Three days in Oregon sampling the delights of Smith Rock. "Smith" is a top quality volcanic outcrop that is situated in a weird almost desert-like clearing among the forested wilderness of Oregon.
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| The easy walk in |
Upon arriving the weather was bleak. Low pressure had bought a couple of days heavy rain. Fortunately volcanic basalt dries quickly and we were climbing by day two.
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| Classic Smith sport |
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| The Monkey Face |
The routes at Smith are mainly single pitch (though there are many longer routes like those on the iconic Monkey Face). The walls are peppered with both trad and sport climbs, the sport climbing on offer being welcome break from the three weeks of crack climbing in Yosemite.
We bagged a handful of climbs such as...
Five Gallon Buckets 5.7 -
as the name suggests, just massive holds
Moonshine Dihedral 5.9 - as the name suggests, a corner climb. Typical 5.9 Trad
Moons of Pluto 5.10d - Amazing bolt clipping hugging an arete
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 | | Five Gallon Buckets 5.7 |
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 | Chain Reaction 5.12c
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 | | Andy leading Moonshine Dihedral 5.9 |
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 | | Moonshine Dihedral 5.9 and Chain Reaction 5.12c |
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Crack climbing is never far away though in the American west and the nearby lower gorge has a wealth of columnar basalt providing some steep hard crack climbs!
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 | | Cruel Sister 5.10 - Brutal splitter |
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 | | Basalt columns |
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| Me down by the river surrounded by Basalt |
Our road trip continued this time heading south to Joshua Tree but not before stopping off at Lovers Leap to climb a couple of the local classics...
The Line (5.9, 120m) and
The Bear's Reach (5.7, 110m)
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| Walking up to Lover Leap |
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| Andy leading off on the classic Bears Reach |
