Climbing around Seattle, WA (compared to the Front Range, CO)

Hey Everyone,

I know this has been somewhat discussed in other MP threads but I wanted to see if I could get some information more specific to my situation. I am considering relocating from Denver, CO to Seattle, WA for work and was curious if anyone would be willing to provide their opinion on the climbing around Seattle (and if you’ve climbed in both places, how they compare)

Ideally, what I’m looking for…

- Longer multipitch trad, 5.6 to 5.10- (stuff that can be done (in general) 6-12 hours car to car).
- Quick/easy after work sport cragging 5.9 to 5.11-
- Access to well protected bouldering, V0-V5 (by well protected I mean flat landings)

Just for perspective here are my opinions on the main climbing areas in the front range. These are obviously just my opinion and I am providing to simply give perspective on my personal preferences.

Eldo
- Pros: Great access. Fairly decent selection of trad multi-pitch in the 5.7 - 5.9 range.
- Cons: Crowded. Protection is often not great. Grades get hard quick (i.e. not a ton if you cannot climb 5.10 there). And Eldo is not a great place (due to protection) to push grades IMO.

South Platte:
- Pros: Amazing climbing. Amazing setting. Not crowded.
- Cons: Again, gets very hard very fast. Not a ton if you don’t climb 5.10+.

Lumpy/RMNP:
- Pros: Great setting. Lots of multipitch in the 5.7 to 5.10- range.
- Cons: With raptor closures, you can really only climb in Lumpy 2-3 months a year. RMNP is great but the approaches are pretty brutal and time consuming.

CCC/North Table
- Pros: I actually enjoy these crags for what they are. Convenient, dense, and well protected sport climbing access. Many crags that are climbable during the winter.
- Cons: Crowded.

BoCan:
- Pros: Great access. Convenient, and well protected sport climbing access with some trad cragging/shorter multipitch access.
- Cons: Crowded. I also find that BoCan has only a few crags that are dense in terms of quality (Plotinus, Avalon, Animal World, Upper Dream) and these are generally swamped

Flatirons:
- Pros: Amazing, easy & fun climbing with convenient access.
- Cons: I can’t think of any I love the Flatirons!

Obviously weather in Seattle is not as great. But I think the bouldering in WA might be far superior? I think the bouldering in the front range (although I haven’t done much of it) is subpar. I have the Front Range Bouldering guidebook and many of the classic problems have bad landings/are highballs and areas are not dense in quality.

Additionally it seems like WA has tons of alpine available, but how (in general) are the approaches? Part of the reason I rarely climb in Rocky is most outings are 3+ hour approaches and car to car you are looking at atleast 16+ hours.

And again, these are obviously just my opinions. I know stating, “BoCan dOesNt hAvE hiGh dEnSitY CraGGinG” is spoiled to say but open to perspectives.

Thanks in advance!

Lots to discuss here.

Personal experience: I lived in Golden for a couple years, then Seattle for 7 years, now California the last year and a half. I've got some strong opinions on the Seattle climbing scene, but I'll try to be unbiased.

My overall experience was that going from Front Range to Seattle was a notable downgrade in climbing access. The season/weather factor are the most obvious issue. Also, less variety - fewer crags to choose from, more limited rock type selection.  And you're often driving longer distances. 

It's not like you're moving to North Dakota though. The PNW has a lifetime of good climbing. And in some specific places and climbing styles, the quality can be superlative. It is just, at times, less conducive to being a weekend warrior and still climbing a lot.

Overall, broad strokes, I'd give the Front Range an A- as a place to live as a climber. Seattle I'd give a B.

Super broad topic and lots of ways to get more granular. I'll post more regarding some of the specifics. 

Lived in Boulder. Now live in Central WA, work in Seattle occasionally. Seattle does not have amazing access to weekday climbing, but probably similar distances to Denver. There is tons of climbing within reach for weekends, just depends on your tolerance for travel.

I feel like there is a heavier alpine to mountaineering presence here, plenty of mountaineering style routes available all the way through summer. Like mentioned previously, there is way more variety of rock and climb types in the Front Range, but it's not like WA is lacking per se. It's just not quite as good as CO or other states along the Rockies. 

JCM wrote:

Lots to discuss here.

Personal experience: I lived in Golden for a couple years, then Seattle for 7 years, now California the last year and a half. I've got some strong opinions on the Seattle climbing scene, but I'll try to be unbiased.

My overall experience was that going from Front Range to Seattle was a notable downgrade in climbing access. The season/weather factor are the most obvious issue. Also, less variety - fewer crags to choose from, more limited rock type selection.  And you're often driving longer distances. 

It's not like you're moving to North Dakota though. The PNW has a lifetime of good climbing. And in some specific places and climbing styles, the quality can be superlative. It is just, at times, less conducive to being a weekend warrior and still climbing a lot.

