Stone Soup

This route was established as a practice aid route close to Portland. In 2016 the route was freed, starting via Smoke Signals.

Both the aid climbing and free climbing descriptions and grades are provided here.

AID CLIMBING OPTION

Pitch by pitch aid descriptions (edited 31 March 2017)

Pitch 1: Approximately 30 m, 5.7 C1. Start up the slab about 100 feet right of the climbing/no climbing boundary. The first pitch begins with some free climbing and progresses into aid about half way up. A few bolts are used on the head wall. Finish at a bolted belay on a grassy ledge.

Pitch 2: Approximately 30 m, C1F. Continue up a corner system, past a tree and follow cracks and seams to a bolt and an arching overhang, and another 2 bolts. Step up and then right past a tree with tat and progress up a bolted head wall to a 3 bolt belay. Mostly small gear on this pitch but include cams to supplement the bolts. This is the second pitch of Smoke Signals.

Pitch 3: 25m 5.8ish Move the belay to above the big tree on the ledge. Continue up the corner right of the anchor and through a series of ledges. Traverse left behind a large tree and continue left and up a seriously bushy ramp. Behind the bush is a double off-width crack with a bolt at the start. Belay from atop of these cracks using the first bolts of pitch 4's bolt ladder.

Pitch 4: 15m C0 Bolt ladder, with one hook move between bolts if you can't reach. Bolt belay at the top.

Pitch 5: 30m 5.6 C1F From the belay move thru easy slabby terrain clipping a couple bolts and following a fixed line to an anchor behind a tree. Head strait up on bolts to a small roof. A couple free moves and bolts get you to a pair of bolts with chains at a hanging belay.

Pitch 6: 25m 5.8 C1 From the hanging belay, head strait up on gear to a bolt, or head right for more free climbing. Both join together for loose free and C0 climbing to the final anchors.

Pitch 7: 30m Head up along 3rd class terrain and a few 5th class steps to the hikers trail on top.

This route was free climbed in the spring of 2016 using Smoke Signals for the first pitches. 

All anchors are good bolts. There are also a generous number of protection bolts on the pitches. Goes clean with a few fixed pins, and even if they blew you can probably find a way up on clean gear.

Thanks to the fixed gear, you don't need lots of clean gear to climb this route. Bring doubles from tiny through .5 C4, one or two .75, and one each 1 through 3. Didn't have to have the 3. I mostly placed small cams, grey-red C3. Bring at least one hook. I placed only one nut, but there was plenty of opportunity to place them. Offset nuts are helpful, offset cams are not useful. I did not find a large cam at all necessary in the off-width, but if it was wet a 5 or 6 would make it easier. Don't think a 4 would help too much.