P1 - 5.5 - climb short chimney to belay on big ledge p2 - 5.7 C2 - on far right end of ledge free climb then resort to aid in crack heading up left follow crack and fixed stuff using hooks. be very carful of the loose block midway. end on small ledge. p3 - 5.4 C2 - traverse left along ledge and resort to aid in the crack. follow crack to fixed gear then some free to another big ledge.
p4 - 5.8 C1 reach high for first fixed piece follow fixed gear with some hooks to mantle to tiny ledge.
p5 - 5.4 C1 climb fixed ladder with some hooks to some free to the summit.
descent with 2 ropes rap from 5 to 3 then from 3 to the ground. watch for stuck ropes on the first rap.
Location
Follow the trail for about 1.5 miles to pillar
Protection
Small clean aid rack to # 2 or # 3 Camalot, hooks, small pin selection(sawed-offs) incase fixed stuff is missing, lots of tie offs. All belays have nice bolts.
One of the classic "desert towers of Oregon". Great adventure climb (some of the fixed gear is unforgettable :) on an AWSOME formation! FFA by J. Thomas at 11a (damn!).
I see several comments about the terrible nature of fixed gear and drill holes on this route. I drilled many of the 110 bolt holes on this route in 1950, and could become sensitive to such language. Have fun anyway! Don Baars
Don Baars, that was a lot of work. It looks like you made a lot of the gear yourself. Did you make the lag bolt hangers?
We did the west face route and the rappel from the top gives you a great look at this route. The hardware (bolts) are some of the funkiest I have seen in thirty years of climbing. They make those angle iron bed frame hangers seem like star wars technology. Lag bolts that had been bent into loops then screw into lead sleeves. Quarter inch to 3/8ths with old SMC and Leeper hangers drilled pins it is all there. Probably a fun aid line but I would not want to fall far on a lot of that stuff.
If someone updates the route I hope they clean it up (fill holes etc.) but it would be cool if the Lag bolts remain just for the history they represent.
One of Don's lag bolts from his FA of the tower is in the upper right hand corner below (the other stuff is also from the route as it was in '04):
I think "cleaning up" the NE Face route would take away from its character. Seemed as though there were enough new/good bolts already to make it pretty stress free as it is.
E.R., if you liked Steins, you should check out the Turkey Monster...as well as some other Oregon towers:
I am glad you posted the photos rpc. I have been trying to tell people about that stuff but a picture is worth a 1000 words. When I say clean up I mean fill in some of the old bolt holes with epoxy and sand. I think all the old hardware is a trip to look at and probably more so to climb past or aid. The funny thing about Stein's is that I generally don't do stuff like that but my buddy here, Jimbo, strongly urged me to do it. As usual once I am off the ground I enjoy the heck out of things like the pillar. Thanks, EFR
Eric, thanks for the info. on the SW face. Sounds like the protection was reasonable? Looks like a great line!
BTW, here's what the old guidebooks say about the history of the SW a.k.a. W Face route: First ascent of this route made by J. Nieland, E. Dod in October 1967. First free ascent made by B. McGown and J. Thomas in July 1977.
Steins Pillar
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