Overall, broad strokes, I'd give the Front Range an A- as a place to live as a climber. Seattle I'd give a B.

Super broad topic and lots of ways to get more granular. I'll post more regarding some of the specifics. 

Really appreciate the perspective, JCM. I can definitely see Seattle being less conducive to being a weekend warrior. Surprised to hear you found a "notable" downgrade in access but I think overall it makes sense. Are there not that many places <1hr from Seattle to climb? 

Also, I am all for your biased opinions haha. For example, a biased opinion I have on the Front Range climbing scene is that some people are a little too into climbing. Everyone has their own goals and ways to live and that is awesome and 100% cool. It's just that I feel like here there are many people obsessed with sending a 12a sport route just for the sake of saying they climb 5.12. Again, if that's your jam, then by all means go for it. Just not necessarily mine

Ian Lauer wrote:

Lived in Boulder. Now live in Central WA, work in Seattle occasionally. Seattle does not have amazing access to weekday climbing, but probably similar distances to Denver. There is tons of climbing within reach for weekends, just depends on your tolerance for travel.

I feel like there is a heavier alpine to mountaineering presence here, plenty of mountaineering style routes available all the way through summer. Like mentioned previously, there is way more variety of rock and climb types in the Front Range, but it's not like WA is lacking per se. It's just not quite as good as CO or other states along the Rockies. 

How are the approaches to the more alpine/mountaineering style routes? Obviously very broad question but would be curious to hear your opinion

Crux Pitch of Comic Relief wrote:

Surprised to hear you found a "notable" downgrade in access but I think overall it makes sense. Are there not that many places <1hr from Seattle to climb? 

I think that "notable" is accurate, especially once you factor in the weather.  To expand on this a bit, and make it relevant to you, we can look at each of your criteria individually.:

- Longer multipitch trad, 5.6 to 5.10- (stuff that can be done (in general) 6-12 hours car to car).

There is a lot of great multipitch climbing in the PNW, but it is mostly a long drive, a long hike, or hard.  The number of good multipitch routes 5.6-5.10a, < 3 hr drive, and < 2 hour approach, is pretty limited and you could easily burn through them in a season. 

I think that if you are able/willing to drive far, hike far, or climb hard, Seattle offers better multipitch climbing than the Front Range. But the easy access, moderate grade multpitch is much more limited. Eldo, by itself, has more/better moderate multipitch climbing than everything within 3 hours (combined drive + hike time) of Seattle.

Regarding Index: For some of the CO areas you said they "get very hard very fast". it is worth noting that the same is true for Index, but much more so.

- Quick/easy after work sport cragging 5.9 to 5.11-

There is one zone within 1 hour. North Bend sport climbing (Exit 32/38). Think Clear Creek, but not as good and about as crowded. (With a handful of world-class 5.13s as the notable exception to the otherwise middling quality).

The other notable sport area to mention is Vantage. It is like a slightly better version of North Table Mountain (I don't mean this as a compliment), 2.5 hours away. 

- Access to well protected bouldering, V0-V5 (by well protected I mean flat landings)

The win does arguably go to Seattle here. Front Range bouldering is notorious for being great in the hard grades, but generally mediocre for casual moderates. PNW granite bouldering is quite good  throughout a wide grade range and including lower grades, especially at Leavenworth and Squamish. But these are a 2:15 and 3:30 hour drive, respectively, and both drives are often complicated by traffic. There's closer stuff as well around Index and Gold Bar, 1:15 from Seattle.

In general, alpine and mountaineering access here is great. We have a relatively large amount of seasonal snow down to low altitudes with year round snow on multiple peaks. There are multitudes of easy, right off the highway access points. Heck, up at Rainier, you can damn near start climbing out of your car door. More mountaineering than technical alpine, but stuff like Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, St. Helens are all within easy weekend range of Seattle. Areas up towards Leavenworth have some ice and more technical alpine climbing, although I haven't got to explore it too much yet.

I'd pretty much ditto comments about everything else from JCM above, although I'd add that there are some absolutely incredible gems of alpine/trad climbing with a ~2hr approach that almost nobody touches. You can and will find yourself genuinely alone, which is an absolute rarity IME with Colorado. 

However, WA in total has about the same number of registered climbs as just the Front Range alone, so...     its a hard sell. However, their are plenty of other things to do as well, bike, hike, whitewater, etc.

If you like the vibes of the area, could be worth it. Don't know if I could sell anyone on the climbing alone though

Worth mentioning is that most the approaches in western Washington for bouldering are as long as it takes to drive to leavenworth.

Ian Lauer wrote:

However, WA in total has about the same number of registered climbs as just the Front Range alone, so...     its a hard sell. However, their are plenty of other things to do as well, bike, hike, whitewater, etc.

