Vacation Cragging

Tasmania

by Radek Chalupa
Photos by Radek Chalupa

So you have a bit of time off and are looking for a climbing trip that’s easy to plan and to pull off: no lengthy approaches, no pre-arranged visas, no on-the-ground fixers, no travel advisories to worry about. You want to throw the gear together and drive; or perhaps you’re willing to go that extra mile (and can spend those extra dollars) and book airfare and pre-arrange some ground transport. Either way, you’re looking for an easy rock climbing fix.

The climbs that follow are not exactly off the beaten path but may get overlooked by many Northwest climbers; often taking a backseat to a more popular destination nearby—say doing your twelfth trip to Red Rocks instead of sampling Cochise. The choices below are roughly broken down by available vacation time and season.

Steins Pillar

DAY TRIPS
A quick climbing fix that allows you to sleep in your own bed and yet still provides a satisfying outing does not need to involve Beacon Rock, Smith, Index, or Trout Creek. Washington and Oregon are chock-full of interesting formations scattered throughout the foothills of the Cascades. Many involve only a couple hours of driving and a few have a decent quality rock. The two formations mentioned here have seen some recent route development and so they should each be good for a few outings.

Steins Pillar is an approximately 350 ft. volcanic plug located about a 30-minute drive east of Prineville, Oregon. It is like a sibling of Monkey Face with slightly worse rock but in a more dramatic setting. The original summit route, the 5-pitch Northeast Face, is a fun aid climb for most and a good step up in difficulty from the Pioneer Route. Additionally, the 5-pitch 5.10+ Southwest Face offers good free (or free-ish) climbing with some dramatic exposure and only a touch of chossy stone. The route has updated hardware and traverses a mix of traditional and bolted terrain. Lastly, the Tammy Joe Memorial route, a modern 5.11+ sport affair reportedly located on the proud arête just left of the Southwest Face offers the hard wo/men something to get excited about as well. The best season for Steins is probably fall when the larch trees in the valley below turn gold.

Wolf Rock

The sunny southeast face of Wolf Rock (45 minute drive NE of Blue River, Oregon) offers some of the longer crag routes in Oregon. From rarely repeated aid climbs to modern, mostly bolted pitches, and the in-between, classic Barad-Dur route, an 8-pitch 5.11- (or 5.10 A0) that features a mix of updated and original fixed gear as well as some trad protected pitches. An easier (modernized) option is a route called Morgul Vale—similar in length and about 5.9-5.10- in difficulty depending on the variations taken. Both routes reach the summit (neither would be any fun to rappel) and feature a somewhat adventurous descent. In addition to a section in the Climbing Guide to Northwest Oregon book by Tim Olson (which also includes descriptions for the multitude of single pitch routes along the base of the wall), good information can be found online. The best season for Wolf is likely spring to early summer or fall.

Conchise

WEEKEND TRIPS

Here are a couple of granite climbing options to fill up a winter or summer weekend that involves flying. Cochise Stronghold, about an hour east of Tucson, is a collection of granite domes and spires. It seems that places like Red Rocks or Joshua Tree absorb most of the climbing snowbirds migrating down from the Pacific Northwest in the winter while overlooking Cochise. If you enjoy mid-sized multi-pitch climbing (both trad and bolted), this area is well worth your effort. Pulling this off on a weekend involves flying into Phoenix on Friday night and driving about 2.5 hours. You can camp either on the east side (established) or the west side (primitive) of the Stronghold, with the two being separated by about an hour of driving time. The route options range from slabby, 10-ish pitch affairs on The Sheepshead formation (west) to steeper, more crimpy and with occasional cracks, 4-6 pitch outings on the spectacular Rockfellow Domes (east). Although there’s an outstanding 5.6 (with A0) route called What’s My Line which involves about 3 long pitches of the famous “chicken head” pulling, the options really open up at 5.10- and above. Routes such as Endgame (5 pitch, 5.10-), Days of Future Passed (4 pitch, 5.10), Absinthe of Mallet (8 pitch, 5.9+) and Abracadaver (5 pitch, 5.11-) are not to be missed. Two excellent guidebooks are available: one by Geir Hundal and one (2-volume set) by Tanya Bok. Keep in mind that many of the routes are closed for nesting birds starting in late winter.

