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(a) Sunset Slab (N & S)

Washington > Northwest Region > San Juan, Fidal… > Mt Erie > (a) Sunset Slabs

Description

- Sunset Slab North is equipped with 7 'giant staples' at the top of the wall for easy TR setup. Webbing/cord is recommended to extend to the cliff edge (8-12' from anchor to edge). One route is equipped with bolts, and one can take gear; the balance are TR.

- Sunset Slab South has numerous moderate sport routes, specializing in friction/steep slab. There is little ground to land on before a large drop-off at the base of the routes on the right half, so may want to consider a stick clip to reach the first bolts at ~15-20'. There are two bolts at the base of those climbs to anchor belayers, and currently have a rope between them to assist with the traverse.

The walls for both areas are 35-55 ft in height, and sunny in the afternoon.

Getting There

Like most place at Erie there are many different ways to get here.

1. The easiest approach to the slabs is to park halfway up the mountain where Trail 239 crosses the road (there's also a kiosk on the left side of the road [when driving uphill] for reference). Take the trail on the right side of the road, which will have a sign indicating Trail 239 a few dozen yards down it. After some uphill switchbacks in the trail, it will eventually hit the Sunset Trail. Head right/downhill until you see the staples for Sunset Slab North. The trail continues down right and around to the base; continue another 50 yards on the trail to reach Sunset Slab South. 

2. 1. Park at the big trees pullout about .7 miles North of the Lake Erie General Store. On the East side of the road next to the trees is the 247 trail, follow that until the first juncture and take a left up hill. Hike up a somewhat steep path, it will eventually start to break through the tress and grant views. You'll arrive at the base of Sunset Slab South, approach probably won't take more than 20 minutes. This is the simplest way of finding the Slabs, especially if you aren't familiar with Mt Erie.

3. You can get down to the Slabs from the Summit / Powerline areas, that would be difficult for unless you have a good lay of the land at Erie. Follow trails down to Madrone Wall, instead of continuing to lower Orange area travel West on a defined path and you'll eventually com across the staple anchors for Sunset Slab North.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Mt. Erie Topo
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PnWdg1WoQKaSmnR6Qb5UYYm9HZLSKhne/view?usp=drive_link
[Hide Photo] Mt. Erie Topo Expand the picture to get a less compressed view and use this link for the full size downloadable file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PnWdg1WoQKaSmnR6Qb5UYYm9HZLSKhne/view?usp=d…
Sunset Slabs North middle- 1.1-SoDo Mojo (5.8), 1.2- var. (5.10a), 2- The Stinger (5.6), 3- That Darn Cat (5.7+)
[Hide Photo] Sunset Slabs North middle- 1.1-SoDo Mojo (5.8), 1.2- var. (5.10a), 2- The Stinger (5.6), 3- That Darn Cat (5.7+)
Sunset Slabs
[Hide Photo] Sunset Slabs

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] A group of us went to Sunset Slab early Saturday (February 11) morning. The weather was a little chilly and some parts of the rock were a little wet. Overall, you could easily climb or rappel anywhere on that wall. I'm a beginner climber and I was able to make it to the top of the climbing routes there. Definitely would recommend checking out this location. It is a little hard to find since the trail isn't as visible as some of the other locations. Once you see a big dead log covered in moss, keep going and you're almost there. It's a good 20 minutes walk from the parking lot.
View of the wall
Feb 13, 2017
IJMayer
Guemes Island, WA
[Hide Comment] I like to approach this crag from the bottom from the "Two Big Trees" parking area. Park, then cross the street and hike the trail for about 10 minutes. Just before a brown sign and a steep overhanging 20 ft crag, turn left up the hill. Follow a well defined trail uphill about 10 minutes to the crag. Jan 16, 2021