Best columnar basalt (and other columnar volcanic rock) crags?

clearly everyone is sleeping on the best of the best of the best,
2 mile bar outside knights ferry CA,

sometimes i feel the climbing community is letting me down with their lack of impeccable taste

Ben F wrote:

The ugly:
North Table Mountain, CO

If you're going to North Table
I've got something to say
You'd better not invite
Joni Renee

Somewhere in central Oregon...

phylp phylp wrote:

In my recollection the columns are much more distinct than in the photos on MP, so I looked in my Mammoth guidebook. Marty Lewis describes then as "volcanic tuff similar to basalt".  I just assumed they were basalt because they are a stone's throw away from the Devil's Postpile, which is described as "the best example of columnar basalt in the world".  But Marty is careful about his geology so it probably doesn't go on your list.

Bear Crag is Bishop Tuff, the same rhyolite tuff formation as ORG, Happy Boulders, Deadman’s, and many other Mammoth areas.  Why is the climbing so different at Bear Crag?  I don’t know. 

fossil wrote:

Somewhere in central Oregon...

Pretty. Want to tell us where/what this is? I doubt he is looking to add "Fossil's Mystery Crag" to his top 10

Wiled Horse wrote:

Not that I think Volunteer Canyon (the Cwm) necessarily is the best basalt crag, I happen to think it's very special place. To the OP and other interested parties, this may be an appropriate spot to share a link to a recent guidebook to the area:

qrco.de/vocan

This is really well put together! Thanks for your work. Hope to get out there this spring

Wiled Horse wrote:

Not that I think Volunteer Canyon (the Cwm) necessarily is the best basalt crag, I happen to think it's very special place. To the OP and other interested parties, this may be an appropriate spot to share a link to a recent guidebook to the area:

qrco.de/vocan

Shout out for creating a guide to a very special place and sharing it for free. Having spent many a weekday evening oogling this FREE guide and dreaming of weekends exploring the crisp edges, juicy jamcracks, and connecting bolted features of this magical mystical canyon, I marvel at the time and energy simply donated so we can enjoy this place. If there are grumpy crusties who want to hide this area from detailed view, that is on them. You gifted us knowledge of hanging blocks to avoid and proper rappel locations to find at a confusing but wonderful top-down crag. I say:  THANK YOU. 

Anyone mention columnar gone rogue? 

I always thought this looked fun!

H.

Thank you Jonathan and Christopher for the kind feedback. Great to hear folks finding routes to try out they wouldn't have found otherwise. Spreads out the traffic. Meanwhile, current condies:

Did I sound cool saying condies?!

(Photo credit Jerry Dodrill)

“Best Columnar Basalt” and “Bay Area Rock Climbing”… Two things which don’t always go hand-in-hand unfortunately. The unique volcanic conditions required for the formation of the columns can be found in the SF North Bay at Mt. St. Helena.

The climbable areas are remote however, and the columns not well-formed in many cases… Definitely Not with convenient access and the safest conditions for climbing etc. Wild, scenic, and very remote areas…(so probably destined for the “ugly” list.)

I laughed at the thought of a 30-second approach to Skinner Buttes Basalt in Oregon !  Reaching North Bay Basalt at MSH requires a 2+ hour hike or bike approach with 800ft. of elevation gain and loss to reach. Those that are willing to suffer the approach may find the views and effort worthwhile.

Extrusive vs. Intrusive igneous rocks.  

Also in Central OR

Oh, I know of some really nice dacite near Sand Dunes. At least that's what my roadside geology of Colorado book says it is. Manasa. Good little crag.

rpc wrote:

Ben Lomond on Tasmania climbs like The Lower Gorge but is 2-5 pitches tall.  No idea what the rock is but it's columnar.  Wallabies scurrying around during the approach add to the ambiance.

Ben Lomond is dolerite. It is splitter enough,  that it has the Indian Creek problem of needing big racks of the same size cam. It's also full gritstone ethics, not a bolt on the plateau not even rap anchors. (There was a bolt war over the rap anchors). It's about as alpine as it gets in Australia, a chilly place even in midsummer and weather is a problem.