Needles

A somewhat similar, summer-time option is the famous Needles crag in southern California. Doing this trip on a 2-day weekend involves some caffeine-enhanced driving enthusiasm as the closest airports with good connections are in the LA area. Though the colorful lichen covered granite formations remind one of Cochise, the area is more compact and the climbing routes tend to involve crisp crack systems. There are a handful of camping spots right at the trailhead and the closest town (Kernville) is about an hour’s drive away. Classic routes start at about 5.8 (e.g. White Punks on Dope) and the grades quickly increase. Moderate lines of Igor Unchained (4 pitch, 5.9) and Thin Ice (4 pitch, 5.10-) are outstanding. A new guidebook by Kris Solem is available online.

Devil's Tower

EXTENDED WEEKEND TRIPS

For those 4-5 day “weekends”, two monoliths offer some interesting climbing in somewhat different settings and with vastly different climbing styles.

Devils Tower in the northeastern corner of Wyoming would be a great short weekend option were it not located in the middle of nowhere. There are currently no direct flights to any nearby airports from Portland. As such, you’re looking at some flying and driving (4hrs from Billings, MT) or a ton of driving (18hrs from Portland). The destination justifies the effort, however, soaring crack systems put you on the summit of this stunning geological oddity in about 4-6 pitches. The entry level climb is the North American Classic of Durrance Route—a 6-pitch line originally rated 5.6 but this rating has crept up as a high as 5.8 in some modern descriptions. The harder but equally classic El Matador (5 pitch, 5.10+) is also not to be missed. The crowning jewel of that route is an approximate 140 ft. stem box formed by the columnar basalt that will make your calves scream. The routes are overwhelmingly crack climbs (trad) and there’s much to do in the 5.8 to 5.11 range. The KOA campground at the foot of The Tower offers decent tent sites. Though we’ve once snuck in a day of climbing in mid-February, Devils Tower is a good shoulder-season destination.

Most climbers have heard of the multi-pitch sport climbing mecca of El Potrero Chico outside of Monterrey in Mexico (itself a very reasonable place to go for 4 or 5 days). The place is indeed one of those perfect climbing-holiday destination. For something a little bit off the beaten path, with far fewer routes but equally friendly bolting, Pena de Bernal monolith in central Mexico offers enough multi-pitch climbs to justify a 4-5 day stay. Climbs that reach the summit are in the 5-6 pitch range and vary in difficulty from 5.7 to 5.12. Typically it is crimpy face climbing on some unusual but solid stone. At least two new moderate (5.10-ish) routes have gone up in the last 2 years and so it’s worthwhile to let your fingers do a bit of online exploring before you go. Older routes are described in two guidebooks available at rockclimbing-mexico.com. The logistics involve flying into either Mexico City (probably cheaper and the inner-city airport makes for some interesting driving) or Queretaro. From there you have to drive to the charming town of Bernal (one of Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos) in the state of Queretaro. Not sure about camping but affordable motel options seemed abundant. Good climbing and excellent gorditas.

WEEKLONG TRIPS

Todra Gorge

For those times when you have a full week available, two potential destinations on two different continents should make your list: Todra Gorge in central Morocco, ideal for early to late spring (or fall); and Los Arenales in Argentina whose prime rock climbing season is in the dead of our winter.

Todra (or Todgha) Gorge, some 20 km north of the town of Tinghir, is an about one kilometer long, dramatically narrow cleft with limestone walls. The climbs are up to a few hundred meters long (about 10 pitches) and the vast majority of the classics are essentially bolted (though a few friends might come in handy). The rock is a sharp, golden color limestone and the geometry of the gorge makes it possible to tailor your climbs to sunny vs. shady faces depending on the ambient temperature. Two classic lines that are not to be missed are Tiwira (8 pitches, 6a+) and Voie Abert a.k.a. Classic (9 pitches, 6b). Both easier and harder options are available with just enough multi-pitch climbing to last about a week. The recommended place to stay is at the Tiwira Guest House some 15-20 minute walk from most climbs. Here you’ll not only find a very welcoming family atmosphere (including home-cooked, tagine meals), but you can also get advice and a general area orientation from the local climber Abdul. In addition, cab rides from and to Marrakesh (the closest international airport, some 6–7 scenic driving hours away and, in 2017, about 140 Euros each way) can be pre-arranged through Abdul and his family (brah.fadil_85@hotmail.com). On rest days, you can check out Kasbah, the next-door hike in the surrounding mountains, or take a taxi to the nearby (2 hrs.) Dades Gorge for some sightseeing.

