My buddy Mike Pond and I finally got around to climbing it. “It” still doesn’t have a name, but it’s a new route – sort of. We climbed a version of it last year, then we went back and scrubbed and cleaned and bolted and made what we thought would be a pretty kick-ass version of it, and then it started raining. And then a year when by, and then just last week we actually got to get out there and climb the thing, and as it turns out, it does kick ass. The timing was pretty kick-ass too, as we climbed on a Wednesday and on Saturday Mike took off to Ohio to start grad school. I wouldn’t have wanted to wait another year.
In case you’re ever around Washington Pass and want to go climb it, you can check out more photos of the wall and get an idea of where it is here, and here’s the beta:
Wright / Pond, 5.11a/b, 4 pitches
Rack: Double rack to 3″, emphasis on smaller cams and wires. RPs useful.
Approach: Turn off Hwy 20 app. 4.5 miles east of Washington Pass following signs for the Cutthroat Creek Trail. Drive about a mile down the road to a trailhead parking with a bathroom on the left side of the road. Walk up through the woods (no trail) towards the wall, gaining elevation quickly before traversing leftwards in open forest and on slabby benches. You should reach a shoulder near the base of the wall’s right-hand side within an hour to an hour and a half.
Climb: P1 5.11a/b, 55m – Begin by climbing the obvious left-facing arch depicted in the photo above. At its terminus, head directly up gaining a shallow, right-facing corner. Climb this past one bolt to a strenuous pinch at an overlap. Gain the pinch and move left to a stance (crux) below a handsome, right-facing corner to the right of a large roof. Climb left around a flake to gain the corner and climb the corner crack to a bolted belay at a ledge with a small tree. A bold lead.
P2 5.10c/d, 50m – Leave the belay to the left and head up a large flake towards a bolt on a small overlap. Clip the bolt and step right into a clean open book. Stemming and thin fingers lead through the open book and past another bolt to gain a stance. Step right and follow the line of six bolts up the face (crux) on small edges and pockets. Step left past the last bolt to a clean, shallow, right-facing corner. Follow the corner to another bolted belay.
P3 5.10a, 50m – Head up the obvious right-facing corner (mostly fingers) until it closes out. Work the corner and face past one bolt until a small roof. Pull left past the roof into left-facing corner crack. Climb the crack up and left before another crack trends slightly rightward. Jam fingers and hands to its finish and climb a short, easy slab up and right to a treed ledge and another bolted belay at the base of a left facing corner/chimney.
P4 5.8, 45m – Climb the blocky corner/chimney up past a tree until you gain a low-angled slab. Head left across the slab to a wide hand and fist crack hidden in a left-facing corner. Exit the corner up and right on blocky but easy ground to low-angled ledges. A tree with rappel slings is on the left.
Descent: Rap the route in four double-rope rappels.
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