wayne Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 ..and why 1, Index , here is why 2 Tieton, variety and solitude. love andesite too. 3. Leavenworth, chill granite, lots of crags with new ones sprouting up all the time. Quote
ivan Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 no beacon? index the best if you have yosemite dreams... Quote
shapp Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Darrington, Long routes, granite, no people Quote
Alex Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Index, DerWorth. I was there today too Wayne and it was just pure magic. That said I have never been nor will be a solid 11/12 leader so Index leaves me with not that many routes, which takes me to De Worth, where a decent 10 leader can get alot more mileage and honestly I just love camping in the Icicle especially in te Fall. Leavenworth reminds me a bit of the NE, where I learned, so I like that ambiance Quote
Eric K Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Index is better, but 11worth has more variety. Bouldering to alpine. Eric Quote
Rad Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Index is certainly lovely, and deservedly popular. I look forward to more granite goodness. Still, I loathe Rt 2 traffic and am not eager to have my windows smashed by tweakers. X38 Far Side has rock outstanding rock, and there are plenty of 10s and 11s even some 12s to keep you happy. A new guide is in the works. Here's a shot of Franklin's Tower, a new 12a finished last fall. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the start is powerful and overhanging. That slabby looking dihedral is actually vertical. This is a great time for climbing as everything is very dry. 35 minutes from Seattle. Quote
boadman Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) Route for route, Index is world class. Nothing else in Washington compares. If you include the entire sky valley, it gets even better, with world class bouldering, and some super fun sport climbing. Edited January 27, 2014 by boadman Quote
genepires Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 not sure if you call it crags, but I am fond of the entire squire creek area. clear creek area as well. Once again with the "crag status", but Washington Pass always held a strong alpine cragging position for me. Not in WA, but real close and reasonable for washington climbers, Squamish is the best cragging area within access to people from washington. Especially for bellinghamites. Index would rule for me if I could climb 5.10's there. Quote
BootsandPants Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Maybe it's because I'm discovering more of it each time I go, but it's gotta be Index for me if we're talking WA crags. It's close-ish, and the route quality is unmatched imo. As a mid 5.10 leader, it's pushing me to be a better climber too in order to get on some of the classics, which is great. Not to mention the setting of the place (tweakers aside); there's nothing like sitting on the banks of the Sky with a cold beer in the shadow of Mt. Index after a good day of climbing. Vantage will also hold a special place in my heart too. It's always there with (mostly) good weather when you need to scratch that itch in the winter. Plus there's something to be said about watching the sun go down over the planes out there after a fun day. Haven't been to Darrington yet though, so that could change things. Looking forward to getting out there and exploring this summer. It's been on the back burner for too long! Quote
hanman Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 DTown kicks ass from my perspective. Surprising info.... MH Quote
LUCKY Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 What about the most climbed area with lots of routes Quote
Jason4 Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 Squamish! I joke that it's my local crag but I'm not really that far off. It's 2 hours to go from my door to the parking lot at Smoke Bluffs. Reasons: I can plan my day from the Starbucks at the end of Loggers Lane. New stuff is developed faster than I can climb it. It was dry and warm last weekend (Junuary might be good for something). Great rock. Great variety. Great friends. Quote
Drederek Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 Leavenworth for the ambiance, variety and generally reliable weather. Tenino for the peeps and challenges. Quote
denalidave Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 no beacon? index the best if you have yosemite dreams... Cause it's the best climbing in OREGON... So I've been told so many times. Quote
Peter_Puget Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) Index! Short approaches! Mostly short routes - even the UW is not so big Variety- Slabs, edges and knobs Thin cracks thru chimneys Aid nailing, hooks and clean Bouldering. So far I am just talking about the Lower Wall! Easy to be alone! Lots of new routes still to do so if people do them I won't run out of new climbs to do. Year round rock climbing. Generally very little drama there. Climb how you want Edited January 31, 2014 by Peter_Puget Quote
bigwallben Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 There is no contest here. Index eats all those other crags for breakfast. Quote
Checat Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Index Leavenworth is a tight second, but leavy is a much more ambiguous destination I'm sure sport climbing heavy folks would put an argument in for "The Exits" Quote
DCramer Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 Probably half the routes at Index are sport routes! Quote
matt_warfield Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 There is no contest here. Index eats all those other crags for breakfast. Squamish eats them for dinner. Quote
bigwallben Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 There is no contest here. Index eats all those other crags for breakfast. Squamish eats them for dinner. Everyone knows that "Breakfast" is the most important meal of the day. Quote
Alex Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Index granite is The Breakfast of Champions?? Quote
Sol Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Index is fully world class (minus the south facing orientation), nonetheless my favorite Washington crag is without a doubt the immaculate Colchuck Balanced Rock: Worth noting that this pic is missing four routes (from L to R): Let it Burn, Accendo Lunae, The Free Range, and The Honey Badger. Quote
bigwallben Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Index is fully world class (minus the south facing orientation), nonetheless my favorite Washington crag is without a doubt the immaculate Colchuck Balanced Rock: Worth noting that this pic is missing four routes (from L to R): Let it Burn, Accendo Lunae, The Free Range, and The Honey Badger. CBR is amazing! But, I'm going to have to challenge the immaculate attribute, which means perfectly clean, neat, or tidy. Quote
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