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North Fork Cliff Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in North Fork Cliff

L › R R › L A › Z

	99 problems T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Basic Needs T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Cloudwatching T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
	Eight Tanks T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Fire Break T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Follow the Water T 5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c
	Fossils of Youth T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Fraction of the Sum T 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Hard Road to Happiness T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Into the Wild T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Like Thieves T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Medicine T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Mighty Tieton T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
	North Star T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	On the Way to Finer Things T 5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c

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Elevation:	4,666 ft	1,422 m
GPS:	46.61107, -121.29636 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	10,641 total · 134/month
Shared By:	andyf on Nov 29, 2019 · Updates
Admins:	Jon Nelson, Zachary Winters, Mitchell McAuslan Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

For years, friends and I talked about exploring an obvious, but remote, wall above the North Fork of the Tieton River. I finally checked it out while recovering from shoulder surgery in 2010. I walked to the end of a long, decommissioned logging road and dove into the deep woods, armed with a roll of flagging tape. Two hours later, after fighting through hellish brush and deadfall, I arrived at the base of the wall. What I found was at first disappointing: the wall was heavily vegetated and looked slabbier than I’d envisioned. But once I looked more closely, I started seeing lines everywhere. And the rock was really good!

The North Fork Cliff is still remote and barely explored, with only a handful of established climbs. Those climbs, however, are among the best in the Tieton: mega 160-foot single-pitch and two-pitch routes on grippy, textured rock that climbs like granite, with a variety of holds and movement. It’s a perfect crag for the hottest summer days: north-facing and situated at about 4600 feet. The sun doesn’t start hitting the wall till nearly 3:00 PM. There are great views of the William O. Douglas Wilderness to the north and of Clear and Rimrock Lakes to the east. The evening light is particularly pretty.

Now the downsides: The approach is a long, dusty, somewhat complicated drive in on Forest Service roads; it’s a solid 40-minute hike to the wall; the last part of the hike drops steeply downhill (meaning a long, steep hike out at the end of the day); and it’s a rappel-in, climb out situation. It would be a really bad spot in which to have an accident. The season’s also short: snow can linger at the base into June, and by mid-September it starts getting chilly.

But did I mention these are some of the best routes in the Tieton?

Getting There

From Highway 12 (coming from east or west), turn onto the Tieton Road. At a high point between Rimrock and Clear Lakes, turn south onto Forest Service Road 1205 (Pinegrass Road). Continue on Road 1205 as it climbs to the top of Pinegrass Ridge and passes junctions with Roads 736, 738, 742, 753, and 757. Shortly after the junction with Road 757, keep an eye out on the right for the junction with Road 759. Turn right on Road 759 and follow it to a broad turn-around at its end, leaving room for others to turn around. There’s primitive camping at the turn-around (no water).

From the road end, follow a logging trace west for 75 yards or so until a faint spur splits off to the right. Follow this spur slightly uphill, where it turns into a level path through woods and clearings before intersecting with decommissioned Forest Service Road 762. Turn right on the decommissioned road and follow it almost to its end. Just before the end, a path departs on the right (downhill side) through a sawed gap in a downed log. The path starts off level, but then drops through a series of switchbacks to end directly above the cliff at a small standing snag.

As of November 2019, there are two options for rapping in:

Option 1: Set up a dedicated single-rope descent line for the day. This requires packing in a second rope in addition to your lead line. The best/easiest option is to use two anchor bolts at the back of a ledge directly below the end of the path (above Hard Road to Happiness). See photo.

Option 2: If you don’t want to carry in a second rope, you can make two rappels to the ground using the rappel stations on Fire Break. To reach these, drop to the same ledge as Option 1 (above Hard Road to Happiness), but follow a short path skier’s right, then scramble down to another spacious ledge. The chains for Fire Break are at the skier’s left end of this ledge (see photo).

NOTE: The route descriptions are ordered as if looking from the base (climber's left and right). You need to flip the order looking from above.

15 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at North Fork Cliff

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 4 ● Eight Tanks Trad
5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 5 ● Into the Wild Trad
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 5 ● 99 problems Trad
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 4 ● Fire Break Trad 2 pitches
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 5 ● North Star Trad 2 pitches