Smith Rock in the Summer (shade)

This summer I will be in Bend a lot and I am looking to climb at smith rock! I have seen that places like the backside of smith, smith rock group, red wall, and lower gorge all have shade at some point in the day. My question:

Do crags like christian brothers, dihedrals, cocaine gully, agro gully ever get shade at some point in the day? Or will I be baking all day at those crags? Also, any more beta on shaded climbs at smith would be much appreciated :) 

There is shade everywhere, just have to find it. Darkness at Noon/Heinous is a great example. Just depends on time of day really. One side of a gully will be sun, other will be shade. 

You can chase the shade all day there, something is always in.  Start on the backside in the morning and move to the front in the afternoon/evening.

FYI they are planning to replace the bridge this summer (July-September I think?) When i read about it, it was unclear if the park (aside from lower gorge and rope de dope) is going to be officially closed or people just discouraged from crossing the river. 

I spoke with one of the park rangers and he mentioned that once work on the new bridge begins there will not be a bridge available to cross the river. He also mentioned that people will not be allowed to cross the river out of concern for stream bank erosion and disturbance of the fresh water mussels. 

Thank you all for the beta :)

You won't want to climb at the Christian Brothers or Dihedrals in the summer. Although they get later afternoon shade, the rock gets roasted in the sun all morning and will way too warm. In the main area the Phoenix and Llama wall go into the shade much earlier in the day, but may be inaccessible due to the bridge replacement. Red wall is good for late afternoon shade with lots of good moderate single- and multipitch, same issue with the bridge.

Some good options for shade include the Northern Point (short, steep basalt, short approach, shade almost all day) the Lower Gorge has some west facing walls(AM shade) if you cross the river by Cruel Sister and lots of east facing walls(PM shade), although the rock here can get pretty warm in the morning and take a while to cool down too.

My preference for summer climbing is the Marsupials. 30 minute to 1 hour approach, lots of walls that get morning shade. Brogan Spire is probably the best warm weather crag at Smith, gets shade until 3pm. There are a couple options for crossing the river (water levels are too high now, but will drop by summer): these include a crossing below the Nothern Point and another one upstream by two large dead trees, accessed by a chimney downclimb at the rim by Northern point. Take some time to figure out the approach and you'll be rewarded. If you start before 8 you can hike up Burma Rd while it is still shaded, which makes a big difference to start the day. Obviously pack lots of water and expect the hike out in the afternoon to be blazing hot.

The biggest factor I've found for summer climbing is the overnight low temperature, which dictates how the rock feels in the morning. For me, if overnight lows are below 60F, it can be really good conditions, especially with some breeze. If it's not getting below 60 at night, I find the conditions pretty bad and don't usually try to climb.

How is Monkey Face in the summer?  What would be the best time of day to climb it?

Chris Y wrote:

How is Monkey Face in the summer?  What would be the best time of day to climb it?

Don't invade my thread bot

Tristan, I'm am not a bot.  I'm in Redmond now.  Climbing tomorrow with a high of 98 degrees.  Plan to climb Monkeyface Sunday and don't know the sun exposure.  Really.  i want to know how reasonable it would be to climb into the afternoon with these conditions.  This seemed to parallel your discussion.

Chris Y wrote:

Climbing tomorrow with a high of 98 degrees.  Plan to climb Monkeyface Sunday and don't know the sun exposure.  Really.  i want to know how reasonable it would be to climb into the afternoon with these conditions.

Start as early as possible. Assuming you are doing the Pioneer Route you will be in the sun all day and the afternoon will be pretty unreasonable. Monkey Space will be shaded in the morning, and the Northwest Corner***** has shade until late afternoon.

Best way to do Smith in summer is start early, chase shade till 10am, hike out, drive to town for a brewery lunch, then kill time till returning around 3-4pm to chase shade again

Chris Y wrote:

Tristan, I'm am not a bot.  I'm in Redmond now.  Climbing tomorrow with a high of 98 degrees.  Plan to climb Monkeyface Sunday and don't know the sun exposure.  Really.  i want to know how reasonable it would be to climb into the afternoon with these conditions.  This seemed to parallel your discussion.

Not sure what route you're doing but you'll definitely have sun at the top!  :). If you're doing the Pioneer Route I would strongly suggest doing Monkey off My Back - much more fun and takes you all the way to the top.  It looks like it will be breezy (15 mph) so...  I would bring a layer plus a windbreaker. I can be cold in the shade with the wind and the mouth seems to always be cold to me.  Have fun!

Riot The Cat wrote:

I spoke with one of the park rangers and he mentioned that once work on the new bridge begins there will not be a bridge available to cross the river. He also mentioned that people will not be allowed to cross the river out of concern for stream bank erosion and disturbance of the fresh water mussels. 

It seems that using the horse crossings/fords would be acceptable, but I'd want to verify with the park staff in light of this comment.