Hatcher Pass Climbing

This is a very untouched climbing area or rather unknown, full of FA's. The rock is blocky granite with alot of moss because the area receives steady rain in the spring and fall.

Routes
Hatcher Pass has a rich history of climbing, stretching back into the days of Fred Becky (not that those are really over...) Many of the loved classics were originally climbed in the 1980s. Grades can feel stiff and bolted climbs can feel very run out.

A rock climbing guide covers the climbing in Hatcher Pass, by Kelsey Gray. They are "Alaska Rock Climbing Guide" and is available in three editions, although the second is much better than the original, however like all guide books, there are mistakes in Kelsey's book, some mistakes include incorrect bolt counts and incorrect route lengths.

Bolts in Hatcher Pass
While a rebolting initiative has been happening throughout Alaska, many climbs in Hatcher still have bolts from their first ascents, when button heads, compression bolts, and other strange mank was the norm. Take every bolt in the area with a grain of salt. Many button heads still exist on very good routes. Some of these have seen partial rebolts, examples include 'Too Much Fun for You', and excellent 5.10 on the Monolith has alternating new and old bolts, and others have new anchors, but old bolts.

alaskarockclimbing.com/ for the route guidebook.

Bouldering
Current sites covering bouldering at Hatcher Pass areakclimber.com and a Face Book group called AKclimber, both run by Todd Helgeson and David Funatake. A bouldering guide to Alaska was recently released by Todd Helgeson and David Funatake with Kelsey Gray and covers most of the bouldering in Alaska and features an in depth Hatcher Pass section with great details and photos. The guide is available for sale at

akclimber.com/guidebook-ord… for the bouldering guide

Cleaning Boulders
Striking a balance between cleaning and leaving boulders in a natural state is difficult. Due to the mossy nature of Hatcher Pass, most boulders have a thick carpet on the top. Generally the rule is only to clean what is absolutely needed to climb the route. An example of bad cleaning can be seen on the Muffin Man boulder, at the base of the Diamond, you can see the orangish color from the road. Please be respectful of this beautiful resource.

Additional Information about Anchorage and South Central Alaska Climbing:

There is a gym in Anchorage, wwww.alaskarockgym.com and also a small gym in Wasilla.

Also, to give an idea of the rock at Hatcher Pass, here is a link to the official Trailer of "Falling Forward", which is a video about alpine bouldering in Alaska and will be premiered and released next spring. vimeo.com/101216080
Relic on Toto (5.7)