Portland/Vancouver crag summary and details

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Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	Horsethief Butte	Countryside locale, semi-desert environment with year-round access.	Its a roughly oblong bluff formation with multiple aspects, both facing outside and inside into narrow grottoes and alcoves. Treeless environment.	Paved road access to the site (SR14), with paved parking lot. Anticipate 1.5 hours drive from Portland.	Good trails at the site (a 3-5 minute flat walk).	Beginner to expert. Very popular crag for hikers and rock climbers.	Height varies from tall on the outer sides (up to 60' tall), and quite short on the inner corridors (30'-40' max).	Basalt rock, with numerous angular structures with a plethora of edges and ledges. Many sections are high quality with enjoyable climb variety. The outer south wall is poor quality and generally avoided.	Low-elevation site overlooking the Columbia River.
Details	Anytime 12-months of the year, but Fall and Spring seasons are supreme.	Traditional climbing on a variety of very short face or crack systems.	Range from 25-40' shorty routes (on the inner portions of the crag), and up to 60' tall routes (on the outer walls of the crag site).	QD's and gear (nuts and cams).	About 100 rock climbs, ranging from 5.4 to 5.12-. A broad variety of climbs exist in all grades. Some persons utilize the site for purely instructional learning, some for leading, and others use it extensively for bouldering (vertical and traversing).	Use caution when setting up gear anchors on top of the formation.	Ticks (in spring season), infrequent rattlesnakes, and poison oak in certain areas.	Washington State Parks managed site with day use fee.	PRC-NWOR

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	OH8 Crag	Countryside location with year-round access, about 10 minutes drive from town.	West facing crag, PM sunshine, minimal oak tree open forested environment.	Paved road access (secondary county road).	A convenient walking access a few yards up a talus slope.	Intermediate to expert.	Height is about 50' at the south end and progressively gets shorter the further north you travel. The crag face is vertical but with numerous blocky steps and ledges.	Basalt rock broken in blocky steps and ledges. Quality....well its OK relatively speaking.	Low-elevation site (150' elevation) a few minutes drive from the Columbia River.
Details	Fall, winter, or spring seasons. An reasonable place to climb when escaping from Portland rainstorms and mid-winter blues.	Mixed sport/trad and bolt/gear face and crack climbs.	About 40-80' is common for routes here.	Quick-draws, and some type of minor specific cams or stoppers (see guidebook) which is usually required for most of the routes.	About 30 climbs ranging from 5.9 to 5.12a. A broad variety that can get just about anyone pumped if you work the entire tour.	Best not to stand directly under the climber. Wise to wear a helmet while climbing and belaying here.	Poison oak, ticks, snakes, loose stones, can there possibly be anymore.	USFS land, no permits, but endemic plants to avoid disturbing.	PRC-NWOR

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	Syncline Wall	Countryside locale with year-round access, a short 15 minute walk uphill from SR 14 highway.	West-ish facing crag, PM sunshine, but open virtually treeless environment.	Paved road access (about 1.25 hours from Portland).	A 15 minute gentle uphill hike on narrow path. Super easy access to the top of the crag for setting up all routes as top-rope sessions.	Beginner to expert.	About 40' tall max, and just slightly less than vertical cliff face.	Basalt columns, tilting just slightly. Rock is mostly clean, with minor moss or lichen on less traveled routes, mainly in the seams or cracks.	Low-elevation site (300' elevation).
Details	Fall or Spring season (though spring season can be loaded with ticks). Summer is too hot.	Traditional crack leads, and some rounded buttress TR's on a crag.	About 40-60' tall. Shorter routes on the upper left end.	Quick-draws and a rack of gear (cams and stoppers), and a few slings if setting up top-ropes.	About 25+ climbs from 5.7 to 5.11, with emphasis in 5.8-5.9 and 5.11- areas.	Probably none, but routes are usually top-roped. Technical challenge due to widening cracks at top.	Rattlesnakes, poison oak, and ticks (especially in spring season).	No permits needed. The land in this long syncline area is of mixed ownership ranging from USFS/BLM, private, and non-profit foundations.	PRC-NWOR

