Outdoor Climbing Guide to Seattle

Seattle-area residents are lucky to have a variety of outdoor options for learning how to rock climb. It might not be Yosemite, but Seattle gave birth to The Mountaineers, a statewide mountaineering club formed in 1906 that offers a variety of instruction. If you’re looking for a chance to get a taste of the sport without a long-term commitment, another good option is the “Introduction to Rock Climbing” course at Schurman Rock in West Seattle’s Camp Long. This inexpensive—just $8.00—2-hour class teaches basic climbing techniques. Classes start in May.

If you’re still looking for reasons to try rock climbing, step outside and look around. All those mountains offer climbing experiences that range in difficulty from beginner to expert. There are guidebooks available for most of the area’s outdoor climbing spots that feature a list of the climbs, each with in-depth description, it’s difficulty rating and either a photograph or illustration mapping out the route. REI has a huge selection, as does The Mountaineers. The gyms usually have some of the more obscure ones, often authored by local climbers. Here are a few highlighted outdoor areas.

Darrington
If the idea of intense vertical seems a bit much for a beginner, 3 O’clock Rock in Darrington has a nice range of low-angle slab climbs with big knobs for hands and feet—perfect for the novice.

Leavenworth
When the Seattle weather’s iffy, Leavenworth has a selection of climbs that range from beginner-friendly, single-pitch routes to challenging, multi-pitch climbs up the fine-grained granite crags found here. Because it’s on the east side of the cascades, it’s a great place for climbers to escape the persistent state of drizzle on the west side.
Eastward from Leavenworth toward Wenatchee is Peshastin Pinnacles. The State Park is a 34-acre desert park featuring a group of sandstone slabs and spires. Rocks and trails provide views of surrounding orchards, the Enchantment Mountain Range, and the Wenatchee River valley.

Frenchman's Coulee
A result of three separate lava flows that created geometric pillars neatly stacked together, the park is located near Vantage in the Washington desert. The two hour drive from Seattle features weathered rocks with a pocked faces making for fantastic crack and chimney climbing.

North Bend
Those lucky enough to already have some seasoned climbers as friends can take advantage of their experience to try their hand at outdoor climbing without a formal class. On a sunny, autumn day, there’s climbing within a short drive of Seattle around North Bend. Exit 38 (off I-90) features fairly vertical routes off what was once a railroad route, is a favorite for those looking for a short day, and Exit 32 is an excellent place for easy top rope climbs. Little Si is another North Bend spot with classic, vertical sport climbs.

Smith Rock State Park, OR
Located in Central Oregon's high desert near the town of Terrebonne, the Parks sheer cliffs of tuff and basalt are ideal for rock climbing of all difficulty levels. Smith Rock is generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing, and is host to many climbing routes that are considered cutting-edge even by today's standards.

Squamish, B.C.
Get that passport application in the mail—this one is worth the trip. The northwest’s answer to Yosemite, Squamish is home to the Chief, a 2,000 foot wall of vertical granite; the Apron, an incline slab with 50 routes including the 7-pitch Diedre; and the Smoke Bluffs, a collection of routes up to 5.12 in difficultly. Incomparable rock quality, beautiful weather and that inimitable, rural Canadian charm all around 40 miles north of Vancouver, B.C.

Outdoor Climbing Walls

Weather permitting; there are a few free, outdoor climbing walls in the area for public use:

Marymoor Climbing Wall
Marymoor Park
6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy. N.E.
Redmond, WA 98052
206.296,2964
Website

UW Climbing Rock
South of Husky Stadium
Seattle, WA 98195
206.543.9433

Camp Long
West Seattle
5200 35th S.W.
206.684.7434
Website