ISO a Filthy Knee-bar in the PNW

What sport routes up to 5.12 have bomber no hands rest knee-bars?

Honestly tons of them do. Kneebars are a skill that can be trained like many other skills in climbing. Once you get a good eye for them and develop the strength to use them, they appear all over. 

Numbah 10

I bet that almost every crag in Wa, that is not pure slab, has at least one kneebar on it. 

The actual cave above Amazonia is loaded

Shaun Johnsonwrote:

I bet that almost every crag in Wa, that is not pure slab, has at least one kneebar on it. 

Nothing compared to the fins I imagine

Are you referring to The Fins in Idaho? That crag does not have many kneebars, but it is amazing... I mean it sucks! All of Idaho climbing sucks! And the people are even worse than the climbing.

I love a kneebar, and used to live in WA. Here's some areas I'd suggest:

- Chek (Squamish). Fleeing Heifer (stiff 12c) is kneebarable.  From Beneath You It Devours (soft 12c; probably actually 12a) has a sweet mid-roof double kneebar.

- Horne Lake (Vancouver Island) - Super kneebar intensive tufa cave climbing. Awesome. Must-visit.

- Viento (Oregon) - Chossy basalt cave with lots of kneebars. Though the grades skew more toward the 12+ to 13 range.

- Actual Cave (mentioned above) is a great suggestion - probably the best option for OP at accessible location and grades.

- World Wall has various kneebars, but these are mostly on 5.13s.

The better question is what doesn’t have a knee bar, by 5.12s in north bend I have gotten a knee bar:

cyanide is the most satisfying in terms of volume and necessity of knee bars. Scarlet letter probably has the single most satisfying. Hovering mother/offspring, if your leg is long enough it’s like 20 feet of knee bar.

Cyanide (the whole route)
bikini girls (the rest before the crux)
Spartacus (the only easy move and it’s terrible)
mr. Big (kinda useless)
postive vibrations (the rest double knee bar no hands)
orgasmatron (kinda useless as you are not even pumped)
scarlet letter (imperative)
rainy day(though you wanna be tall it’s painful but helpful)
hydro (the corner and under the roof)
bust a rhythm (corner, pretty henious kinda scary)
paradise lost (terrifyingly it’s a detattch block I rebolted and your leg is gone if it goes)
hang it out to dry (right before the crux)
jealous god (I recall the whole thing is knee bars but the bolts are messed up)
slug lover (it’s the crux, don’t fall tho! Probably the worst 5.12 in north bend)
dairy freeze (right before Crux)
techno( there are like 2 on Abo, and two on techno but extremely height dependent)
psycho (has a left drop knee bar at anchor of psycho wussy)
the warm up (there are like 4 but all weird)
crawling from the wreckage (this probably makes it 12c)
inverted rain ascending (but it’s kinda useless)
Ghost (imperative)
flubber (whole climb)
offspring/hovering mother (whole climb)
probably green lattern but I haven’t climbed it, and the bolts are bad
blade runner (the crux I only tried it once)
skull duggery (the whole climb)
franklins tower
beckys bulge (the only rest)
Sweet tooth (rest before real crux)

Pretty much everything in the north fork
everything at helms and crag of the 20s

Ones in north bend I can’t think of them on:
Renissance
webelo
rude road
culture shock
Lay of the land
under arrest
goblet
sorrow bleeds
Digitalis (there kinda is one but it’s next to a no hands
propaganda (it’s point less)
viagro (not super sure only been up it once)
bust a move

I think the most knee bar intensive crag in the pnw, is the shoeshone lava tubes or maybe the elwhal at least per move.

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:

Ones in north bend I can’t think of them on:
…
webelo

No knee bars on Webelo???

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:
Cyanide (the whole route)

+1 for Cyanide!

Aaron Waitwrote:

No knee bars on Webelo???

Wait I was wrong, the knee bar is super crucial on webelo lol. Like mandatory if you are a soft puppy like me. 

Other routes I forgot to mention with knee bars:

Magician long to see (the softest 12 if it is still a 12, totally useless and hilarious knee bars on it)

Big Cyanide (this is or the sickness are maybe the dumbest routes in north bend but there are 6 of them lol)

Without:

Steel Fingers (I havent actually climb it but I would be kinda skeptical, from when I lowered down it)
S.T.D route (I didn't look that hard, maybe one if you are short that makes it way easier)

In vantage:
King of the ruins (it is essentially)
Jim Yoder Route
Death from above (this thing is super hard and harder than most 12as in north bend)

Almost all the 5.11s in the lower cliffs below sunshine have them, the most comical is poop chute, there is one every 3 feet. 

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:

psycho (has a left drop knee bar at anchor of psycho wussy)

Intriguing... I'll try to figure this one out next time I'm there. Maybe it'll unlock Psycho for me! I know you're a lot taller than me, though; do you think it would work for someone shorter?

Jacob Posnerwrote:

Intriguing... I'll try to figure this one out next time I'm there. Maybe it'll unlock Psycho for me! I know you're a lot taller than me, though; do you think it would work for someone shorter?

So there is a no hands rest two bolts from the top of psycho wussy that you can lean in on on a ledge with a shoulder jam. 

Then at the anchor bring a left leg knee bar pad, it is really more of a scum, I actually did it without a pad but would probably recommend a pad. It is okay, I like it mostly so I can stare at all the holds and climb fast, I think there are a few options for different heights, it is weird though and requires flexibility. 

The most key beta though is what aaron told me. After you clip the second bolt after the wussy anchor you start doing a traverse left, you can actually do a drop knee/stem rest, it is probably better if you are short. It is kinda hard to find but at this point you have gotten three decent rests in 30 feet of climbing. 

Broadly, there is pretty much a knee bar when you see two parallel planes of rock or a two rocks that sub 90 degree angle!

Acid rock might be the climb in north bend with the most knee bars, but I need to reroute all the water that runs over it so I can try it.

I forgot we made videos of the actual cave, they are not great but give you an idea, here is me on the first half of cyanide: 

I am 6'3'' +4 so most people are not my size, this was maybe my third time on the climb so my beta isn't perfect.

The second half of cyanide is giant:

Daniel forgets he has legs, and with his chode, his bottom half weighs nothing.

There are also beta videos on my instagram, but Daniel has uploaded some of them to youtube. Most notably webelo is on my insta @trevorpuppylove or @shihtzutuckerman (for my dog). 

"Behind closed eyelids"utw index.

You can bump a knee bar on this for close to 40ft

Twister 5.12c Viento