I think the Front Range has so many climbs because it has so many climbers. Like, why did Castlewood Canyon get developed, except that somebody *needed* to put up a route, and everything worth doing, close to the road, had already been done.

There are a lot fewer garbage crags in the Seattle area than on the front range, but probably a similar quantity of high quality climbing. A lot of it is buried under a long approach/long drive. Like, RMNP style approaches, but with a much higher volume of climbs.

The short season is really the problem. I've climbed in Eldo and on the Flatirons every month of the year, in the same year, without carefully watching weather. I don't expect to ever have that experience at any crag in Washington.

Petsfed 00 wrote:

I agree with most of that, particularly the climbing density around the Front Range. But, we do have several crags that are open all year, including Tieton out my back door. Not within easy reach of Seattle, but you said "anywhere', so... 

Thanks for the responses everyone. Much appreciated.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

Worth mentioning is that most the approaches in western Washington for bouldering are as long as it takes to drive to leavenworth.

What bouldering areas do you consider western WA?

Also, from some of the comments on this thread and me skimming MP... What do y'all think of these summaries re top places to climb near Seattle? I have never climbed there so they could be off but just the idea about them I've gathered so far

Exit 32/38 & Vantage
- Somewhat equivalent to CCC/North Table, although maybe a bit of a downgrade. But still provides convenient sport climbing access for after work laps.

Darrington
- Seems like the spot for long multipitch close to Seattle (75 mins). Lots of sweet routes in an amazing setting. Downside is approaches look pretty brutal.

Index
- Incredibly high quality trad cragging. 1 hour from Seattle and super easy approaches. Some casual multipitch. Grades get hard very quick though. On a positive note of it being hard it looks like the rock is super bomber and protection is often excellent? Also, seems like pretty solid bouldering?

Leavenworth
- Seems similar to Index but more of a focus on bouldering? 2 hours from Seattle but easy approaches. Occasional multipitch.

Squamish
- World class but 3.5 hour drive. Have to deal with border.

Gold Bar
- High quality (and dense?) bouldering less than an hour from Seattle

Probably am missing some Cascades/Enchantments areas that have long trad multipitch but I’m guessing those are in the 2+ hour drive/long approach category? Not that I wouldn’t be interested but just my impression from skimming MP.

If your job allows, consider Central/Eastern Washington as it has significantly better options/access than Seattle.   

Crux Pitch of Comic Relief wrote:

What bouldering areas do you consider western WA?

What do y'all think of these summaries re top places to climb near Seattle? 

Your summaries are all pretty accurate. Though the drive times you are citing are a bit on the low end. For realistic drive times starting from most neighborhoods within the city, add about 15-20 min to all of those estimates.

Re: Bouldering. Western WA bouldering basically means the Skykomish Valley (HWY 2) from Gold Bar to Skykomish, plus major tributaries like the Miller River. Although these are closer geographically to Seattle, you don't actually save much travel time vs. going to Leavenworth. A major example is Gold Bar. While there are a few roadside boulders, to access the main area it is an hour walk up a dirt road. So you could get to Leavenworth in about the same time.

Crux Pitch of Comic Relief wrote:

Thanks for the responses everyone. Much appreciated.

What bouldering areas do you consider western WA?

Also, from some of the comments on this thread and me skimming MP... What do y'all think of these summaries re top places to climb near Seattle? I have never climbed there so they could be off but just the idea about them I've gathered so far

Exit 32/38 & Vantage
- Somewhat equivalent to CCC/North Table, although maybe a bit of a downgrade. But still provides convenient sport climbing access for after work laps.

Vantage is about 2.5 hours away. It has great weather and great route density but truly lacks many 5.12s or good climbs. It is in the desert of Washington. 

I mostly climb in the exits afterwork, if you pick an ideal location you can easily knock out 200 pitches in a season in North Bend. 

Darrington
- Seems like the spot for long multipitch close to Seattle (75 mins). Lots of sweet routes in an amazing setting. Downside is approaches look pretty brutal.

It is a lot of granite slab. Washington pass is the more popular multi pitch destination. 

Index
- Incredibly high quality trad cragging. 1 hour from Seattle and super easy approaches. Some casual multipitch. Grades get hard very quick though. On a positive note of it being hard it looks like the rock is super bomber and protection is often excellent? Also, seems like pretty solid bouldering?

The protection is very very good, if anything the sport climbers are scarier. The bouldering is not particularly dense and exceptionally mossy. Also the road to half the boulders in index is closed for the next year/two years?

Leavenworth
- Seems similar to Index but more of a focus on bouldering? 2 hours from Seattle but easy approaches. Occasional multipitch.

I have probably done 30 pitches on a rope in Leavenworth and I think I would have rather gone bouldering most the time. People love multipitch; one of the most popular alpine slogs is in the enchantments which is worth doing for just the hike. 

