Crag Info discusses specific quick details about certain key local climbing crags, such as access factors, climbing regulations, precautions, NW Oregon climate, parking and access fees, and tidbits of community spotlight news.
Several local crags have structured governing policy concerning the activity of rock climbing. The land owners and/or governing agencies who oversee these areas strive to bring a degree of beneficial long term multi-purpose use to the site under their care.
These three areas are:
Carver Bridge Cliff is a privately owned crag with limited access granted to Carver Climbing Club members for $8.
Madrone Wall is a high quality favorite for local climbers, utilized frequently in the summer months (from about July onward) yet also especially favored during the cooler and wet Fall and early Winter seasons (because its vertical steepness and its SW sunny crag orientation tends to help keep the cliff drier). The crag is well-known for its exhilarating lead routes, the vast majority being 5.6 to 5.11+ — the perfect range to enhance your lead or top-rope rock climbing skills.
Beacon Rock is a popular climbing crag with a seasonal Peregrine Falcon closure on the south face aspect from approximately mid-Jan to mid-July.
Browse the link to each section for specific access information and other regulatory guidelines.
Our local rock climbing crags do occasionally have certain objective hazards, and rock climbers should take precautionary measure against exposure to poison oak or rock fall risk.
Be safety conscious and use a helmet while climbing, especially at Beacon Rock. Wearing long pants will help to protect against encounters with poison oak. Learn to recognize the 3-leaf cluster of this very prevalent reddish foliage.
When very strong east or west winds are blowing through the Columbia River Gorge, anticipate stone fall hazard to increase at Beacon Rock. Use extra precautionary steps while rock climbing during very strong windy conditions when you are at Beacon Rock.
The Madrone Wall is now a County Park. Local area climbers are once again enjoying one of Portland's best rock climbing sites (seasonal closure restrictions apply due to peregrine falcon nesting factors). Madrone Wall has long been known locally as one of our best localized all-season rock climbing crags, favored for its ideal grade route technical range (5.6 to 5.11+), and enjoyed for its SW sunny orientation (perfect for Fall and early Winter). If you live locally, or even if your just visiting family in town, definitely go rock climbing at the Madrone Wall.
Browse the Madrone web page Madrone Wall for more details.
Rock climbers in Northwest Oregon generally seek the local crags from May to September. During this portion of the year mild Pacific marine air often mixes with inland Great Basin hot weather to bring a climber friendly cycle that keeps Northwest Oregon quite comfortable.
Certain rock climbing sites are located on either state or federal land, which may necessitate attaining a parking permit or parking pass for your vehicle. The Discover Pass for Washington state is for use on state-managed recreation lands – including state parks, water-access points, heritage sites, wildlife and natural areas, trails and trailheads. This pass can be attained online or by mail, or at certain businesses (see the website links below for more info). The Northwest Forest Pass may be required for certain trailhead sites within the U.S. Forest Service managed areas (see links below for more info).
Enola Hill (aka The Swinery) is a well-established crag that holds a sizable selection of steep rock climbs on a bluff that faces directly west overlooking the tiny community of Rhododendron. This quality rock climbing site offers a variety of climbing routes from pure face routes to traditional crack climbs using natural/mixed pro, typically 50’ to 100’ in length.
The crag is well-suited for climbers who have solid 5.10 to 5.11 leading capabilities. The crag is generally accessible during summer weather (May to late October) with a frequent light breeze that rolls up through the trees from the valley below the crag keeping the temperatures comfortable all summer.
Make a visit to the crag and climb some of the favorites such as: Burning Zone, Too Cool, Twenty Year Hangover, Welcome to the Swine, etc.
Chimney Rocks is a cluster of pinnacles on a long sub-ridge southeast of Silver Star Mountain. If the crag were located in Portland it would surely be a very popular climbing area. The outcrop though, is nicely situated on a wind swept ridge with breathtaking views of nearby mountains and the Columbia Gorge.
The spire offers great quality rock climbing. Numerous crack climbing opportunities exist ranging in difficulty from 5.6 to 5.11 and involve mostly natural gear protected leads. You could not ask for a better alpine environment near Portland than this. Never overrun with crowds, crisp mountain air, plenty of sun, plenty of climbing, easy two-mile hiking access along a gated road, and superb scenery.
Hike in and ascend some of the best, such as South Chimney, the South Pillar, the SW Crack, or one of the triple north face cracks.
