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November 11-14, 1999
After a surprisingly dry fall in Vancouver this year, the rains finally came in late October so it was time to head south to find some warm sunny rock. Our objective for the 4 day weekend was Smith Rocks, a series of fantastic welded tuff bluffs in central Oregon.
At 7pm on Wednesday night we met at UBC campus to pile our gear into a van and the seven of us into Mike’s old station wagon Esmeralda for the eight hour drive. The drive was mostly uneventful, aside from the growing yellow glow of the fuel warning light as we climbed and descended the pass near Mt. Hood. Finally at 4am we pulled into a Chevron in Madras, the first open gas station we had seen in over 200 miles. Another 20 miles southeast and half an hour searching for the campground and we were finally at our destination.
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Thursday dawned cloudy though dry, but we slept in after our late night previous. By noon we were at the crag, and had soon found our way down to the Christian Brothers area for some climbing. The rest of the day was spent climbing mostly unremarkable sport routes, though Barbeque the Pope and Combination Blocks were both quite enjoyable. For much of the day I had my eye on a fantastic looking arete at the north end of the Smith Rock Group. A quick scan of the guidebook revealed that this was Sky Ridge, a 2 pitch 5.8R which had been one of the first bolted routes at Smith, and my objective for the next day was set.
Friday dawned cool and clear, and we arrived at the crag hours earlier than the day before. After a quick breakfast we headed down to the rock for one warm up before heading off to Sky Ridge. Somehow this ‘warmup route’ (pictured above) ended up being the hardest thing I would climb all day.
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As we started up Sky Ridge, the sun was perfectly positioned such that one side of the arete was basking in sunlight while the other was completely shaded. After about 15 metres of loose rock with nonexistant pro, I encountered the first bolt on the route, which thankfully the bolts on the first pitch had been replaced since the orignal ascent over 30 years ago. The rest of the pitch was enjoyable though uneventful, and soon I was at the belay. The second pitch turned out to be even more fun, some easy face climbing past vintage bolts followed by an exposed hand traverse ending just below the top of the tower. From here we unroped and scrambled up to the highest of the three towers in the Smith Rock Group, enjoying the fantastic sunshine and views of the amazing rock formations.
On Saturday we arrived at the crag to find it predictably swarming with climbers, so we headed over to the west side to excape some of the madness. Although the day was mostly spent on single pitch routes, we also managed to squeeze in an ascent of the Spiderman, a fantastic 2 or 3 pitch 5.7 which deserved everyone of its four stars. We spent the last rays of sunlight pulling the fantastic nubbins of In Harms Way and Out of Harms Way below the imposing tower of the Monkey Face before enjoying a perfect sunset and a hike back to the car under the stars.
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Sunday we planned to head back in the early afternoon, so we arrived early at the rock to get in a few last routes before we left. Of these the highlight was certainly Karate Crack (at left), a fantastic hand crack at the east esge of the Dihedrals area. Ever so slightly overhanging, the climbs sapped every last bit of evergy from my arms, finally spitting me off just before the traverse. The climb is made a bit more interesting as the belay is in a pod 3 metres below the traverse, requiring the second to make the traverse, clean the gear, and then downclimb to the anchors. After a good rest, we finished off the day we finished off the day with the Tammy Baker Face, soaking in every last drop of sun before heading back to rainy Vancouver.
