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A Windy Day on Vashon

Top-Rope Tuesday. Gotta love Index! Best crack climbing in Washington. Steep, solid, and sandbag. Started on Tatoosh (5.10b) and worked our way left to Thin Fingers (5.11a), Shirley (5.11c), and Narrow Arrow Direct (5.12c). A couple laps on each + nap on a rock + sitting in the Skykomish = good day.

#index wa #lower town wall #trad climbing #5.10b #5.11a #5.11c #5.12c

The Smoke Bluffs are great for single pitch routes and sunshine on cold Squamish mornings. It was hot while we were there, so we climbed early and looked for shade. Ronin's Corner stays pretty shady most of the morning. See more at Trover

#british columbia #squamish #smoke bluffs #trad climbing

Tried kite boarding for the first time while up in Squamish with the family. Super glad we had a good instructor and that Grant kept pushing him to get us on the board every 5mins. We each got 2 long sessions to figure out how to get up and stay up (kinda). I was also able to perfect my skull-drag technique.

#howe sound #squamish #british columbia #kite boarding

Adrianne and I took a friend up Rock On for his first-ever climb at Squamish. Rock On is also the first thing we had ever climbed at Squamish, so it seemed like an appropriate choice. It didn’t feel as hard as that first time, but I did probably enjoy each pitch more. Definitely a great climb!

#squamish #british columbia #stawamus chief #trad climbing #5.10a

This was our first time up to Boston Basin. Our plan was to hike up to lower camp, drop our camping gear and climb the West Ridge of Forbidden on the first day, then Sahale Mountain and Sharkfin Tower the next day. We got up to the base of Forbidden but decided to turn around due to Adrianne’s tweaked hamstring that had been bugging her for the past week. We just ended up hanging out with some marmots, sitting in a stream, enjoying the view, and walking out slowly the next day.

#marblemount wa #north cascades #boston basin #forbidden peak #trad climbing #scramble

Our bodies were pretty tired from climbing Clean Break the day before, so a 4 pitch route on the closest wall seemed appropriate. Rampage is a fun route with four pitches of real climbing. Lots of interesting movement, but a bit dirty. I’m guessing the route doesn’t see much traffic. If you don’t mind a little choss, Rampage is worth doing.

#north cascades #washington pass #paisano pinnacle #rampage #trad climbing #5.10d

Adrianne and I spent the weekend out at Washington Pass. We slept in our truck Friday night, got up around 5 and headed up to Bench Camp to meet Alec and Stacy. We dropped our camping gear, re-packed for the climb, and headed up to Burgundy Col. There was more snow than we expected on the East side, but the conditions were friendly. After a quick glissade down the back side of the col and quite a bit of traversing, we were at the base of Clean Break.

The climb is a super fun 1500ft route up Juno Tower. It's 5.10c with 10 solid pitches and about 500ft of simul-climbing. The descent back to Bench Camp is a non-technical walk off.

#north cascades #washington pass #juno tower #clean break #trad climbing #5.10c

Nice day for a walk up Mount Daniel’s SE Ridge. Clouds were rolling in as we got near the top, but it only rained for about 2mins on the descent. There were an insane amount of lady bugs on the summit!

#alpine lakes wilderness #cascade range #cle elum #mount daniel #hike

I ticked off another 11a at Index! An Act of Strange Boar is full of fun finger locks!

#index wa #lookout point #trad climbing #5.11a

Climbed Baby Tapir for the 2nd time. The double roofs and the off-balance fingery finish are great! We figured out an easier way to do the second roof by slapping the arete to the left.

#index wa #lookout point #trad climbing #5.11a

We warmed up on Magic Fern at Private Idaho. It’s a fun 5.9 with a tricky start and a couple alternatives near the top. There’s also a 10d variation if you go left at the big chockstone.

#index wa #lookout point #trad climbing #5.9

Fun Friday at Index! Climbed at Private Idaho, did a few new things at Lookout Point, and finished at the Lower Town Wall. Highlights of the day were leading Strange Boar and Adrianne leading Godzilla!

#index wa #climbing #trad climbing

Adrianne and I decided to do another 10k Vertical Challenge, this time on the Mountain Loop Highway. We hiked Vesper Peak at a comfortable pace, Mt Dickerman just about as fast as we could, and then Mt Pilchuck in a pretty delirious state. It was a cloudy day but mostly dry. The sky opened up for us on Vesper and Dickerman, but we didn’t get much of a view from the Pilchuck Lookout.

#granite falls wa #mountain loop highway #vesper peak #mt dickerman #mt pilchuck #hike

Davis-Holland to Lovin’ Arms is a super fun 6 pitch route on the Upper Town Wall. It’s definitely on of my favorites at Index. It was my 3rd time up the route in celebration of my 3^3th bday! (3 from 30)

#index wa #upper town wall #trad climbing #5.10c

We scrambled up Merchant Peak’s South Gully. It was a very cloudy and misty day, so we didn’t get much of a view at the top. Some exposed spots and a few Class 3 moves make this a fun route. A decent amount of loose rock, so helmets were a good idea, and poles for the descent would have been helpful.

#baring wa #merchant peak #hike #scramble #class 3

Northwest Face (South Early Winter Spire)

Feeling good after the West Face of News, we decided to try another route that would challenge us. Linking the first 10d pitch with the next short 11a was definitely challenging and made the good feeling disappear. Sketchy in spots but super fun, probably the hardest pitch I’ve done to date. We opted to finish via the SW Rib instead of the Boving Roofs (need to go back, they look fun!) because we were so tired. The SW Rib was great, and the descent was the best descent ever!

#north cascades #washington pass #liberty bell group #south early winter spire #northwest face #trad climbing #5.11a

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