Dry Fork Cliff Rock Climbing

This 30-50' mostly unknown outcrop faces east and has a long climbing history, although no one to my knowledge has climbed up there in a while. I could be wrong. The last time I was there was in 1987. When researching my guidebook, Southwest Rock, back in the early '80s, I learned that Fort Lewis professors Tom Norton and John Ritchey (and Dick Walker and John Byrd?) had climbed many of the cracks back in the mid-1970s. Without enough information, their relatively short routes I didn't include the cliff band in my guidebook. I am hoping that this posting will spur memories and someone will add routes from this or a later era.

Update: thanks go to Eric Dixon and Jerrod Keller and Pine Needle Mountaineering for sending my way the known documented climbs at Dry Fork.  In addition to Norton and Ritchey and Byrd, other 1970s first ascensionists were Larry Coates, Jeff Franklin,  Greg Bourassa, Rob Blair, Peter Jamieson, and a few others.  In the early 1990s Jim Kossin, Tucker and Munjke added more routes that tended to be in the .10 and .11 range.  My route additions are based on the information provided in the folder from Pine Needle.  David Canova informed me that there are also a handful of sport routes between .9 and .11 that are worthy.  In any case, this obscure area holds some interesting local climbing history.  This listing of routes is not just an homage to the early ascensionists, but is intended to spur interest among climbers to go check out this area.  David Canova's new guide book will include some of these routes.  As Jerrod Keller pointed out, it is important to respect both the wildlife (nesting birds) and cultural resources (rock art) found in this unique area.

I've given each route one star because I've only done about five of the routes listed, I don't recall their quality, and to post the route in MP it is necessary to give a star rating.

Per Michael Borga: I believe the name we used for this area back in the '70s was "Lightner Creek", and if it is, the area I remember the climbing while short is well worth the walk. Byrd gave myself and Bubba Smith a yellow pad that had all the routes, the grades, etc. the group you listed had done and named. Sadly, that yellow pad was handed off to some other climbers and sadly has gone missing.

The one name I specifically remember was Byrd's Off width with a grade of 5.9+, meaning it was minimum 5.10 and impossible.