Easy finger cracks in WA/Squamish for learning
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Just breaking into leading 5.10a-b trad and finding I need to get better at finger cracks. Any single-pitch route recommendations in Washington and Squamish that's easy and/or have good protection? |
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Icicle creek - icicle buttress - cocaine crack 10a Tumwater canyon - castle rock - angel crack 10a/b Index - ltw - slow children 10d You can top rope angel crack pretty easy. Although slow children is harder than your desired rating, it's gotta be the best finger crack around & a great place to get fingers dialed. Follow someone up it a couple times or just pull on gear as needed thru the cruxes. There is awesome gear the whole way. Bring lots |
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Flying Circus at Neat and Cool in Squamish. First 5.10a I sent clean on gear. |
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Tieton is an outstanding place for this. High density of easy to moderate cracks (of various sizes) at Royal Columns and The Bend. Good place to get moderate grade crack mileage in Washington. There are often opportunities to TR a harder crack from the anchors of a nearby easier crack. For 5.10 finger cracks, Orange Sunshine is a classic. These cracks generally protect well, with many opportunities for good nut placements, though a bit of extra care is sometimes needed due to irregular cracks. You'd also be well served with a trip to Squamish, particularly to go to the Smoke Bluffs. It's a very friendly and accessible cragging environment with a plethora of good moderate cracks. Perfect learning environment. I won't bother naming individual pitches since there are so many. Just show up and get after it. The gear is generally straightforward and bomber on most routes. Murrin Park in Squamish is also packed with good options. It tends to be steeper and more featured. Whereas at the Smoke Bluffs you often have slightly rounded cracks on slabby terrain, at Murrin you often have featured cracks with face holds mixed in on steeper terrain. Both are fun. A nice set of 5.10 cracks to seek out at are Genesis and Geneside. For easier routes, The Commonwealth is a great cliff. |
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Darren Albrightwrote: That's just kinda mean. A sandbagged 10d several pitches up. It's a nice route and all, but not really a great initial learning environment. More like something to build up towards, after cutting teeth on some friendlier cracks. |
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Squamish is where you want to go. Zip, Flying Circus, Jabberwocky, Seasoned in the Sun are all good easy 10s. Agree with JCM - recommending Slow children to someone breaking into 10a is kinda savage. |
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SM's Delight 10B at Squamish, As others have said, Jabberwocky is amazing, and that makes 3 stellar finger cracks, starting with SM. Plum Pudding 5.9 and PBR 10B at Index. If it's raining at Squamish and Index, Pack Animal Direct 10B at Smith is safe but burly fingers, followed by cruiser fingers on pitch 2, 5.8 |
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At the Planet Index walls at Index, there are a few short, easily accessed (except for the hike) finger cracks. At the base, Daddy Wall has Mimi Nashi; The Towers just to the right has Ron Sneezes. Just left of Daddy Wall, on Lookout Point, is Very Seven Man. Up above, there is the slightly harder (10b/c) One Small Step, and next to that is the 10a Snow on the Mountain. These are all short, but the area is pretty nice, uncrowded, and has plenty of other trad routes including some harder thin cracks. |
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For Squamish, I am surprised no one mentioned the first pitch of Exasperator. Arrowroot, Turnip, Rainy Day Dream Away, Wicker Cranium, Center Street (to first anchor), Up, Up, and Away, and The Malamute has Paul's Crack, High Mountain Woody, Cider Crack, Canadian Compromise. Also there was another massive rock fall this spring left of U wall which travelled into the Seasoned in the Sun area. Likely lots of hangfire potential at Seasoned in the Sun and would avoid it for the time being. |
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Seconding everyone saying Squamish. The smoke bluffs is the place to go for mileage on granite finger cracks 5.7-10b. That being said working on your granite slab climbing will probably help your finger crack game almost as much as actually climbing finger cracks, and while Washington does have a dearth of finger cracks there are plenty of great slabs in the 5.10- range! |




