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Otter Falls Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Otter Falls

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Poppy's Peril S 5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b

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Elevation:	1,753 ft	534 m
GPS:	47.58762, -121.4677 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	803 total · 50/month
Shared By:	Zack Wentz on Sep 28, 2023
Admins:	Jon Nelson, Micah Klesick, Zachary Winters, Mitchell McAuslan Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Otter Falls is a 700' granite rock slab up the northern end of the Middle Fork Valley. This area is a popular hiking destination for many Seattle-ites, and commonly on weekends sees up to 10-20 visitors each day. It's a unique feature as it is a large granite slab that terminates into a small pond (Lipsy Lake) at its base, split mid-way by a stunning waterfall. Some historic climbing routes were established here but not made public, but now the area is seeing resurgence by modern route developers. One such route, Poppy's Peril, begins in the left-facing corner 100' up & left from where the slab meets the eastern end of Lipsy Lake, & is a moderate modern route developed with accessibility as its focus.

The rock is generally very good & is similar to the fine grained granite of Index, though lower angle. The rock provides amble friction and is a great introduction to slab climbing.

Getting There

Drive to the Snoqualmie Lake/Taylor River Trail #1002 (search this in Google and you will find the proper trailhead) trailhead. Hike up the Snoqualmie Lake trail to the north of the parking area for 0.4miles until there is a junction. Take the right-hand junction and continue along the Snoqualmie Lake Trail. After hiking for approx. 4miles, there will be a junction for Otter Falls to the left, marked by a large wooden sign on a tree. Take this trail up to Lipsy Lake and to the south side of the granite slab.

Climbs are found on both the western end & eastern end of the waterfall. At this time, the only modern route established on the wall is found on the eastern side of the falls (Poppy's Peril), in which case the approach for these are much easier than the western side of the falls.