Los Arenales Valley

Los Arenales is an alpine valley in the Argentinian foothills of the Andes some 3-4 hours driving time from the town of Mendoza. It features some excellent granite trad climbing on buttresses and towers up to 500 meters in length (though the vast majority of the routes are a bit shorter). Although there are probably a few weeks’ worth of classic moderate lines here, our favorites included Mejor No Hablar de Ciertas Cosas or MNHCC route on El Cohete (~11 pitches, 6b) and Armonica en Campanille (7 pitches, 6a+). The logistics involve flying into Mendoza, renting a car and stocking up on food supplies (as well as some excellent local Malbec), then driving south, and either car camping or hiking up valley some 20 minutes to a “refugio” that offers an enclosed cooking space. Once established in camp, the majority of the climbs can be done tent-to-tent in a day. We have found the weather here to be more stable than crags further south (e.g. Frey or Cochamo in Chile). All the climbing beta can be found in the new guidebook arenalesclimbing.com.

TWO WEEKS AND BEYOND

Dolomites

Really, the only limitations here are the budget and your imagination. Trips longer than a week are usually reserved for those destinations that are either a little bit harder to access and/or have slightly more unstable weather. Two possible locales that fit this bill are the Dolomites in northeastern Italy (great for the height of our summer) and the Australian island of Tasmania (ideal during the depths of our winter). Both involve flying in, renting a car, and driving yourself to the multitude of climbs that each area has to offer. Neither require visas and both can be planned as a mix of camping and hotel or alpine hut stays. Both can have capricious weather: 2 or 3 days of rain followed by a couple days of climbable conditions.

The Dolomites are a range of steep, limestone mountains—picture brightly colored, jagged peaks contrasting with the picturesque verdant valleys below. Many airports would work as access points and we’ve used both Munich (just over the border in Germany) as well as Venice for our trips there. The classic routes span a wide range of difficulties (5.4 and up) and the lengths can be tailored to one’s desires; from a few pitches and up to 15 or more. The classic routes have some in-situ protection, mainly fixed pitons of questionable quality, and most belays are fixed (though almost never with modern bolts). A light to mid-sized trad rack is almost always a necessity. There are simply too many classic routes to list, but the ones we found memorable were the famous Spigolo Giallo on Cima Piccola (13 pitches and 5.9) and the Comici route on the north face of Cima Grande (16 pitches and 5.10)—both are in the Tre Cime di Lavaredo area. We also enjoyed the 18-pitch (5.9ish) Pillar Rib on Tofana di Rozes and the Tissi route on the south face of Torre Venezia (15 pitch, 5.8). Very good climbing information can be found in the book by Kohler and Memmel (English edition available).

Tasmania

The rock climbs in Tasmania cannot match the length of the Dolomite classics but what they lack in scale, they more than make up for in variety: from dramatic sea stacks that often require a swim to access, to the multi-pitch splitter crack routes of the Ben Lomond Plateau (a bit like Devils Tower), to the granite domes of the Freycinet Peninsula. There is even some suburban cragging at Mt. Wellington located high above the island’s principle town of Hobart. Both the west side and the interior of the island feature some multi-pitch mountain routes (Frenchman Cap) but the weather never cooperated sufficiently for us to attempt them during our two week stay. With a longish approach hike, a mandatory swim and two exciting tyroleans to set up, climbing The Candlestick sea stack was likely the highlight of our trip. Good and free climbing data can be found at thesarvo.com/confluence/display/thesarvo/Tasmania. Otherwise, a book of select climbs by Gerry Narkowicz can be purchased online.