[TR] Split Rock - Spelunker's Chimney and The Northwest Passage 8/4/2010

[Dallas kloke]

Trip: Split Rock - Spelunker's Chimney and The Northwest Passage

 

Date: 8/4/2010

 

Trip Report:

After a successful trip last week locating Walker Valley Boulders (Devils Rock Garden), I teamed again with Mark N. for a bike ride to Split Rock - 41 years after my first visit.

 

Quoting from my 1971 guidebook Boulders and Cliffs, "Split Rock consists of three separate rocks or summits. These large rocks are named the East Summit, Northwest Tower, and the Southwest Summit. Split rock is surrounded on the north side by a boulder field, on the west by several beaver ponds, and the east and south sides by forrest. A deep, narrow gorge separates all summits from one another on the inside. This gorge, or inside passage, is about 100 to 120 feet high and 30 to 40 feet wide."

 

Spelunker's Chimney in located on the north face of the East Summit, which is the largest rock of the three summits and the easiest one to ascend to the top. The route follows a prominent chimney. A few feet off the ground we made a 20 foot traverse left across a slab to the base of a large crack. Then ascended this crack for 25 feet to a good belay ledge and the beginning of the chimney. The chimney is about 50 feet high and several feet in width. After stemming to the top, which exits near a tree (our rap anchor), a short mossy slab, left, took us to the top.

 

Although access to this area is difficult, (motorcycle in from Walker Valley?) several new sport routes have been recently added.

 

 

Gear Notes:

Bike, medium rack, 50 meter rope

 

Approach Notes:

7.3 mile bike ride from the Lake Cavanaugh Road (2 hours)

2300 feet of vertical

[toproper]

2.50, what a deal! I'll take one!

[stevetimetravlr]

I still got my copy from 1975. Dallas you the man!

[Tyson.g]

Fantastic Dallas!

There was a thread a few weeks back that got me thinking of Split Rock and the Summer I spent many years ago tracking it down and working the maze of logging roads.

The previous posting regarding the area caused me to dig out old photos and took a trip down memory lane.

Thank you for this post.

It is great to see the man who inpsired me and my buddy to seek it out doing it all again.

Thanks Dallas for all your work and contributions to the climbing community over the last fifty years.

 

[mattp]

Good stuff.

[JasonG]

Impressive effort to get in there! I thought retirement was supposed to slow you down . .. .