall is a part of

 

 

 

 

[David Yount]

 

Oh! And I saw another team of climbers, they were enjoying Online. First time I've seen other climbers. We chatted from Pitch 3 of the Pillar while they were at Pitch 3 of Online.

 

Their first time at Static Point; they lost an hour on approach when they went up the wrong drainage to a lovely waterfall.

 

 

[David Yount]

 

 

In general climbing is good from March to early November, but never on sunny summer days at Static Point.

 

 

September, 2012

Before you drive out to climb at Static Point it's easily worthwhile to place a phone call to ask if the South Shore Gate is open at Spada Resevoir. The gate is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from May 1 to October 31, except for 1) roadwork, or 2) dangerous conditions. And in my experience it's not rare for them to decide there exist dangerous conditions, and they have roadwork to perform every year during Spring to Fall.

 

The Snohomish PUD contols the gate and their website will give the gate's status. But the actual page with the gate's status is buried in several layers of choices and the navigation is not intuitive nor descriptive. But here's the URL as of September 2012:

http://www.snopud.com/PowerSupply/hydro/jhp/jhprecreation/jhpsultan.ashx?p=1500

 

425.783.1774 Karen Bedrossian (or her subsequent replacement)

425.783.8804 Barry Chrisman

 

If you don't reach either of them you can call the main number and seek other suggestions from the operator

425.783.1744, or 877.783.1000

 

option 0 to speak to an operator at Snohomish PUD and ask them about the current status of the South Shore Gate at Spada Resevoir. Ask the operator for the direct phone number and the full name of the person they will connect you with, for your records.

 

If the gate is closed, you can still climb at Static Point, just add 3 miles of casual downhill mtn biking or hiking.

 

Sometimes you must park at the registration station at Olney Pass if the right gate, South Shore Road, is closed. The right gate is the South Shore Road, take this. The three miles (on road Nf-6129 around the reservoir / lake) to the decommissioned spur road is gently and consistently downhill (fast and easy on a mtn bike). When you arrive at a large bridge (crossing the inlet to Spada Resevoir), the spur road is just past on the right and is blocked by several boulders and a large snag placed crosswise. Park here. You used to be able to drive part of this spur road, but now you park in a pullout on the South Shore Road.

 

You can climb all year long at Static Point. Several routes were first climbed in January. The granite slab faces south and dries relatively quickly. In the winter when it's a sunny day the climbing can be at it's best, as the friction of climbing shoe rubber reaches it's maximum at 49F, I've read. If the South Shore Gate is not opened and if there isn't snow at the 2000-foot Olney Pass, then a casual 3 mile downhill mtn bike ride accesses the old spur road (this spur road can be biked for a few minutes but quickly turns into hiking only because of 21 deep gorges cut into the road).

 

[num1mc]

You spammed your own TR

 

Weird