Seasonal raptor closure at Monument Area MORE INFO >>>
Rock climbing is not allowed 1/4 mile either side of the Monument due to a nesting pair of Golden Eagles. The birds are using Staender Ridge as a perch therefore it is also within the closure area. The trail which is on the backside of the Monument is open to through traffic, but hiking is not allowed around the cliff faces.
This is the big prize in the Upper Gorge. If there is a harder route on a basalt column anywhere in the world, I'd like to see it.This route is the ultimate in a unique genre of double-arete column climbing, or "Outies" (vs. "Innies") as Jeff Frizzel sometimes called them. If you're interested in achieving an ascent of this route, I recommend a gradual apprenticeship through the bolted columns of the Lower Gorge (routes such as Try to Be Hip & ...[more]Browse More Classics in OR
By Peter Franzen Administrator From: Portland, OR Sep 1, 2008
Condition update on the approach:
Apparently, nobody goes here any more. After dropping down the gully from the rim we were faced with some hellish bushwhacking through 8ft. tall reeds and underbrush. We were able to fight our way to E-Type Jag, but most routes out here will need some significant brush clearing in order to have a place from which to belay.
Full-length pants and sleeves should be considered essential equipment for this approach, and a machete wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Are there any access issues with any of the cliffs in the upper gorge? Watts mentions in his guidebook that the Red Columns and the Ivory Coast are closed to climbing due to liability concerns of the property owners. I know this book was written a long time ago and I also know that people have climbed in these areas in recent years. What is the latest? Anyone know anything? Am I going to get shot at if I try to climb here?
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