Blownout 5.10a
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| Type: | Trad, 3 pitches, 220 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.10a [details] |
| FA: | Jeff Thomas and Ken Currens, 1976 |
| Season: | fall |
| Submitted By: | Thomas d'Aquin on Jul 3, 2011 |
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Beacon Rock is only open to climbers from July 15th through February 2nd due to peregrine falcon nesting. MORE INFO >>>
From the Washington Park's Page
Beacon Rock offers excellent opportunities for rock climbing except where it interferes with nesting raptors, primarily on the south face. The presence of the falcon nest requires that the south face be closed to technical rock activity February 1 to mid-July annually; open the rest of the year. The east face is closed year-round due to environmental sensitivity. Call the park at (509) 427-8265 for more information.
This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project.
You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.
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Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment
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Description Beautiful long perfect dihedral after some interesting face work. P1, climb Blownout direct 5.9 (hard/technical for 5.9) start just uphill from tunnel #1, thin flake, then seam and right-facing thin flake w 2 or 3 pitons to bolted belay. P2, Up and left then up hand crack to belay "in a protected corner beneath the great upper dihedral." P3. 120 feet of dihedral. Stems, chimney moves, lieback, all you ever wanted from a 5.10A dihedral!!
Location Start up hill from tunnel 1 at the base of a piller
Protection Gear to 2.5"
By Billcoe
Jul 3, 2011
| You list the first ascentionists incorrectly as Jeff Thomas and Ken Currens, 1976.
It was Steve Strauch and Danny Gates who did the FA. Bear with me as I'll most likely screw up the tale of the FA. The story is that they went out New Years during the start of one of those shitty assed ice storm's the gorge is known for in winter. Feeling lucky to have survived the drive as the storm is ramping up, they decide to climb anyway, feeling that climbing in the worst weather imaginable would be more survivable than the drive back in the worst weather imaginable. It takes them 2 days to get up the route which is fully iced. They do it with pitons on aid, and it takes another full day to get back to town as the silver thaw hasn't abated, down the same curvy and hilly SR 14 which they had felt lucky to have survived the first time and which is still covered in ice. I suspect that what you have is the first "free" ascentionists noted above, not the first ascentionists. Jeff Thomas is still around, and wrote some of the best damn guidebooks in the US back then for this area. He is a stickler for perfection and maybe he'll weigh in the the corrected version of this story.
Good route, 2 starts...you might discuss them both and mention the poison oak as well. |
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