There's also Mt Wellington/Kunanyi near Hobart which is also columnar dolerite. A bit scruffier, quality is not as good, not as splitter and bolting is freer, it has sport routes as well.

Then there is the entire Tasman peninsular area with the famous sea columnar cliffs, Totem Pole, Cape Raoul, etc. Also dolerite and very adventurous. "Pole Dancer" is, on paper, a 5.11 sport route but to get there is like crossing the Khumbu ice fall with a convoluted series of raps and access pitches across broken columns.

I have climbed on Mt Wellington and remember the dolerite being quite rough and grainy, granite-like. Ripped up a favourite pack of mine in a chimney. Taped hands for sure. Other Tassie info is second hand from friends.

Sam M wrote:

Ben Lomond is dolerite. It is splitter enough,  that it has the Indian Creek problem of needing big racks of the same size cam. It's also full gritstone ethics, not a bolt on the plateau not even rap anchors. (There was a bolt war over the rap anchors). It's about as alpine as it gets in Australia, a chilly place even in midsummer and weather is a problem.

There's also Mt Wellington/Kunanyi near Hobart which is also columnar dolerite. A bit scruffier, quality is not as good, not as splitter and bolting is freer, it has sport routes as well.

Then there is the entire Tasman peninsular area with the famous sea columnar cliffs, Totem Pole, Cape Raoul, etc. Also dolerite and very adventurous. "Pole Dancer" is, on paper, a 5.11 sport route but to get there is like crossing the Khumbu ice fall with a convoluted series of raps and access pitches across broken columns.

I have climbed on Mt Wellington and remember the dolerite being quite rough and grainy, granite-like. Ripped up a favourite pack of mine in a chimney. Taped hands for sure. Other Tassie info is second hand from friends.

Tasmania is chockful of amazing climbing adventures!  Don't forget the Candlestick (right behind the Totem Pole).  A 60 meter rap into the gap, the swim, and the anus-clenching, downward sloping 40meter tyrolean to get back to beer - don't think I've ever had a bigger adventure in a such a compact (4 pitch) package.  Fantastic place!

I just got back from doing a bushwalk (backpack hiking trip) in Tasmania and after we got back to Hobart we walked out to the Totem Pole as a day trip.

The area has been revamped by the Tasmania Parks service as part of the "Three Capes" hiking destination. The secret is out a bit, it's hardly a remote area any more.

The carpark and camp ground at Fortescue Bay is very popular and pretty crowded even midweek non-holiday period.

Good news, the approach trail has been totally rebuilt as a punter-friendly highway. It's an easy approach.

Bad news there is a new fenced tourist lookout right above the Totem Pole. I guess any ascent of the tote or the candlestick can expect rubbernecking and heckling now.

Climbing wise I wasn't super impressed with the quality of the Tasman Peninsular dolerite, at this point in my climbing life. It might be a hard igneous rock, but very chossy in its own way, it looks brittle and shattered. Big loose blocks galore. Feels like it would be easy to have a Paul Pritchard accident.

Your first photo offers such a cool perspective on the Tote (& The Candlestick).  Very nice!

Jailhouse CA

Column of the Giants CA

theres a few spots in Nevada that are missing from these lists

The Icelandic basalt crags are not what you could consider world class. While there are a handful of basaltic areas worth climbing if you're visiting, all feature rather short routes – maxing out around 20m, most much shorter. The main basaltic / columnar basalt areas with a reasonable density of climbs are:

• Stardalur: 100+ trad routes up to .11c, no fixed hardware. East of Reykjavík just outside of the town of Mosfellsbær.
• Gerðuberg: 40-50 trad routes up to .11a, no fixed hardware. On the Snæfellsnes peninsula northwest of Reykjavík.
• Hnappavellir: 300+ trad and sport routes up to .13d. In the southeast part of the island near Skaftafell national park.
• Valshamar: Small handful of trad and sport routes up to .11d (on private land, but climbable if you're respectful). Accessed via Hvalfjörður north of Reykjavík.

Most of the other columnar basalt is either off limits to climbing, chossy, or hasn't been developed.