Winter climbing crags in Washington

Vantage, index, tietons, north bend? I’m new to the PNW.. where’s the best spots to climb in the winter? Sport and/or trad.

Vantage and Mt Erie

I'd say Trout Creek (haven't been yet) but it's closed so birds aren't disturbed. But Vantage is awesome. It was below 20 degrees there not too long ago but I think that's very uncommon.

Vantage for sure. 

Trout is closed until late spring now. 

Smith is absolutely worth the longer trip if you have the time. we usually drive down in the evening, camp at skull hollow and climb all day, leave in the evening. totally worth it every time. 

Mirka Kova wrote:

Vantage for sure. 

Trout is closed until late spring now. 

Smith is absolutely worth the longer trip if you have the time. we usually drive down in the evening, camp at skull hollow and climb all day, leave in the evening. totally worth it every time.

There is no such thing as Skull Hollow or a Smith Rock…definitely not worth even trying to check out since neither of these places exist in the first place

Index

I climb at Erie year round. I find that most of the people who undercut Erie do so because they haven't found the other crags outside of powerline/summit group. YMMV on what is seeping at what time, but I have always found a dry (okay very nearly dry) crag on the days where it's raining everywhere but Erie. 

Smith is much better, don’t go to vantage. 

Just to give you more details:

Short Drives:
Mt. Erie- is probably dry if any of the WSDOT cameras show the road is dry in Anacortes lacks 5.12 or harder climbs, pro is weird, rock is generally poor quality especially on low traffic climbs. Great views, many cliffs can be top roped, quite convenient. If you wanna climb harder go to Rasario beach. 
Umbrella Rock- probably the first 5.12s to dry in Washington but the 5.11s can take awhile, approach is hard to find if you don't know where to go
Index- There are only handful of 5.10 and easier that dry quickly. Mt. Index obstructs +trees + low sun cover+ being in a valley makes the dryness harder to predict. Just assume your gonna have to climb a 5.11 arete. You also get surprised by wet holds.
Exits- super seepy, generally horrific. In spring World Wall 2 is first to dry followed by winter block and Bobs/Valley View. World Wall 1 is climbable if your okay with sporadic wet rock and screaming barfies.

Medium Drives:
Vantage- Driest crag, much of it dries in an hour with sun. If it is 60 and sunny you will feel like a dried up lizard. Lacks 5.12 or harder climbs. Extremely crowded.
Tieton Royal Columns/ Working class- Dries pretty fast not as fast as vantage, often cloudy in the valley
Tieton everything else- the crags are extremely spread out and the weather varies drastically between them, where some can only be approached mid summer.
Spokane- Haven't climbed that much but many small crags with unique beta. Often it is super hard to know what is dry and what isnt unless your with a local. Dishman could be either bone dry or a lazy river at the base. Climbing is far better quality than vantage. 

Long Drives:
Skaha- great dries extremely fast but generally coldest of the winter crags, if smith/Vantage are too hot or you want steeper more sustained climbing go here.
Smith- great in Winter but has its own weather pattern relative to the rest of the PNW. It can be brutal in Winter if it is not sunny.

I prefer the low elevation Gneiss ( no pun intended ) crags scattered about the Okanogan Valley but they are close to home. The distances that Princess Puppy Lovr described are not accurate drive times for me.  

another medium-ish length drive is the banks lake area.  there are a handful of entertaining routes there. enough for a few weekends or so.

Spencer Moore wrote:

I climb at Erie year round. I find that most of the people who undercut Erie do so because they haven't found the other crags outside of powerline/summit group. YMMV on what is seeping at what time, but I have always found a dry (okay very nearly dry) crag on the days where it's raining everywhere but Erie. 

The climbing at Erie is decent, but the muffins from The Store are the real reason to make the drive. 

C. Defecto wrote:

I’m telling you, this is the spot.  Multiple routes from 10b-12b.  Short but always dry and empty.   Complimented with the occasional hypodermic needle and/ or homeless deuce at the base.

The heck is this? 

In the core of the winter Vantage is pretty cold. Smith is nice if you are fine with a bit of a drive. 

In case you were wondering nothing is dry right now. 

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

In case you were wondering nothing is dry right now. 

Attractive Nuisance and several other routes nearby will be totally dry today.

Note Smith Rock and Trout Creek are not in Washington. Mt Erie is good all winter. Darrington can be good in winter, full sun, if you can get in there. 

Wayne’s world 

This one is usually warm and dry in the winter:

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105834465/granite-point

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

Just to give you more details:

Short Drives:
Mt. Erie- is probably dry if any of the WSDOT cameras show the road is dry in Anacortes lacks 5.12 or harder climbs, pro is weird, rock is generally poor quality especially on low traffic climbs. Great views, many cliffs can be top roped, quite convenient. If you wanna climb harder go to Rasario beach. 
Umbrella Rock- probably the first 5.12s to dry in Washington but the 5.11s can take awhile, approach is hard to find if you don't know where to go
Index- There are only handful of 5.10 and easier that dry quickly. Mt. Index obstructs +trees + low sun cover+ being in a valley makes the dryness harder to predict. Just assume your gonna have to climb a 5.11 arete. You also get surprised by wet holds.
Exits- super seepy, generally horrific. In spring World Wall 2 is first to dry followed by winter block and Bobs/Valley View. World Wall 1 is climbable if your okay with sporadic wet rock and screaming barfies.

Medium Drives:
Vantage- Driest crag, much of it dries in an hour with sun. If it is 60 and sunny you will feel like a dried up lizard. Lacks 5.12 or harder climbs. Extremely crowded.
Tieton Royal Columns/ Working class- Dries pretty fast not as fast as vantage, often cloudy in the valley
Tieton everything else- the crags are extremely spread out and the weather varies drastically between them, where some can only be approached mid summer.
Spokane- Haven't climbed that much but many small crags with unique beta. Often it is super hard to know what is dry and what isnt unless your with a local. Dishman could be either bone dry or a lazy river at the base. Climbing is far better quality than vantage. 

Long Drives:
Skaha- great dries extremely fast but generally coldest of the winter crags, if smith/Vantage are too hot or you want steeper more sustained climbing go here.
Smith- great in Winter but has its own weather pattern relative to the rest of the PNW. It can be brutal in Winter if it is not sunny.

There is no such thing as a Smith Rock…definitely not worth even trying to check out since neither of these places exist in the first place