Crackenstein Rock Climbing

Crackenstein offers something completely different to the Port Angeles climbing scene, crack! All of the chain anchors can be accessed by rappelling from various trees above the cliff, and some routes have been bolted.

The rock at Crackenstein is a brittle water laid welded tuff that is quite unusual on the Olympic Peninsula and when freshly broken is a yellowish tan color and may be the lightest colored bedrock found on the peninsula. Unlike airfall welded tuffs the rock at Crackenstein lacks the gas bubbles that create the popular pockets and bucket holds found at crags like Smith Rock in Oregon. The water laid tuff has a rough and grainy texture with a high coefficient of friction; and can be tough on skin. Trad climbing is NOT recommended here. 

Please don't let your ego risk injuring yourself or endangering our access to this incredible spot. Mt Erie has some fantastic trad, and there are some stunning alpine routes in the Olympics if you're set on placing pro.

This crag faces roughly northeast and is in old growth forest so is shady and cool on most hot days, and because of its near ridgetop position it is often dry in the winter when nothing else in the Port Angeles area is.

Access to Crackenstein is currently difficult, but the Olympic Peninsula Climbers are in the process of creating a new access trail that will offer safer rescue options and an easier approach. If you have questions or comments, please join the Olympic Peninsula Climbing community on Facebook and get a hold of Peter!

A big thanks to Steve and Shane Miller for discovering this incredible spot, and credit to Kevin Rose for efforts in cleaning and development of this area. Kevin also created the original Crackenstein page here.