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Climbing Vantage & Leavenworth in July?


Patrix

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My GF and I will be in Washington in early July and wanted to get in some climbing. We're looking for mostly easy-moderate single pitch trad and sport (.5-.9). Vantage & Leavenworth seem like the best bets. What's it like climbing in these areas in July? Vantage looks like I desert so I'm guessing it may be advised to avoid. Also, any recommendations on guidebooks would also be helpful. Thanks.

 

-Steve

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Vantage will likely be very warm, and kinda sucks anyway. Leavenworth would be good and has a good variety of moderate single pitch sport and trad. You can find shade if its hot. Viktor Kramar's guide book to Leavenworth is standard http://www.amazon.com/Leavenworth-Second-Edition-Viktor-Kramar/dp/B000U69294/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330828879&sr=1-3-fkmr0. Dave Whitelaw's 'Weekend Rock Climbs' http://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Rock-Washington-David-Whitelaw/dp/0898869846 is a good one also and covers other areas. Index in July is pretty great, but you should be pretty solid at trad 5.9 if you want to climb much there. Sky Valley Rock by Daryl Cramer covers Index. http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Valley-Rock-Climbs-Skyomish/dp/0967853109/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330828948&sr=1-2

Edited by DPS
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forget vantage, even if it wasn't too warm. Like dan said, kinda sucks anyway. Leavenworth is way better and has tons of moderate single-pitch, though most of the moderate sport there will be way lower-angle than at vantage -- lots of slab. Plenty of cracks, too. Givler's Crack is technically two pitches, I guess, but super worth it and has a walk-off.

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DPS, Rob--Thanks for the useful information. The main reason I was considering Vantage was because it's right off of I-90; After we do the tourist thing in Seattle, we're heading East to Montana, though it sounds like it'll be worth the extra driving time to go to Leavenworth instead.

 

The way you guys talk about Vantage, it kinda reminds me of a crag local to me (Georgia) called Lost Wall; it's climbable, but kinda crappy and incredibly inferior to T-Wall, which isn't much further away.

 

-Steve

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Early July might not be too hot. I've climbed there some july 4th weekends when it was downright chilly. Depends on how early in July and the year. One can reasonably follow the shade and climb early in the morning and late in the afternoon and go swimming during the hottest part of the day if it is an issue.

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it could be hot or not in july for leavenworth. I have had some very pleasant days in august and july and also some scorchers. Most of the crags face south but pearly gates faces north for those hot days. If it is really too hot, hit the pearly gates and maybe something within your abilities on snow creek wall.

You can also go hike into colchuck lake for some stunning views with easy scrambles if you like. The hike up to asguard pass and to summit of dragontail peak, as well as the snow climb up to colchuck peak are reasonable one day ventures.

from leavenworth, you can drive south to meet up with i90 near cle elum I believe.

 

Another hot day suggestion would be to hike into ingals pk but that would really be better as a overnighter. It could be done as a day trip but I don't know how long that would take. SOmeone help with that idea?

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Pearly Gates (in leavenworth) is a nice place to climb if the sun it too hot (because it's north-facing). I think a lot of the climbs there are two pitches, though.

 

Index is awesome, and on the way to leavenworth, but you're going to run out of single-pitch easy/moderates there pretty quick. If your GF can handle two pitches and easy rapping, Great Northern Slab is a fun climb, and basically right off the parking lot.

 

 

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Good suggestions Gene. Colchuck Lake (Dragontail and Colchuck Peaks) would be a totally worthwhile trip on a hot day. Colchuck Glacier can be icy - take axe and crampons.

from leavenworth, you can drive south to meet up with I90 near cle elum I believe.

 

From east of Leavenworth drive south on HWY 97 to get to I-90

 

Another hot day suggestion would be to hike into ingals pk but that would really be better as a overnighter. It could be done as a day trip but I don't know how long that would take. SOmeone help with that idea?

South Face of Ingalls would be a pretty easy day trip, not more that 10-12 hours even for a slow party me thinks.

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Patrix,

 

I would not overlook Mt. Erie. It has as many good single pitch trad and sport climbs as anywhere, and it has stunning views.

 

In the rain-shadow of the Olympic Mountains but also near the salt water, it has generally favorable weather but also may not fry as badly as other areas if you are here in a hot weather period.

 

The guidebook is hard to follow but if you go there you will find some great climbing.

 

 

 

 

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Exit 38 is on I90 and has tone of climbs in that range. See North Bend Rock guides for info. A better plan IMHO is to take a day to drive out Route 2, hit Index Great Northern Slab, camp in Leavenworth or by the river at Index. Then go to Leavenworth the next day. Climb in the early morning on routes in the shade and you should be ok. The just drive down 97 back to I90 and be on your way.

 

 

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You really should let the weather guide your choice at any time of year here. Erie or Exit 38 if its hot (It'll be much hotter east of the cascades). Index or Leavenworth if its warm and Vantage if theres a chance of precipitation (its much dryer there). The weather can flucuate quite a bit around here but in july it'll probably be nice.

Edited by Drederek
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I would not overlook Vantage and it could be reasonable in early July. That said id also consider what everyone else is saying because its worthy advice but being from the south as well, my first times to Vantage were great simply because its unlike anything I had climbed. You could also stay in a yurt at the winery thats nearby if youre looking for somewhere to stay with the family.

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I wish you guys would get the word out more about Vantage, there was close to two hundred people there today,, wonder how many were in Leavenworth???

 

Yeah, Vantage really sucks so quit going there! We almost had to wait in lines there in the sun yesterday!

If you know what you're doing there really are some stellar sport lines there. If you don't know anything about it, you can get on some ugly stuff.

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Patrix

 

As already stated July can be hot on the eastern half of the state. It kinda depends on how much time you have, to get the most climbing in - sounds like you are staying close to the I-90 corridor on the way east to Montana. Leavenworth is a nice place to climb and has some camping, or a great place to hang out in town. It's about an hour from Cle Elum/I-90, and one could climb all day and still get back to I-90 at Ellensburg. Better to stay a day or two to get the most out of climbing there, as some of the climbs take some recon and hiking.

If you are short on time, stopping at Vantage mid-week just to see the vertical basalt is interesting; one could climb the shady side or get done by noon - the sunny side is sizzling hot. It's only worth a quick stop/look-see, and definitely not on the weekend.

Continuing on I-90 to Spokane, there is a neat place to climb just out of downtown, and it's jump out of the car climbing. It's the Minihaha Park (google it for route info) - It is single pitch and has good moderate trad routes in the 5.4 to 5.9 range. Definitely worth a quick stop for the day.

Before you head out of the Seattle area - a stop in North Bend at Exit 38, the Far Side and Lil SI (exit 32) have some great routes - mostly sport, but not as hot as the Eastside.

Enjoy your trip! :tup:

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Thanks EVERYONE! This is really useful informain that I wouldn't find in any guide books.

 

It seems like there's a spot in just about every direction around the Seattle. The weather at the time will probably be the determining factor for us.

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I wish you guys would get the word out more about Vantage, there was close to two hundred people there today,, wonder how many were in Leavenworth???

 

Yeah, Vantage really sucks so quit going there! We almost had to wait in lines there in the sun yesterday!

If you know what you're doing there really are some stellar sport lines there. If you don't know anything about it, you can get on some ugly stuff.

 

What do you expect for a sunny warm weekend day in March at Sunshine Wall? As usual, the generic bolted 5.8's were crowded but most of the trad lines were free or saw minimal traffic.

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