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The best MULTIPITCH route for each grade in Oregon 5.6-5.12a
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That other thread got me thinking so here goes. I'll go with multi's only. Also, for those who will ask, Beacon doesn't count (blame MP moderators, they said it first). Finally, I'll be the first to admit I haven't climbed it all so what do I know? Here goes... 5.6 Moscow at Smith 5.7 Spiderman at Smith 5.8 tie between too very soft "5.9s" Wherever I May Roam at Smith; Where Eagles Dare at Acker Rock 5.9 Cougar Buttress at that one secret place ;) 5.10a Zebra Zion at Smith 5.10b Thin Air at Smith 5.10c Orgasmophoria at Smith (unfortunately its only 2 pitches!) 5.10d you could argue Tombstone Crack, though getting to it is a PITA, maybe West Face of Steins Pillar? 5.11a maybe Barad Dur at Wolf Rock? 5.11b Anglin and Danglin at Smith 5.11c Good Ol' Days at Smith (but is this really 11c? if I could go with a single pitch it might be Gateway at Trout?) 5.11d Gulag Archipelago at Smith? 5.12a Abraxas or Monkey North Face Crack at Smith (if I could go with a single pitch it might be full Magic Light but I'm sure the sport climbers will disagree) Thoughts? |
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(Best MULTIPITCH routes in Oregon) 5.10a Zebra Zion (this one is a given) 5.11a Barad Dur (agree only cause Oregon Multipitch climbing is lacking: Its a 600 foot 5.9 with 30 feet of 5.11 on uninspiring [exfoliating] rock- an adventure none the less) 5.11b Anglin and Danglin (agree) 5.12a North Face of Monkey (STRONGLY AGREE) |
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Nothing at trout? |
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Peregrine Traverse at Acker Rock is a better 5.7 than Spider Man, IMO. Thin Air is one of my favorite climbs but I'd have to say Badfinger is a pretty stellar 10b with much more climbing at the grade. Sauron is a candidate for the 5.9. |
Sam Beeduhlwrote: Yeah, there is a lot of other good climbing in Oregon that is not at Smith Rock. |
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5.6 Moscow - Agreed 5.7/8 Marsupials Traverse - Very much not sustained but makes for a fun day I’ll throw out some single pitches just for fun. 5.6 - Traverse Pitch of Dirty Pinkos @ Smith 5.7 - Hobbit Hole @ Broughton 5.9 - Maid in the Shade @Spring Mountain 5.10a - Light on the Path @ Smith 5.10a/b - Route 05 @ Fiddler’s Hell 5.10c - Llama Enlightenment @ Smith
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Here's my list, mostly smith because I mostly climb there and at the garden (and most of the routes at the garden don't merit the title of best in Oregon). 5.6 Super slab - Smith 5.7 Spiderman - Smith 5.8 Monkey off my back - Smith 5.9 Morgul Vale - Wolf 5.10a Zebra Zion - Smith 5.10b Barbecue the Pope - Smith 5.10c Morning Sky - Smith 5.10d Moons of Pluto - Smith 5.11a Bad Moon Rising - Smith 5.11b Blue Light Special - Smith 5.11c Daring to Fly - Garden 5.11d Gulag - Smith 5.12a I haven't climbed enough 12as to have a strong opinion on this |
Sam Beeduhlwrote: Sam, your list is fully revealing you're bias towards adventure climbs. ;) -Moscow has way too much bad rock to be the 'best' 5.6. The hand traverse pitch on Sky Ridge is way more classic. The chimney pitch near the top of the West Ridge of Washington is pretty all time too. Similar rock quality to Moscow, but with much more heroic position. -Saying that Barad Dur is better than Cry of the Poor, Magic Light, Fingerlings, or some candidates at Moolack is a bit of a stretch. -The Tombstone Crack is pretty good, but the rock isn't great and it's pretty sharp and painful. It has great position and is pretty long, but I'm not sure that puts it above The Long March, Moons of Pluto, Headless Horseman, or Muffin Top. -I haven't climbed the Good Ol' Days and Gateway isn't harder than 11b. If we're taking guidebook grades, Sheepgate would be a shoe-in for 11c, but it's a lot harder than that. Feel the Bern is also up there. -Ditto the 12a pitch on Abraxas vs. Full White Trash, Dreamin, Alchemy, et. al. Tho the North Face Crack is all time for sure. -Gulag is probably the best 11d bolted route. I think it would be more productive to subdivide the list. (bolted, trad, single pitch, multipitch, etc) Otherwise we're all just prone to our biases. (for example, virtually all of my suggestions are basalt and tuff routes) |
Sam Beeduhlwrote: This says so much about Oregon climbing. Of the several thousand multi-pitch 5.8/5.9 climbs I've done, I'd rate Wherever I May Roam & Cougar Buttress in the bottom 20% in terms of fun. But I can't really think of anything better in Oregon though. |
