Smith - East Coast off the couch

Abe rolled into town on Wednesday of last week.  I took Thursday and Friday off from work so we could go get our play ON.  Day one was penciled in as Smith Rocks.  We got our gear together in the morning and headed out to Smith where we enjoyed a nice full day of climbing while trying to avoid the sun.

After hibernating from climbing for a while, Abe roped in and proceeded to crush it!  Smith has a distinct heady and crimpy style that can often be a bit of an acquired taste but Abe was right at home pulling on knobs and pebbles.

It was a great day out and it was day 1 of 4 days of playing....we stopped at the Terrebonne Depot for an after climb beer where we drank in the post-climb glow with some Central Oregon hop nectar.

Not a bad introduction to Central Oregon for my east coast homie....Thx to Abe for the pix!

Rockin' some Smith on Labor Day

We made a trip to Smith on Labor day and hiked up towards the Marsupials where we thought the crowds would thin out due to the hike.  Success!  Good day out on the stone...

Smith Rocks - The Zoo

With the unseasonably warm weather this weekend, we decided to switch it up and seek fun in the sun.  The snow conditions are abysmal at best but the forecasters were predicting 60 degree temps for the weekend.

The loose game plan was to climb a day and ride a day.  Saturday was our day to climb so we got got moving and put a plan together:  The Zoo.  The crux for the approach was to determine whether to go via Skull Hollow or via the  regular Smith 'trade route'.  We opted for skull hollow as the hike up and over Burma road was brutal.

Time wise, it was probably about the same to go via Skull Hollow or the Smith side.  The Skull Hollow was a better option as the hike in was mellower and more importantly it was away from the hordes of people.

After a nice hour long approach with amazing views, we descended into the drainage were the Zoo sits.  We opted for a nice mellow 5.8 to start with.  It had been a while since either of us had been on real stone so we wanted to find our groover and flow before jumping on anything more demanding.

It felt a little awkward at first but I tried to remind myself of how that seems to be typical for me on many first climbs of the day, and somehow I always seem to overthink the easy stuff.  Perhaps because the mind has the opportunity to wander a little?

We did a quick lap on the warm up and then moved over towards the platform where we did a couple more routes.  We stepped up the grade each time and somehow managed to keep climbing without falling.  There was only 1 other party there so it was very different feel than what we predicted was playing out at Smith proper where people were probably waiting in lines to jump on the stone.

It was a 4 route day - not a ton of routes but probably about the limit for us considering we had a nice long 1 hour hike out back to the car.  It felt good to get back on stone and it also felt good to force the body to work hard and also get the lead head back on outside.

Overall, it was a really pleasant day on steep stone at Smith...yes, I said steep stone at Smith!

gimme gimme!

Smith Revisited

The last week included a welcome surprise from an old friend back east.  Despite the threat of inclement weather during the shoulder season, we were able to make the most out of Dan's visit to Central Oregon.  We squeezed in a bunch of riding and climbing during the few days he was here.

Having guests is always a treat since it feels like re-discovering the area we live in all over again.  It makes you appreciate the area and remember all the reasons we wanted to move here.  Our extended backyard is a destination for many and it does not take long to remember not to get complacent and to really and truly enjoy this amazing little spot in Central Oregon.

We headed out to Smith and managed to even find some steep routes in some of the gullies around the main climbing areas.  It was a great time and I could start to feel the flow coming back while on the rope.  In some ways, a little goes a long ways….below are some pix of some of the fun:

 prepping and posing for some backyard bouldering action:

 D getting his FA on….

Proof Positive Steep Smith

Below is some proof that steep climbing is around Central Oregon....the area requires one lonnnng, steep (to match the climbing) approach, and the routes definitely require traffic in order to clean up but ahhh - thuggy climbing does exist!

I was a bit frazzled on the first climb as I pulled off 3 handfuls of rock while climbing which led to a couple of interesting falls and a very very tentative climbing mind after.  It was hard to trust your feet for fear of exploding off the cliff side...3 times bitten, many times over shy....  The area definitely needs some traffic in order to clean up and be a little more secure but it was a great day to be out cragging...and most importantly we were where the crowds were NOT.

Steep Climbing Smith?

Yes, it does exist....it is few and far between and in this case the approach was a nice long 1 1/2 hrs to get to the crag but the scenery along the way was worth the long hike in.  Below are some pictures of the approach into/out of the crag.

the return at the end of the day...Josh with their new pup Ainsley who was very well behaved for being a new member of the K family

 Smith....we started from the parking lot in the mid-left part of the picture.

 One of the good things about the approach....it thins out the herd at the crag!

 dropping back down to the river...to be followed with a quick short steep hike to the parking lot.

 Smith Rocks....looking west..

 the fish eye version