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	Lyle Tunnel Crag	Rural locale along SR14 highway, at the east end of the small town of Lyle just before the tunnel.	South facing aspect, AM-PM all day sunshine.	Paved road access. Anticipate 1.25 hours drive from Portland.	Zero hiking distance.	Beginner to intermediate.	About 40' tall max.	Basalt rock. Quality....pockets, crack corners, edges and ledges.	Low-elevation site near Columbia River.
Details	All year is OK, but scorching hot summer days are probably not an option.	Sport/trad mixed at a very short crag.	About 40' maximum, mostly vertical, with some blocky steps and ledges.	Quick-draws and rack of gear (cams and stoppers).	About 6 routes, from 5.6 to 5.10 at each site.	....	Ticks maybe, but more likely sunburn.	WDOT managed land.	PRC-NWOR

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	Little Lyle Crag	Rural locale along SR14 highway, a few minutes drive west of the small town of Lyle.	South facing aspect, AM-PM all day sunshine.	Paved road access. Anticipate 1.25 hours drive from Portland.	Zero hiking distance.	Beginner to intermediate.	Only the lower cliff band is used, and its about 40' tall max.	Basalt rock. Quality....well I'll leave that one to your imagination.	Low-elevation site near Columbia River.
Details	All year is OK, but scorching hot summer days are probably not an option.	Sport/trad mixed at a very short crag.	About 40' maximum, mostly vertical, with some blocky steps and ledges.	Quick-draws and rack of gear (cams and stoppers).	About 6 routes, from 5.6 to 5.10 at each site.	....	Ticks maybe, but more likely sunburn.	WDOT managed land.	PRC-NWOR

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	The Bypass	Rural locale, roadside crag, and a few miles from the town of Bingen.	West facing, in a lightly forested oak tree environment.	Paved road access.	A 1 minute descent approach to crag on skinny path.	Intermediate to expert.	About 35' tall, vertical and slightly hung in places.	Basalt crag. Quality is surprisingly reasonable considering the typical low altitude junk that crops up in this area of the Gorge.	Low-elevation site.
Details	May through October.	Sport climbing at a short bluff.	About 35' tall max.	Quick-draws only.	About 15 short routes, ranging from 5.7 to 5.12-.	....	Sometimes garbage or a carcass gets tossed over the edge of the bluff but it generally is kept fairly clean by local climbers.	WSDOT right-of-way land.	Mtn Project

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	Windy Slab	Rural locale along Washington State Route 14 with year-round access.	South facing slab, full AM-PM sunshine all day.	Paved road access to site.	No trail, just a steep talus slope getting up onto the flat landing at the crag.	Basic and intermediate.	Height is 40' max, and it's about a 60° slab.	Andesite rock slab with clean rock and minimal lichen.	Low-elevation site on the north side of SR 14 highway on the lower slopes of Wind Mtn.
Details	From April-October.	Mostly sport climbing (1-2 mixed gear leads).	About 35-40' for most routes.	Just quick-draws (a small minor rack of gear for 1-2 routes if you opt to lead those). Skill Level: Beginner to expert.	About 10 routes, ranging from 5.4 to 5.10+.	....	Perhaps ticks in spring season.	WSDOT owned land.	PRC-NWOR

Crag Name	Location	Orientation	Road Type	Trail Approach	Skill Level	Crag Height	Rock Type	Site Elevation
Summary	Monte Cristo Slab	Countryside locale, mid-altitude forested environment, with seasonal access.	West facing, and sunshine from 8-9am till sundown.	NF66 is a well maintained Skamania County road (paved and gravel). NF6610 is potholed, with minimal maintenance. Other alternate roads from Peterson Prairie and Trout Lake are gravel maintained. Anticipate 2 hours drive from Portland.	Path is well designed to cliff-base (a 5 minutes uphill hike).	Beginner or older generation climber who prefers 5.3 to 5.9 slab climbing.	Low angle slab, with routes ranging from 100' to 215'.	Diorite rock slab of good quality.	Site is at about 3400' elevation.
Details	From June through mid-October. Anytime of day. Snow covered during winter.	An all bolted sport climbing slab.	About 100' to 215' max.	Just quick-draws.	About 60 routes, 5.3 to 5.9 mostly (and a few brief harder lines up to 5.10+).	A good family friendly crag. But caution is wise especially if its your first time leading slab because it will feel runout. And a leader slide between bolts on a slab is a scraper (so perhaps wear long pants or just don't slide). Or let the experienced leader go first on the sharp end.	Flies or mosquitoes in June for a few weeks, but by July the baking heat curtails that.	none.	PRC-MCS