Sky Ridge- A Route Profile of a Classic

Sky Ridge- A Smith Rock Classic

People often ask us what are favorite routes are. For me, there are several qualities that make a route special to climb. First and foremost, it has to have good position. Second, the climbing has to be fun. And third, a minimum of hanging belays!

Sky Ridge meets all of the above requirements, but it really appeals to folks who want a great, exposed position. Depending on how you climb it, it is 3-4 pitches and some scrambling to get to the top. If you can climb 5.8 face, and 5.7 cracks, this route is a must do.

The first pitch, pictured below, climbs directly up a rib of rock no wider than a sidewalk, straight from Asterisk Pass. Easy, but exposed, this pitch is just a primer for what is to come.

On pitch 2, the arete climbing begins with a more moderate version of what is to come.

Pictured below, Robert cranks the crux 5.8 pitch on tiny nubbins while looking down the east and west sides of the formation. This is the money pitch.

  

After a tough stretch of thin face climbing, the belay ledge below the last pitch is a great perch high in the sky on the Smith Rock Group. Here Robert enjoys the view while belaying me, all in relative comfort. That is if you like exposed places!

Ahhhh.....the final pitch. This section of the route consists of an exposed hand traverse in a hand crack. You can see Monkey Face in the background!

All in all, this route is a must do for anyone seeking exposed spectacular climbing. At this time of year, there is a fair amount of shade on the beginning of the climb which makes for comfortable conditions in the summer heat. Come check it out!

Scenes from Smith Rock State Park

Here are some photos from some recent days out at Smith Rock State Park. The primo fall climbing season is just around the corner! We have lots of rock and alpine rock programs.

Spring Trip to Red Rocks!

The drive to the Redmond airport was unusual for this winter as there was a nice new blanket of snow covering the ground. What great timing since we were heading to Vegas baby!

Red Rocks has a bit of everything for the climber: hard steep sport routes, long multi-pitch walls, and even some bouldering. With limited time I only had one day to climb. Our objective was Eagle Dance IV 5.10c A0. A 5:00 AM start from the still awake and partying Las Vegas strip had us meeting our friends and climbing partners at the Red Rock Canyon park gate at 6:00 AM. The hike up Oak Creek Canyon offered great views of towering sandstone walls with Eagle Wall coming into view after a little over an hour of fast hiking.



-Hiking in to Oak Creek Canyon

A quick calf burning section of 3rd class scrambling brought us to the base of the 10 pitch desert classic.



-Eagle Dance Route

The pitches went quickly as the climbing was fun and enjoyable as we basked in the sun on the south facing wall.



-Topping out pitch 4



-Heading up pitch 5

Red Rocks is a great destination for climbers of all abilities. There are typically cheap flights into Vegas and accommodations range from camping in a tent out near Red Rocks to staying in a high roller suite on the strip. Who knows a couple days climbing a couple hitting the slots and the trip might just pay for itself!


More info on climbing with us in Red Rocks.

Spring Has Sprung at Smith Rock State Park

Matt & Noah dialing in their footwork in the morning sun.

This past weekend we had tremendous weather and great climbing conditions out at Smith Rock State Park. Spring has sprung down in the park with green grass, flowers blooming, and tee shirt weather climbing. Matt enjoying the classic climbs on Cinnamon Slab.

Early spring is a great time to get out of the gym and dust off those rock skills, or learn some new ones, and we did just that on Saturday. We had two climbers, Matt and Noah, from the WEsT side of the Cascades join us for some instruction on climbing movement, gear placements, and anchor construction.

Noah- Hard to find something not to smile about on such a prime day.

Learning to place gear.

Bringing it all together...

Summertime at Smitty's Place

Yes, its pretty warm in Central Oregon these days, but with an early start, you can get some great climbing in. Amy M., from the Gunks came out for a couple of days of climbing at Smith Rock. She found the pebbles and nubbins to be quite a bit different that back home, but she really enjoyed it. Here she is the first pitch of Sky Ridge (5.8), an "old school" classic.


Below is a video of Amy on the third pitch hand traverse on Sky Ridge. You can beat the views here.



Next, we climbed Wherever I May Roam, a 5 pitch 5.9 sport route on the west side of the Smith Rock Group. Check out that xenolith to her left on this first pitch!

On pitch 3, there is some delicate face traverses. This is some really fun climbing here.

On pitch 4, there is definate exposure as you tip-toe up the arete.

Here is Amy topping out after some great climbing.