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Skaha Bluffs > Smith Rock
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Skaha is the premier sport climbing destination in the PNW, yes, better than Smith. Convince me I'm wrong. EDIT: now that I'm living in Central Oregon, my eyes have been opened, Smith is the premier sport climbing destination in the PNW (especially with the Lower Gorge as Icing on the cake) |
Dan Booklesswrote: Wrong? Not in the least. You're spot on! |
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I have never understood the love of Smith sport climbs. Smith is scenic and smells good, and obviously historically significant to climbing; but the sport climbing there is mediocre IMO. That welded tuff is so so when a climb is new (except for the nubbin popping part), but ages poorly with traffic. Then there is the old school bolting, the crowds, the parking cluster, etc. |
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I agree. Tho the 5.10 and below didn’t really look fun, a lot of delicate climbing or terrible boulders that got bolted. The 5.11 and up seemed incredible. My gripes tho, none of the fixed draws I clipped had fixed pins, the mountain project app is useless, there are sooooo many bolts and hangers left on the wall, and none of the lines are that independent mixed with a lot of bolts makes it confusing onsighting, getting there from not seattle would be a pain and you would either pass through Vancouver or Calgary. I think chek and skaha are tied for the best sport climbing areas. |
Rexford Nesakwatchwrote: This might be the best descriptor of Smith I've ever seen. |
Dan Booklesswrote: it’s not the best because it’s not in the usa. you’re thinking of index, maybe? |
petzl logicwrote: PNW != USA |
petzl logicwrote: Over 2500 routes, about 70% sport, the oldest routes circa 1990, surrounded by vineyards and wineries, and two huge lakes. Like climbing in Napa Valley but with lots of water around. And it's with Canadians meaning a politeness and kindness level a couple orders of magnitude above the states. No question it's the best. |
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Colloquially, The Pacific Northwest incorporates Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. |
Marc801 Cwrote: I don’t know I think they are the same. Someone stole my wife’s and mine running coats, some guy tried to fight the Safeway lady trying to tell people to wear masks, and there were a lot of **** Trudeau flags being flown. For those that haven’t been to skaha, the wine scene is actually overwhelming. There feels like a vineyard every 20 feet. |
Dan Booklesswrote: Agree. Side note: When people describe Idaho as the PNW I want to fight them. That's like calling Ohio the East Coast. |
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Anyway, back to Skaha vs. Smith. Having climbed at both, I think that Smith is the more varied climbing area. It has the sport climbs of course, but also good trad climbing and some mulitpitch. The basalt in the gorge offers variety in rock and climbing style. Smith is also superior for hard sport climbs (5.13-5.14). But for "everyman" sport climbing in the 5.9 to 5.12 range - what many climbers look for in a destination - Skaha is superior. Better rock, better concentration of moderates, more enjoyable moderate routes (IMO), more modern bolting, steeper angles, less crowded, and so on. Plus there are the lakes and wineries. Overall an awesome vacation. Main downside is it is kinda a pain to get there from most places in the US. Trevor mentioned Chek, which is a valid point. Not just Chek by itself, but Squamish more generally. Historically the Squamish reputation has been that it is world class for trad and boulders, but just OK for sport. I don't think this is true anymore, especially considering all the recent sport climbing development. I'd argue that Squamish has grown into a major sport climbing destination that rivals Skaha and Smith (at least when dry). |
JCMwrote: I think this is true, but its taking a while for this paradigm shift to set in. It occurred to me recently that I could go to Squamish without a rack and have an absolute blast and not be cheating myself in some way if I only clipped bolts. |
Dan Booklesswrote: If you can find a parking spot… |
Dan Booklesswrote: Routes on mtn proj: More is better, therefore Smith > Skaha Q.E.D. |
petzl logicwrote: I know this post is just trolling, but it is worth pointing out that Skaha is pretty sparsely documented on MP. There's much more climbing there (several times more) than what is on this site, and several different quality guidebooks to get you to that climbing. Same is true of Squamish - what's on MP is a tiny percentage of the climbing there. I guess the Canadians are too busy drinking Kokanee and wrestling bears to waste their time posting here. So the MP route counts don't mean much. |
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So why would Canadian climbers encourage US climbers to visit? Squamish has enjoyed having Les US climbers clogging the crags, I would guess the same could be said for the Skaha climbers…but maybe not. For those of us in Washington, once we don’t have to have COVID TESTS coming and going perhaps there will be more trips north. |
petzl logicwrote: The 2018 guidebook says 1181 climbs - 70% sport - spread over 60 crags. There are more now. |
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so still 25% less than Smith which has been featured on countless magazine covers through the lens of Jim Thornberg and others. Not to mention all of the history there. Skaha is nice but c’mon. No Falcon guide, that’s for sure. And Washington state has great wine, Columbia valley…. |
