Liberty Bell.

My new to climbing gitlfriend and I are visiting the family and would like to try some cool routes. I have some climbing experience and we have all the gear. Would Liberty Bell be a good choice? I could use your advice.

Aaron.

Do you lead trad? Routefinding and multipitch experience? If so, you could climb The Beckey Route on Liberty Bell which is a few pitches of 5.6, I believe.

Edit: You could also hire this guide service, as Liberty Bell is in their backyard and they know the area intimately (I've used them many times and recommend them):

ncmountainguides.com/

I do lead trad , but have not done much alpine. Not very experienced in route finding. We don't have much time to hire guiding service, besides I'm trying to impress her ;)

Hiring a guide doesn't take much time, but it will save you a lot of time finding the routes and descents. You won't impress her if you get off route or can't find the descents! Have fun.

True. Hahaha I do want to impress her! But there is not much impressing by hiring a guide. Hahaha no pun intended. Hope to get some info on easier to find and rappel routes in that area.

The lady is hard to impress;)

Thanx

Aaron.

For alpine climbing, the Beckey route on Liberty Bell is about as straight forward as it gets as far as actually finding the route and then figuring out what to climb. Chances are there will be other people on the route too. The approach gully is kind of gnarly for a new climber girlfriend though, I'd be wary of that.

If you're trying to impress your lady, I would stay away from the alpine if you don't have a lot of experience. There is no way I would have impressed anyone in my learning days.

There is a newish Washington Pass Supertopo book out, which would be your best bet for good info on Liberty Bell and the surrounding climbs.

supertopo.com/packs/washing…

If you're trying to impress a woman, Aleks Zebastian should be able to point you in the right direction. Just shoot him a PM, I'm sure he can help.

Aleks Zebastian wrote:I once ask if it would be good idea to leave a trail of luna bars or brightly colored karabiner from the cliff to my camp site, and then be bench pressing gigantic boulders while lying on my back shirtless in a cold mountain stream saying, "Do you hear me counting? I do over 100." However, no climbing friend respond to write to me on whether this would be a good idea working. Do you have any bold, excellent ideas? I find the meeting of the women to be a bit more difficult than the flashing of the 13a and V7, so rather than develop "social skills," I feel I must come up with outrageous, overly complex plan.

( mountainproject.com/v/great…)

He has the right idea...

Eli Buzzell wrote:If you're trying to impress a woman, Aleks Zebastian should be able to point you in the right direction. Just shoot him a PM, I'm sure he can help. ( mountainproject.com/v/great…) He has the right idea...

This is true. Aleks is Mountain Project's assigned Relationship Doctor and should be consulted on matters of the heart.

Yeah, the gully on liberty bell is gnarly, and will trip out a first timer, Think loose sand and rocks. If i remember correctly its an easy route without too much pro.

If your going to be in the area, and taking out a first timer, check out Mazama if its not too hot. Lots of good bolted stuff, and a route called "prime Rib of Goat" Its an 11p 5.9 sport route about 30min up the road

mountainproject.com/v/prime…

if ya need some more beta/ideas, PM me.

I think Fun Rock, in Mazama, is what he's looking for. Probably not multipitch.

Can you climb easy 5.10 sport? Then you can climb the impressively rated "11c" Restless Natives..

Tronald Dump wrote:Lots of good bolted stuff, and a route called "prime Rib of Goat" Its an 11p 5.9 sport route about 30min up the road

Prime Rib is a great route, but I would NOT recommend it as a first-time multipitch for a newbie. It's very long, and the descent requires something like 12 rappels - which can take several hours even if you know what you're doing and are very efficient. Not the place to be figuring out how to use an autoblock, IMO.

Climbing friend,

You would not be impressing your special lady friend if you have to do the trying and are thinking about it so much. You will fail. You must be accepting of yourself and your shortcomings and the fact that you may not yet be able to make bold 5.10 flash. If you have this mindset, you will succeed, even if you are not an expert on the climbing rocks.

Also, do not do the dying in a climbing accident.

And yes, if you have body most ripped, you may be taking off your shirt if even given the tiniest hole of opportunity. If you may carry and heavy items such as large packs or be finding an excuse to pick up some boulders and raise them overhead, this would be even better.

I once tried excatly whats been suggested! I took a new climbing girlfriend out to WA pass one weekend. Our first climb together, we climbed Prime rib of the goat in Mazama, then Becky route on liberty bell the next day. She cried on both, we only did half of prime rib but got to the summit of Liberty Bell... The lady was still impressed, and within a year was following me up 5.11s in the mountains. Still, I wouldn't suggest either climb for your current situation, but who knows? We all had to learn somehow, might as well take her up the scariest approach for her first time, it will make all those other climbs seem way easier.

If you must take her up an alpine climb, I would definitely avoid the Liberty Bell/ Concord col, as hordes of new climbers and goats continually rain rocks and scree down the hill. Instead, maybe try the Lexington/Concord notch. or better yet, South Early Winters Spire has easy climbs on it that would maybe be less crowded and dangerous.

If in Seattle, I would just go cragging at Index. High quality granite, with one of the best 5.6 hand cracks anywhere (Great Norther Slab). Views are phenomenal. Low commitment is good for 1st time climbers...

powhound84 wrote: Climbing friend, you always come with the best advice! I wish you a lifetime supply of fish heads and many years of bold flashes with crimping strength so ample that you can pry open beer bottles with the tips of your pinkie fingers!

Climbing friend,

I thank to you! May you experience making countless bold, yet enjoyable, flash, and crushing grip of iron fist so mighty that the climbing rocks explode in your hands!

Plenty of beginner climbers have gotten up and down the Beckey Route. You and your girlfriend can too. The Beckey Route is easy. It's not a question of skills, it's a question of attitude.

If she doesn't mind a little suffering and keeps her cool in stressful situations, then it's a great route for you guys. If loose, scary, insecure, and dangerous approach gullies will freak her out, it may not be the right route choice. Similarly, the rappels are a bit exposed, hard to find (especially on the summit), etc. Will she continue to have fun while you sort this out?

If yes, then go for it. If no, there are plenty of other great suggestions here that will still allow you to impress her.

I have had the thought, why should you try to impress her? Perhaps she should try to impress you! You are the cool one after all, what with the climbing and stuff.

Speaking from experience, putting a newbie GF on a multi-pitch often leads to tears.

You're not impressing anyone

Let her clean the roof section on the bell for real character building