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Sawtooth Ridge Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Sawtooth Ridge

L › R R › L A › Z

	Alpha--West Face T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a
	Castle Spires--North Arête T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b R
	Fin--Northeast Face, The T 5.4 4a 12 IV 10 VD 3c
	Horn, The T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a R
	Needle, The T 4th 1 2 I 2 M 1b

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Elevation:	5,263 ft	1,604 m
GPS:	47.56061, -123.32049 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	564 total · 17/month
Shared By:	emilio Taiveaho Pelaez on Jun 30, 2023
Admins:	Jon Nelson, Zachary Winters, Mitchell McAuslan Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Sawtooth Ridge, part of the Skokomish-Duckabush group, is nestled on the South-East corner of the Olympic National Park and east of Flapjack Lakes. A sharp, serrated ridge known for its relatively good volcanic rock, this area includes 13 named peaks (some more like pinnacles) stretching from Mt. Alpha to Mt. Lincoln. Though lower in elevation, the ridge provides a number of challenging alpine climbs and spectacular views of the park. Although you might hear that Cruiser is the only "worthy and worthwhile" climbing objective in the area, this is not necessarily true. Climbs like The Fin (with its world class chimney) and The Horn offer exciting and steep trad leads in a wild setting with some of the best pillow basalt that the Olympic Range has to offer. Aside from the established routes, there are also many opportunities for beta-free climbing.

For route descriptions of Cruiser see the Mt. Cruiser Sub-Area.

Getting There

Perhaps the best approach into the “Olympickets” is through Lake Cushman. Pay for parking at the Staircase Ranger Station, then follow the North Fork Skokomish River trail for about 3.4 miles to the junction. The ascending trail to the right takes you another 3.6 miles to Flapjack Lakes, the site of fantastic camping. After getting your first views of the ridge, continue up through Gladys Divide. Sawtooth or Needle Pass are the standard approaches to gain the ridge in the direction for the standard route on Cruiser. To access Noodle Needle or Alpha, head to the top of Gladys Divide where the ridge looses its steepness.