so i've heard rumors that smith is climable in the depths of winter. well, a friend of mine and i are debating between smith and j-tree for our winter trip. smith would be good for me, b/c i'm really poor and it's so close (i'm in portland these days). so i guess my question is: exactly HOW climbable is smith in the winter? we're not adverse to cold--we're both used to ice climbing on lake superior--but i'm a bit concerned about the amount of sunlight in a day. i don't want my friend to fly in from michigan, only to get a couple hours of climbing in each day. any thoughts would be appreciated! thanks so much. katie

If I tell you that it's going to be below freezing and snowing when you come out then it'll undoubtedly be nice and sunny, and if I tell you that it'll be sunny it'll probably be freezing. ;)

It's a toss-up. Any given day down there during the wniter can be great, and it gets a fair amount of traffic during the winter from the locals. I've climbed there in a t-shirt in February, but I've also been around Bend when it's 15 degrees F outside. As long as you don't have the misfortune of being there during a snow storm (relatively uncommon) it should be plenty clmibable. Just remember to bring down jackets and other warm stuff for when you're not climbing.

well, if that's the way it works, maybe you should tell me it'll be snowing horizontally with crazy cold temps to boot. :) thanks for the info. i suppose if we head toward smith, we'll just have to pack backcountry skis as well.

I have had similar experiences as Peter, some great February days in alot of sunlight, lots of good friction and a fairly vacant park. When the clouds move in and the wind picks up it can be pretty damn cold. Taking skis is a good option, awesome place to trail run as well!

Bring the skis for sure! I bet you could get some great time on the rock plus some excellent backcountry skiing in on your trip. I have been in the Hood River area the last 5 winters and on most days if there is not dry rock around, there is some skiing to be done up high. But of course be ready for consistent rain all day no matter where you go, we are talking about winter in the North West!
Honestly, if I had the chance this winter I would head to Red Rocks or J Tree... but like you I will most likely not have the opportunity to head South this year.
I will be doing a lot of climbing this winter at Smith and at local crags plus hopefully lots of good skiing on Mt. Adams and Hood. Drop an email if you are heading over this way, there is a fun group of people here who motivate each other to get out as often as possible, so most likely something will be going on.