Probably the best bouldering near seattle. I think there may currently be access issues, or maybe the road is just closed. Great angular cut granite boulders with excellent friction.
I dont know the history, but chances are all of the problems have been done years ago, but have grown over with moss over time.
Getting There
Take Hwy 2 east past gold bar, then turn left onto Reiter road. Take this until the road makes a very sharp turn to the left, but go straight instead of turning. There is an obvious 4X4 road on the left after a few miles. It is distinguishable by its giant mud puddle about 30 feet off the road. This road leads up into the clear cut with lots of boulders everywhere.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Gold Bar Boulders:
Traverse to arete on the lightening bolt boulder on the motorcycle trail in the East Forest. Start on left pulls and go right on bad slopers to the hook hold. Move up the right arete to top out. ...[more]Browse More Classics in WA
The turnoff is 2.1 miles from the Highway 2/Reiter road intersection.
The 5 star boulder pullout is on Reiter road a bit further up. It's about a 10 minute walk from the car and is really a world-class boulder.
There is an effort to resolve access issues before they become real problems, and to preserve this great bouldering area. For info, check out the Washington Climbers Coalition, http://washingtonclimbers.org/
Now, who wants to post beta about specific problems? Specifically, what are all the problems on the 5 star? Where is Doja?
Kelly Sheridan has a guide book for Gold Bar that is coming out soon. Check your local climbing stores. His guide book has a ton of Gold Bar problems that are not listed on this site, plus it covers Index and Leavenworth. Click on Kelly's name to contact him and get a guide directly from him.
Central Washington Bouldering: Leavenworth and Gold Bar has finally been released! The book contains over 500 problems in Leavenworth and roughly 150 in Gold Bar. The easiest way to get the guide is to purchase it directly from the publisher at their site: http://www.sharpendbooks.com/prod.php?t=1&q=WA
Be respectful when climbing at Serene and the beach as those are on private property. The land owner for Serene is a nice guy but protecting his land and family are important to him (ran into him today and had a nice chat). Pack out what you pack in and there will be no problems.
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