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Washington
> Northwest Region
> Hwy 20 & N Casc…
> N Cascades
> Washington Pass
> Liberty Bell Group
> Lexington Tower
East Face
5.9+ YDS 5c French 17 Ewbanks VI UIAA 17 ZA E1 5a British
Avg: 3.4 from 97
votes
Routes in Lexington Tower
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East Face T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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North Face T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b |
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Tooth and Claw T 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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| Type: | Trad, Alpine, 800 ft (242 m), 10 pitches, Grade III |
| FA: | Steve Marts and Don McPherson |
| Page Views: | 20,446 total · 114/month |
| Shared By: | sqwirll on Jul 7, 2009 |
| Admins: | Jon Nelson, Micah Klesick, Zachary Winters |
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Access Issue: Washington Pass Fire Closure Lifted
Details
Washington Pass Climbing was closed on 8/15/23 due to the Blue Lake Fire until further notice. On 9/7/23 this closure was reduced in size. On 9/22 this was reduced again, opening all WA Climbing Routes. For remaining closures, see:
fs.usda.gov/alerts/okawen/a…
fs.usda.gov/alerts/okawen/a…
Access Issue: Seasonal Raptor Closure at Newhalem Crags March 1st to mid-July
Details
Peregrine falcons select nest sites on cliffs in the Upper Skagit Valley, including the Climbing Management Areas of Newhalem West (Ryan’s Wall) and Newhalem East. As required in the NPS Superintendent’s Compendium, these areas will be closed to all public from March 1st to July 15th of each year, or until the young falcons have fledged or NPS staff have determined that nesting will not occur on a specific wall during this period. Access Fund, Washington Climbers Coalition and NPS partner on a volunteer raptor monitoring program to determine nesting activity. Contact the NPS and/or WCC for updates.
Description
Multiple belay options are available and linking of some pitches are possible, but here's the general break down.
Pitch 1 - Climb up a crack system and traverse left into slopey climbing with difficult protection. Belay where convenient.
Pitch 2 - Continue up and slightly right to the base of the obvious left facing corner. Belay from a small tree.
Pitch 3 - Climb the left facing corner to a nice ledge with a tree belay.
Pitch 4 - Climb up and left through cracks ranging from hands to fingers and belaying at a stance below the roof with a deadend chimney. This is not the chimney you'll be climbing.
Pitch 5 - Once at the deadend chimney, traverse right on a small ledge with no hands for 30'(exposed). At the end of the traverse, pull a difficult lieback (one could jam this) and continue up the hand and finger crack. Crux
Pitch 6 - Climb the offwidth above, clipping the a jambed 2x4 for pro and passing two bolts to an alcove above.
Pitch 7 - Continue up the short chimney, which leads to blockier terrain and another offwidth.
Pitches 8-10 - Easier ground leads up and left to a tree belay. Continue up to the top of the formation. A 4th class traverse pitch across a catwalk takes you to the unroping notch.
Pitch 1 - Climb up a crack system and traverse left into slopey climbing with difficult protection. Belay where convenient.
Pitch 2 - Continue up and slightly right to the base of the obvious left facing corner. Belay from a small tree.
Pitch 3 - Climb the left facing corner to a nice ledge with a tree belay.
Pitch 4 - Climb up and left through cracks ranging from hands to fingers and belaying at a stance below the roof with a deadend chimney. This is not the chimney you'll be climbing.
Pitch 5 - Once at the deadend chimney, traverse right on a small ledge with no hands for 30'(exposed). At the end of the traverse, pull a difficult lieback (one could jam this) and continue up the hand and finger crack. Crux
Pitch 6 - Climb the offwidth above, clipping the a jambed 2x4 for pro and passing two bolts to an alcove above.
Pitch 7 - Continue up the short chimney, which leads to blockier terrain and another offwidth.
Pitches 8-10 - Easier ground leads up and left to a tree belay. Continue up to the top of the formation. A 4th class traverse pitch across a catwalk takes you to the unroping notch.
Location
Park at the pond (south side of highway) that is located approximately 1.2 miles east of the pass. Hike up the trail for 30-45 minutes to the base. There are a couple of options depending on the condition of the snowfield at the base. Option 1 is to go up gully to the left of the east face and get on the rock. Option 2 is get on the rock from the right hand side.
Descent - from the notch below the summit (you don't actually go to the summit), head west and take the gully to the skiers left. There are rap slings down there, but it's 20' of 3rd class, so it's not worth the effort. Once down the gully continue to traverse right(north)until you hit the cattle trail that goes up to Liberty Bell, which will take you to the Blue Lake trail. Once you're able to see the highway and the trail turns left, locate a faint climbers trail that will take you straight to the highway (probably saves a mile or so of hiking). Hike the road back to your car. Alternatively, one could hitchhike or do a shuttle to save on the walk.
Descent - from the notch below the summit (you don't actually go to the summit), head west and take the gully to the skiers left. There are rap slings down there, but it's 20' of 3rd class, so it's not worth the effort. Once down the gully continue to traverse right(north)until you hit the cattle trail that goes up to Liberty Bell, which will take you to the Blue Lake trail. Once you're able to see the highway and the trail turns left, locate a faint climbers trail that will take you straight to the highway (probably saves a mile or so of hiking). Hike the road back to your car. Alternatively, one could hitchhike or do a shuttle to save on the walk.
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