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Elevation: 5,664 ft
GPS: 47.39828, -120.76195
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Shared By: Anonymous on Dec 31, 2000 · Updates
Admins: Jon Nelson, Micah Klesick, Zachary Winters

Greetings Washington climbers! Suggest change

Washington has a long history of climbing in the Cascades by Fred Beckey and his predecessors. Nowadays, WA offers quality sport, classic trad, beautiful alpine, glacier treks on volcanoes, plus ice and mixed climbing. 

 Exit 32; Little Si or Deception Crags has the nearest sport crags to the Seattle area. These groupings of crags are hidden in the hills all around North Bend and offer decent rock, a plethora of routes and some of Washington's hardest climbing at Little Si's World Walls.

For those who are versed in glacier travel, consider one of Washington's volcanos, ranging in difficulty from Mount St. Helens (a long hike in summer and an easy snow climb in spring) to Mount Rainier, the third-highest mountain in the contiguous US.

Near Leavenworth lie three river valleys (Tumwater Canyon, Icicle Creek and Snow Creek) with easily accessed granite climbing, from roadside bouldering to multipitch. Good granite, wide cracks, and plenty of sun make this area the state's most popular climbing destination. 

The entire Cascade range is full of alpine adventure, with much rock and ice in the North Cascades. You can find plenty of choss as well as beautiful granite and gneiss. For example, Washington Pass, has dozens of pink-granite towers.

Stuart-Enchantments, with its stunning lakes, mountain backgrounds and stands of golden larches, is also home to tons of climbable spires and peaks. Stuart itself is one of the largest granitic mountains in the US. Due to its popularity, the area has a lottery permit system for access.

During Washington's wet winters and fall, many climbers head for drier rock at Frenchman Coulee (Vantage), a bunch of basalt crags near the Columbia River. Find here plenty of sport routes on the columns and trad routes in between.

Farther away from Seattle but consisting of similar (variable quality) rock to North Bend's crags is Mazama, a small town north of Winthrop and just east of Highway 20. It's home to Goat Wall, which boasts several long, moderate sport routes such as the popular 18-pitch Flyboys.

Index, a small town just off Highway 2, is known for hard, thin cracks on fantastic granite. Yet you can find plenty of easier trad and sport climbs as well. And looming over town sits the impressive Mount Index, home to some difficult, committing alpine ascents and what Fred Beckey calls 'one of the most difficult summits to attain in the Cascades' - the Middle Peak.

Darrington, nestled in the west drainages of the North Cascades, has several peaks with long granite slab climbs reminiscent of Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows. Most approaches here are 30 minutes or more. Closer to Seattle, but having very similar granite slab routes is Static Point.

The Tieton River area lies northwest of Yakima along the Tieton River - cragging split between sport and trad on a long, long andesite flow.

Spokane Area has many varied crags and popular bouldering around and within the city itself. 

Around the Bellingham area on the northwest coast, there are many small crags, some worth visiting, some definitely not. A standout is Mount Erie, not much of a mountain, but with plenty of diorite cliffs offering one-pitch sport routes.

Along WA's southern border is Beacon Rock, a huge piece of basalt overlooking the Columbia River. While bird-nesting closes some of its areas temporarily and one whole face permanently, the fact remains that it's a 850-foot piece of quality and adventurous rock.

Remember: Before you consider adding an area or route, please read below, and don't add an area on this page.

 

Sections of Washington: ----------------------- OLY/PAC = OLYMPIC/PACIFIC NW = NORTH-WESTERN CWC = CENTRAL-WESTERN CASCADES SWC = SOUTH-WESTERN CASCADES SEC = SOUTH-EASTERN CASCADES CEC = CENTRAL-EASTERN CASCADES OK = OKANOGAN C = CENTRAL SE = SOUTH-EASTERN NE = NORTH-EASTERN

To find climbing areas, check the map above and find the corresponding link on the right, or search the area's name in the search bar. To add an area, make sure you're not adding an area on this page. Check the overall areas on the right to see if it's already listed; if it's not, fire away.

10,923 Total Climbs

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Location: Washington Change
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Classic Climbing Routes at Washington

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
WI3 Steep Snow
 192
North Ridge
Ice, Snow, Alpine
AI2-3 Steep Snow
 163
Liberty Ridge
Ice, Snow, Alpine 6 pitches
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Mod. Snow
 273
West Ridge
Trad, Snow, Alpine
5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
 534
Senior Citizens in Space
Trad, TR
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 668
Godzilla
Trad
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 767
Outer Space
Trad 6 pitches
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a
 280
Direct North Ridge
Trad, Alpine 20 pitches
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
 399
Rattletale
Trad 3 pitches
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 306
Davis-Holland Route
Trad 3 pitches
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
 187
Acid Baby
Trad 7 pitches
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 238
Slow Children
Trad
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 324
Thin Fingers
Trad
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c
 281
The West Face
Trad, Alpine 6 pitches
5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a
 208
Japanese Gardens
Trad 4 pitches
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 230
Rainy Day Women
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
North Ridge Northwest Region > … > N Cascades > Mt Baker
 192
WI3 Steep Snow Ice, Snow, Alpine
Liberty Ridge South-W & Tacoma > Southwest Cascades > Mt Rainier
 163
AI2-3 Steep Snow Ice, Snow, Alpine 6 pitches
West Ridge Northwest Region > … > Boston Basin > Forbidden Peak
 273
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Mod. Snow Trad, Snow, Alpine
Senior Citizens in Space Central-W Casca… > … > Lookout Point Area > Private Idaho
 534
5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b Trad, TR
Godzilla Central-W Casca… > … > Lower Town Wall > (C) Main Wall, left side
 668
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad
Outer Space Central-E Casca… > … > Snow Creek Area > Snow Creek Wall
 767
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad 6 pitches
Direct North Ridge Central-E Casca… > Stuart-Enchantm… > Mt Stuart
 280
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a Trad, Alpine 20 pitches
Rattletale Central-W Casca… > … > Lookout Point Area > Rattletale Wall
 399
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b Trad 3 pitches
Davis-Holland Route Central-W Casca… > … > Upper Town Wall > (f) Central Wall Area
 306
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Trad 3 pitches
Acid Baby Central-E Casca… > Stuart-Enchantm… > Aasgard Sentinel
 187
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b Trad 7 pitches
Slow Children Central-W Casca… > … > Lower Town Wall > (C) Main Wall, left side
 238
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Trad
Thin Fingers Central-W Casca… > … > Lower Town Wall > (D) Narrow Arrow & fu…
 324
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Trad
The West Face Northwest Region > … > Liberty Bell Group > N Early Winter Spire
 281
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c Trad, Alpine 6 pitches
Japanese Gardens Central-W Casca… > … > Lower Town Wall > (C) Main Wall, left side
 208
5.11+ 7a 24 VIII 24 E4 6a Trad 4 pitches
Rainy Day Women Central-W Casca… > … > World Wall Group > World Wall
 230
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
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