The Rat Cave is one of Northwest Oregon’s little gems in that it sports a high concentration of difficult rock climbs within a reasonable proximity to Portland metro area.
The Cave is an unusual basalt rock feature with a wildly overhung 30’ horizontal cave roof surrounded with a 50’ steep overhanging outer face. The routes provide an intense opportunity to experience beta-intensive rock climbing requiring endurance, power and movement. The routes are beta intensive, because every single knob looks like a hold. An initial foray might leave you with a sense of being sandbagged but local climbers who know the routes very well can provide great guidance to each climb.
Climbing at the Cave is feasible for 12 months of the year, but the best time to climb here is generally from September till February.
Illumination Rock is a challenging sharp profiled high altitude spire situated high on the SW slopes of Mt. Hood. Illumination Rock is deeply cut by glaciers on all sides yielding a three-sided sharp profiled fin of rock. This unusual rock formation represents some of the most difficult and committing alpine climbing in the entire State of Oregon, and in recent years I-Rock has become the central scene of a whole new dimension in technically demanding alpine routes in Oregon. During the summer months after the snow and rime melts off from the pinnacle, a somewhat reasonable ascent can be made on this wind-swept challenging pinnacle.
All routes to the summit are 5th class rock climbs. After all of your hard effort to conquer I-Rock you will find that the summit block is a teetering boulder that few climbers will venture to stand upon. During Oregon’s long winter months, when Mt. Hood is covered in a mantle of ice and snow, Illumination Rock offers the totally honed alpine climber numerous exhilarating rime ice ridges and alpine ice gullies to ascend.
This core attraction to Illumination Rock provides quite possibly Oregon’s only all-winter site for difficult rime ice ravine climbing of an extraordinaire degree. This type of steep ice climbing requires exceptional stamina, strength, and commitment, as well as proper equipment in order to succeed
The popular Horsethief Butte, located near The Dalles, Oregon, offers an ideal respite from the liberal amounts of western Oregon rain. At this site you can often find sunny weather crag climbing alongside the Columbia River shore. For rock climbers this crag offers a tremendous variety of short boulder problems within a series of corridors in the inner portion of the butte.
This site offers an effective means to practice and enhance the basic concepts of rock climbing and rappeling. The natural open atmosphere of the inner butte offers easy communication from instructor to climber. The Butte is a prominent feature within the Columbia Hills State Park and is a popular site for climbing as well as hiking. Take a drive and ascend some of the favorites: Entrance Cracks, West Nook, main Inner Corridor (with its various classic aretes, rock faces, and plethora of angular cracks).
Gorge waterfall ice is an elusive creature, yet it is quite comparable to some of the finest ice climbs throughout the upper western states.
Though infrequent, Gorge ice does form with a certain degree of regularity. By watching closely for specific weather pattern cycles, ice climbers can attain a reasonable edge of preparedness for its arrival. When extreme winter cold encases the Gorge in a frozen world of cascading ice, vertical ice pillars and ribbon-like ice smears, climbers discover a new dimension amongst the giant rock walls of the Gorge.
One advantage Portland ice climbers enjoy is immediate access to stellar ice (when it forms) in the Gorge via well-traveled highway corridors. The I-84 freeway on the south side of the Columbia River and Washington State Route 14 on the north side provides an efficient conduit for fast access to all the Gorge ice climbs. Hiking approach time to most ice climbs range from one minute to one hour maximum, and this converts to more time climbing on the ice.
When ice is lacking in the Gorge you can compliment your ice climbing career with visits to other major areas such as Banks Lake, Leavenworth, Mazama, Colorado, or Canada, and still have time to catch a bit of the ice ‘wave’ as it rolls through the Gorge.
A few of the fine quality ice climbs are: Crown Jewel, Bent Screw, Black Dagger, Brave New World, Ainsworth Left, etc.
An ascent of Turkey Monster in the Menagerie Wilderness.
A great bit of beta with a great selection of photos that really capture the essence of a wild ascent on this unusual pillar east of Sweet Home, Oregon. The next time you are planning a mid-summer adventure check out the Menagerie.
»»
Turkey Monster
Would anyone ever touch the summit of the St. Peter's Dome massif after Wayne's rope-solo? Yes, indeed! Check out this vivid April 26th, 2008 ascent of the vertical cobblestone choss monster of the Columbia Gorge.
»»
St. Peter's Dome
