Blood, Sweat, and Smears
5.10d,
Trad, 170 ft (52 m),
Avg: 3.6 from 10
votes
FA: Jeff Thomas and Robert McGown, 1977
Washington
> South-W & Tacoma
> Columbia Gorge
> Beacon Rock
> S Face
Access Issue: CLOSURES: South and East Faces (NW & W Faces Remain Open)
Details
The South Face and access trail is closed from Feb. 1st through July 15th, depending on peregrine falcon nesting. Portland Area Climbers Coalition, Washington Climbers Coalition, and the Access Fund are coordinating on this issue. Disregarding this closure will harm their efforts to adjust it and their relationship with land managers.
The east face is closed to climbing year-round due to possible sensitive/endangered plant species.
The NW face and West face routes remain open.
See Closure section below for more details.
Description
Blood, Sweat, and Smears follows a dihedral with an obvious, small triangular roof. The belay stance for the pitch is down and left from the young tree that is growing near Flying Circus.
Commence up left from the belay, get some tricky gear in, pull up onto the small square ledge, and get your smear on for the next 160 feet. The crux comes about 30-40 feet up, getting up a smooth section of the dihedral and through a small roof. Up higher, you'll have to navigate around a small sapling before hitting a perfect layback splitter to the Big Ledge.
Once on the Big Ledge finish up Dod's Jam or Dastardly Crack.
Blood, Sweat, and Smears has great moves, amazing position, but sadly is quite dirty. If more people climb it and clean it up there is no doubt that it would be a Portland Area CLASSIC, but until it and its approach pitch get cleaner I think its a bit committing.
Location
Just to the right of the Third Tunnel. To approach Blood, Sweat, and Smears we climbed Reasonable Richard (very mossy and lichen covered, questionable pro, but would be very fun if cleaned).
Blood, Sweat, and Smears has the obvious small triangle roof in its dihedral.
Protection
Double set of nuts, including extra small stoppers (#3 - #5 BD). Set of cams from #1 - #6 Metolius. Garden Gloves.
![Ken, in the thin fingers section of Blood Sweat and Smears. Matt below at the Reasonable Richard belay. The Reasonable Richard approach pitch follows the shallow corner and slab below.]()
[Hide Photo] Ken, in the thin fingers section of Blood Sweat and Smears. Matt below at the Reasonable Richard belay. The Reasonable Richard approach pitch follows the shallow corner and slab below.
![Isaac enjoying the hand jams in the upper section. The crack gradually widens from a thin seam to hand size.]()
[Hide Photo] Isaac enjoying the hand jams in the upper section. The crack gradually widens from a thin seam to hand size.
![Chris stemming thru the triangular roof section]()
[Hide Photo] Chris stemming thru the triangular roof section
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Portland, OR
Portland
My gear for the route - doubles in BD Camalots 0.3 to 1, a single #2, small to medium stoppers, tricams 0.25 to 1, and some additional thin finger to finger sizes in 3-cam units (Metolius and BD). A fixed pin 10’ from the belay protects the first difficult moves until you can get good gear in. The crack starts as a thin seam and slowly increases in size from thin fingers thru hands over the course of 50 meters. It’s a 50m rap from the BBS anchors down to the Reasonable Richard anchors.
We also cleaned up the approach pitch to BSS – Reasonable Richard (5.9, 40 meters). RR had become overgrown with a thick carpet of moss, blackberries and shrubs. We cleaned it and excavated cracks for slotting gear and a couple of fixed pins from under the moss carpet. It is now quite reasonable. Sep 6, 2016
Portland, OR
Pacific Northwet
Portland