Squamish
- World class but 3.5 hour drive. Have to deal with border.

The parking situations can be extremely stressful. Chek might be the most crowded crag I have ever been to.

Gold Bar
- High quality (and dense?) bouldering less than an hour from Seattle

I would say medium quality with okay density. The approach to most the dense boulders is 2 miles uphill. There are some zones that are dense but it is easy to climb out the easy approach areas fast. The remaining boulders in the western washington guide book in the skykomish valley either have had their approaches altered, closed or have been claimed by moss. 

Probably am missing some Cascades/Enchantments areas that have long trad multipitch but I’m guessing those are in the 2+ hour drive/long approach category? Not that I wouldn’t be interested but just my impression from skimming MP.

Most of the enchantments is accessed from Leavenworth. 

The remaining western washington bouldering areas that see traffic are in the exits, lost ledge, or the middle fork.

There is also Mazama (4 hours from Seattle) that has exceptionally convenient sport climbing good place to go if it has just been raining in western washington. 

There is also Skaha (6 hours) in Canada which I enjoy much much cheaper than squamish.

Finally Smith. Some people drive to smith every weekend from Seattle.

Dont underestimate the traffic here, while Seattle isnt anywhere near as bad as I-70 on a powder day it has been taking me 2.5 hours to get home from index on weekends this year. I haven't regularly gone to the gyms since 2019 but SBP, Vertical World, and edgeworks are suffocatingly crowded. Seattle gym climbers are generally horrific outdoor climbing partners. 

CPCR and PPL hit all the nails on the head in the comments above.

While I have never lived in CO, I can comment on Seattle having lived here for a long while. In terms of after work climbing, it’s fairly challenging unless you are very motivated. Exit 32/38 is the best bet, but with any notion of a long work day, paired with limited daylight and precip, I haven’t found it super practical to get out to the crag many days in the week. Not surprisingly, climbing gyms are wildly popular.

Given 2-6 hours of driving, there is a ton of rock and alpine climbing with year round options. For bigger semi-remote alpine objectives, there probably aren’t too many cities in the world with such easy access to this volume of routes. I think that’s what really makes this region really special. A lot of the climbing community here seems to be centric around that too.

I feel like the typical MO of climbers out here is to totally burn themselves out on weekends, and then spend the week recovering and working out.

Chris C wrote:

CPCR and PPL hit all the nails on the head in the comments above.

While I have never lived in CO, I can comment on Seattle having lived here for a long while. In terms of after work climbing, it’s fairly challenging unless you are very motivated. Exit 32/38 is the best bet, but with any notion of a long work day, paired with limited daylight and precip, I haven’t found it super practical to get out to the crag many days in the week. Not surprisingly, climbing gyms are wildly popular.

Given 2-6 hours of driving, there is a ton of rock and alpine climbing with year round options. For bigger semi-remote alpine objectives, there probably aren’t too many cities in the world with such easy access to this volume of routes. I think that’s what really makes this region really special. A lot of the climbing community here seems to be centric around that too.

I feel like the typical MO of climbers out here is to totally burn themselves out on weekends, and then spend the week recovering and working out.

That was my sense too. It feels a bit like having both Yosemite and the Wind River Range, all within 3 hours of my (extreme northern edge of Seattle metro) doorstep.

Yeah, the season is short. Holy cow do some of the approaches suck. But if your thing is *mountain* climbing, the PNW blows Denver clean out of the water. I grew up on the front range, learned to climb in Eldo and Boulder Canyon, and the Flatirons. And spent half my life climbing at Vedauwoo. I am not disappointed at the climbing here.

If you are a 5.9 or 5.10 rock climber (and especially one with a normal work schedule or family commitments, or lacking interest in mountaineering type outings) you will find Seattle a massive downgrade from the Front Range, and that’s regarding quality, quantity, variety, access and climbing season.

The destination-worthy crags and multi pitch walls are mostly clustered at .11+ to .13+. Drive times depend heavily on where in the metro area you live and what days/times you are free. You will not be driving to Leavenworth in 2 hours, nor Index in 1. Driving home to Seattle from either of those places could easily take 2x that long, and reliably 2x as long on Sundays. 

I'm a regular 10/11- punter and I think there's plenty of destination-worthy crags and walls in the area. If you're smart about when you drive, and lucky enough to have some flexibility with work hours, I've found drive times to be reasonable. Then again I moved here from the wastelands of the East Coast...

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand the sentiment that there are no worthy moderate crags in the area....  There are plenty. Not as many as the Front Range, but the Range is an exception for most of the country

A couple of other points to consider:

1) Slightly longer days in Seattle during the summer.  After work climbing is easy although travel time is very location dependent.  

2) Virtually no June/July/August thunder storms. 

I feel like weather is something not being mentioned enough…