Val Zephyr Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Trip: Leavenworth - Castle Rock and Chumstick Snag Date: 5/22/2011 Trip Report: What a treat it was to have the UWCC campout in Leavenworth this year, one of my favorite places. Leavenworth isn’t only a great place to push one’s limits with its friendly, grippy granite, but it is also a place to explore with miles (both horizontal and vertical) of terrain dotted with crags of all sorts. We got a good share of both tagging steep, classic routes and a little exploration for new (to us at least) crags. With the threat of rain later in the day, Jason and I got an early start up to Castle Rock on Saturday. This was Jason’s first multipitch climb, and he would be following most of it, so I picked a line that would keep things spicy for both the leader and the follower on this trip. We began with the Fault (5.6), a necessary annoyance that gains the next two high quality pitches of lower Castle Rock. Next was P1 of Catapult (5.8.) a corner stemming pitch that gains Stoner’s Ledge, directly below the Bone (5.9). This was my first time climbing the Bone. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks pondering how one gets around the short roof and on top of this imposing structure. The answer was an exciting hand traverse away from the wall, then throw a leg over the bone and you’re up! There were options for pro under the roof and I stupidly used them creating enormous rope drag. Oh well, bonus pitch! Jason followed, a fall at an inopportune spot left him dangling ~5’ from the wall (like I said, we kept it exciting for both parties here!). Luckily, Jason’s long legs came in handy and hey was able to kick away from the wall, swing back and grab the rock once again (one may consider prusiks for the follower, just in case you don’t have the same build as Jason). Jason got to lead the bonus P2 of the Bone and finish up to Logger’s Ledge (the start of upper Castle Rock). Keeping things spicy for both leader and follower, we chose Scary Canary (5.8/9) with the infamous step across. I’ve followed the exciting P2 twice before, but this was my first time leading it. So fun! We ran up to the top, came back to loggers ledge for lunch with Adam and Amelia and pondered how slippery P1 of Angel (5.10b) was going to be. For my first attempt, I went straight for the obvious foot hold. Not the answer here, I slipped right off, catching myself, a little too well, on my solidly jammed fingers. Ouch! Take two, go for the second generation holds, they are a little smaller, less obvious but still have some grip left; at least for now they do. It had been drizzling on and off all day, but right as I got to the top of the 20’ finger crack it was clear that the rain was here to stay. Crunch time. I finished P1 and we headed back to join the rest of the UWCC at camp. Catapult The Bone Canary Top out on P1 of Canary (never a graceful moment) The step across Adam leads Damnation crack (1/2 in the rain!) After a lazy morning, I got back on some more rock. I wandered up to Ski Tracks Crack (5.9) with Nathan and Ethan and got my own Welty photo shoot. Next we joined the rest of the UWCC at Playground point for some more photos (including Sarah’s first lead on gear!). I met back up with Jason, Jasmine and Dylan for a final adventure to end the weekend. Ever since purchasing the new Leavenworth guide, I’ve wondered about Chumstick Snag. An interesting looking sandstone formation without a detailed description of how to locate it. We quickly learned that locating this formation is half of the fun, so I will not leak out any additional information other than what we had in the guide book and on the IPhone. While searching, we were spotted by one of the locals. Local: “I’m just checkin’ you guys out” me:“We’ll perhaps you can help us out, we are looking for Chumstick Snag” (I showed him the photo in the guide book). Local: “that looks like a good way to die. Where are you guys from?” Us: “Seattle” Local: “You came all the way from Seattle to climb a damn mountain?!” He shared stories with us of horseback riding in the Stuart range in the ‘60’s and encountering other crazy mountain climbers with picks, ropes, axes and lanterns! He then told us that he was Ok with us poking around his land in search of the crag, though he had never seen it himself. He just asked that we left a stick on the water truck if we were successful. Some detective work led us to beautiful wild flowers and an open ridge and finally to the crag! The crag itself is similar to Peshastin in rock quality, a little unnerving, but so fun just because it surely is something that you don’t see every day. We all climbed the 5.8 route on the short side of the formation, a bolted wandering route that takes you through cool pockets and past some scary remnants of old pro. We headed back in alpenglow light and left a big stick on the water truck. Classics are classic for a reason, but keep searching for obscurities and you will be rewarded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetslide Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Rad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson.g Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 That last pic is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanman Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Wow- 2 ascents of Chumstick in 2 months. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1013080/TR_Super_Choss_2011_Numerous_4#Post1013080 Must be some sort of record. That's some beautiful country around there. Great job finding it- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemarker Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Nice Val! Great linkup! First time led The Bone is heady. Well done. And I agree with Tyson, that last photo really captures the essence of your eastside weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Your pictures of Chumstick are gorgeous! Makes me want to go back. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figger_Eight Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Nice pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Nice tour of the Castle Rock classics! Thanks for the pics and stoke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JensHolsten Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Super cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbk Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 good stuff! ran into ethan a few times that weekend. man he has a lot of hair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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