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For multipitch adventures: 5.4 Round River at Smith 5.7 First Kiss at Smith is a contender - it's popularity has produced a very clean cruiser route 5.8 (A0) West Face Direct on Monkey Face 5.10b Lost in Space - as good or better than Thin Air 5.10c Lava Lanes at Smith 5.11c The Prize on Old Man Spire, hands down 5.11d Tammy Jo Memorial on Stein's Pillar or Astro Monkey are probably both better than Gulag Archipelago...but they're all classic. 5.12c Elysian Fields at Smith (personal bias, but prove me wrong) Agreed that there needs to be a list for single pitch, sport and trad |
Ccfuchswrote: He was only listing Multipitches. Otherwise, I'd say that Trout has many of Oregon's best 5.10s and 5.11s. |
Kevin Piarulliwrote: Yeah we should start two more threads, for best single pitch sport AND best single pitch trad |
Dan Booklesswrote: Thanks Dan, yeah, obviously move for move, none of those lines I suggested will beat some of the single pitch routes in Oregon. As Bret said, that says a lot about the climbing here. We have lots of good single pitch routes but not a great selection of multis. |
Tim Pagewrote: Peregrine is a cool tour of Acker, but the climbing on it is boring and unsustained. Spider man has multiple sections at or near the grade and many styles packed into a small amount of rock. Haven't done Sauron but clearly I need to. |
Kevin Piarulliwrote: Lost in Space had way worse rock and was monotonous nubbin climbing IMO. Lava Lanes is super good but some of the rock is still pretty chossy which is why I chose not to go with that one. Though I guess I'd pick it over other 10c's to repeat myself so... Clearly I need to go try this Prize you speak of! |
Andrew Childwrote: I think there are definitely better single pitch 11b’s at Smith. Blue Light special is mostly just that one/two moves. I’d definitely put Vomit launch above it. Probably the second pitch of Monkey Space as just for how unique it is |
Sam Beeduhlwrote: Well he did say multipitch adventures. I was amazed how chossy lava lanes is with how many stars it got. Was at the base off intentionally way off to the side and a big hunk of rock fell a couple hundred feet to land < 5 ft from where I was... I feel like that’s not uncommon on the route |
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Yes, we all know Oregon is climbing poor. You don't have to rub it in, OP. |
Sam Beeduhlwrote: New post now that Sam qualified 'multipitch': I'm sticking with my guns on 5.6. Moscow isn't that great. I think Super Slab at least, is better. At 5.7, Spiderman is disqualified because it's not really a multipitch. ;) Also, the Cave Route on Brogan Spire is all time on fantastic rock. Way better than Spiderman in pretty much every way. (except, as Sam said, Spiderman is more sustained at the grade) 5.8 would be Sky Ridge. The rock is a little off in a few places, but the position is really, really good and the movement is fun and varied. At 5.9, I'd argue that the West Ridge of Washington is up there. Yes, there's some choss, but for what it is, (an alpine rock climb in a state with essentially zero quality alpine rock) it's fantastic. Another candidate would be Zebra Zion. (it's pretty soft for 10a, unless you do the crux wrong) 10a: If we're calling Zebra-Zion 10a, than it would fit here. Otherwise, I'd say Thin Air for sure. 10b: I'm with Kevin, yes, Lost is Space is slab climbing, but it turns out Slab climbing can be pretty fun. 10c: Honestly I can't think of anything at this grade that was that memorable that can't be led in a single rope length. 10d: Ditto 11a: Ditto 11b-Monkey Space for sure. 11c-If you take 11c for Gulag, than it would go here. 11d-I honestly think the rock and movement on Gulag is better than Astromonkey. It's obviously not as long, but the movement on the one hard pitch is incredibly good. 12a-Hands down the NW Passage. (as in: the West Face Crack into the North Face Crack. Not sure why so many people get all of the names confused up there) 12b-Either Freedom or Burning Churches. Both are sweet and both have their pros and cons. 12c-I'd propose Choss in America, though I haven't done it. Regardless, it's a grade that's a little thin on the ground. 12d-Ditto Free Picnic Lunch Wall. I've also heard Close Shave is mega. 13a-Five Easy Pieces. (again, there isn't exactly tons of competition at this grade) |
Max Tepferwrote: Yes, Zion is 5.9 in Watts first edition and I can't think of any reason for the upgrade |
