[TR] Three O Clock Rock - Magic Bus and others 1/24/2014

[curtveld]

Trip: Three O Clock Rock - Magic Bus and others

 

Date: 1/24/2014

 

Trip Report:

In some regions, you can gage your best recreational option (skiing, cragging, kayaking, etc) with little more than a calendar. As most of us have learned, the Cascades are not nearly so predictable. But the frustration of rainy weekends in August is often paid back by mild windows in November or January. You have to be ready to take advantage of these gifts and after the recent drought, all indications were that Darrington could be a go.

 

Exfo looking good but considerably snowier than 3OC Rock

 

My coworker Anna is a recent grad of the Skagit Alpine Club basic climbing course. Though new to climbing, she and her husband have been bitten hard by the climbing bug. Doesn’t hurt that she’s great company, level-headed and has Fridays off like me.

 

After finding the road and trail in remarkably good shape, we reached the slabs around 11 with full sunshine from the Great Arch around to the left. We jumped on Magic Bus (5.8+), which was impeccably clean and dry above the snow-buried start.

 

Get on the Bus where the skinny dike crosses the overlap

 

The Bus was a great call for Anna’s first multi-pitch climb - two pitches of knobby slabs with a short traverse after the belay. Bolts are in all the right places ( to uberator/FA CrazyJZ) though overdue for updated hardware. Around 2 the sun disappeared behind the ridge, but it was still reasonably comfy so we checked out the Rash (5.8). Pitch one is steep laybacking on a flexing flake system. A little tricky finding good stances and the less flexy spots for gear, so glad to have a range of small cams.

 

The Rash heads up the zig-zag flakes

 

Anna finishing pitch 1

 

The money pitch looked amazing but the upper part of the Rash was quite wet.

 

"Love me some dry granite!"

 

We closed out the afternoon Under the Boredwalk, to be Anna’s fifth career lead. She cruised it, wondering if it really deserves its 5.7 rating, a fair point given the abundance of knobs and grippy, low angle rock.

 

"Yup, it's a SAC-approved set-up alright"

 

Admiring the Boredwalk on the way down

 

Probably won’t be long before 3OC gets snowed under again, so great to get in a visit now and hope the road is in as good of shape when spring arrives for real.

 

Gear Notes:

Usual stuff: double ropes, slings, cams, Whitelaw's Weekend Rock

 

Approach Notes:

All good for now!

[mountainsloth]

Thought 3 o'clock would be good this last week. It must have been nice to have that valley to yourself. Great idea!

[curtveld]

It must have been nice to have that valley to yourself.

Definitely quiet up at the crag! Was a truck at the trailhead - from the trail register, somebody headed toward one of the peaks up by Squire Pass. Pretty nice up there too I'd guess

[shapp]

The rash is scary when dry!

[benmurphy]

I'll second that!

[Riley81]

Third that. And I'm not sure it's ever dry at the top.

[curtveld]

And I'm not sure it's ever dry at the top.

Yup those last couple soggy moves to the bolt slowed me waaay down. Eased up...clipped...exhaled...looked the the next 5.8 moves, completely wet. Inhaled... grabbed the next chicken-head, which broke off...rappelled. I'll be back.

[JasonG]

That's dedication Curt! Thanks for the reminder that rock climbing isn't only a summertime pursuit around here. That's cool that you are able to climb with your co-workers. Mine mostly think I'm strange, but that might not be because of my climbing habit.