Routes in Washington

Born In Time 8 Pitch 5.10a 755’ 60 Meter Rope

*option for 9 pitches in order to view partner on crux of last pitch.

Pitch 1) 5.6 scramble to a ledge belay 100’

Pitch 2) 5.7 climb up overlapping sections trending right with several bulges to belay 100’

Pitch 3) 5.9 Step left from belay and climb fun face that first trends left and then right to belay over the lip 80’

Pitch 4) 5.8 Continue up slaby terrain to belay 90’

Pitch 5) 5.7 Alpine feeling pitch with a tricky face start to ledge trending right along wall to belay 125’

Pitch 6) 5.7 make blocky moves finishing below short face 70’

Pitch 7) 5.8 bouldery start to easy terrain trends right to base of headwall 50’

Pitch 8) 10a directly tackle the yellow crystal block that lean left unlocking the positive holds and tricky movement to a corner then climb to an anchor 140’

• Option You can belay at 70’ to help your second through the crux of the route or climb full 140’ to great views and lunch counter over looking the Methow Valley. Communication is difficult if you climb full 140’

Decent) Rappel the route straight down following the rappel anchors, bypassing pitch 5, 6 and 7. From the top of pitch 8 repel STRAIGHT down to a ledge and set of anchors. Continuing down the slab descend OVER the bulge to a large ledge with anchors. Trend left to stay out of the gully. Move straight down and over a lip repelling to the top of pitch 4 Follow the bolt line for another 4 rappels to the ground. 60m rope 16 Quick draws will get you up.

Please tie knots in the ends of your rope.🙏🏼

Located 10 feet right of Mudslinger. Not in 2010 guidebook.

Anchor has no chain

Slightly steep start. Hardest moves probably between 1st and 2nd bolt with small feet. From the 2019 Frenchmen Coulee guide book: “A set of “drive by” moves passing the first bolt leads to a mantle finish.”

Pumpy, crux is getting to first bolt beyond that its overhung and has a bit of loose rock.

You can also get to chains on top by climbing a newish ~5.4 route on the north side of the feathers that is between 'Forty Bucks in the Dark' and 'Ruffled Feathers'. When at chains of 5.4 if you climb over them you'll see the anchor for 'Photo Opportunity' on the top flat part of the pillar which would let you set up a top rope.

Good - Photo Opportunity on top of the rock. Bad - Not that heavily climbed, and has some loose holds

New guidebook calls this a 5.10b. Start right of the first bolt, and after that continue up to the right of the bolts or get sucked into the trad crack on the left for easier climbing (not sure if this is considered out of bounds, but you can still use right hand and foot holds on the face and get a good arm bar in the crack for a rest). Clipping the anchor is most ideal from the left.

Short, steep, pumpy and chossy route. Crux is at the third bolt.

Currently the last face climb on the wall not counting the chimney Updrafts to Heaven on the right.

Begins on small crimps on the arete, make several moves through crimps on the face and top out. Short and sweet and murder on the fingers.

Just right of Poop Butt up the obvious blunt arete, following two vertical aesthetic quartz veins.

Sit start with a big left hand sloper and your choice for a right hand (it's all about the same difficulty). Bump up and move slightly left to exit via the slab. Heel hooks are key for this one.

On the uphill side of the Hourglass boulder, sitting under a heavily chalked steep arete. The stand start is ~V0.

Start on the S&S jug but traverse hard right via underclings then some big moves up and out to slopers then topout right of S&S.

Upper Forestland area. Walk past "Lovage" and under "The Physical" to the outcrop on the left of the trail where you'll see the overhanging boulder home to "Sunny and Steep" and "Funny and Cheap".

Classic steep gym-like climbing, mega-classic.

Start on the jug flake under the steep prow, stand into underclings and try not to think about the dicey landing. Great movement but you'll want a spotter for this one.

Slab start to a pounce/latch finish.

This is a fun alpine sport route with lots of variety in a spectacular setting. The rappel does not follow the route, so read up!

## Going up

• P1 -- Climb straight up to the rather spacious "Rising Tide Ledge." (5.6)
• P2 -- Follow bolts up and right through a chimney and over some bulges. (5.9+)
• P3 -- Chase four bolts around the corner to the right. Short ~40 foot pitch. (5.9)
• P4 -- Blast up on/right of the arete. (5.8)
• P5 -- The "Tsunami" pitch. Climb straight up off the belay to gain a ledge (one bolt here; use an alpine draw), then traverse straight right to ascend the face. (5.9)
• P6 -- Continue up to the top of the arete, reaching a two-bolt anchor without rappel chains (5.3).
• P7 -- Head up to the top, clipping a rappel anchor as your first bolt. (5.7)

## Getting Down

It takes seven rappels. Probably best to not combine them.

• Summit to anchor just above belay at the bottom of P7.
• Down/left to anchor on face to the right of the P6 belay.
• Down/left some more to the anchor at the base of P5.
• Down to top of P3.
• [Pay attention] Do not rappel over the short pitch. Instead, go climber's left down a gulley to the top of P2.
• [Heads up] Rappel straight down (not over the face you climbed) to the top of P1.
• Rappel P1.

Caution: don't link pitches. This route does not have long, clean lines between pitches and there is still plenty of loose rock. Save the drag and your belayer's brain and stop when you get to an anchor.

## Gear

13-14 draws, ideally a few alpines. 60m rope.

This seam likely needs excavation. It's thin and a bit hard to protect.

This slab line starts at the apex of the pedestal, continuing straight up through the bulge, where it joins meets the Moss Def anchor.

Take a single 0.75-2 piece for the top.

Start at the apex of the pedestal, following a leftward seam to join Moss Def.

Takes one piece in the 0.75-2.

[Open Project] This is the direct bolted line straight up the middle of the wall. Stick clip the first bolt and bring a piece in the 0.75-2 range for the top.

Climb the thin crack up and a bit left. Follow the roof right to an a bolted anchor.

Old Milwaukee is the right-most route behind the Deception Wall fence that you can reach without scrambling or walking down to the start.

Caution

A lot of the rock is loose/suspect. Most of the bolts are showing rust consistent with galvanic corrosion. Maybe pick another route if you’re feeling unlucky.

Find this route on the left side of Deception, just past the fence. After a short slab, the first crux section is protected by a shiny bolt (not rusted like many in this area). Continue up to a small ledge with a permadraw. This has always been the crux (previously 5.11a), but it’s now harder due to rockfall causing the feet to disappear. A couple burly moves will dispatch the remaining difficulties, but enjoy a fun final section with thought provoking moves.

This is how most people climb these two routes, which share all anchors:

[G.M. p1]

climb from a two bolt anchor above a slab, trending slightly right to a huge ledge. Walk the ledge to the left and scramble up to the anchor. (5.8+)

[G.M. p2]

Scramble up to an overhang formed by a pair of huge flakes. Overcome the roof to gain a wide crack. This is a short pitch that can be easily combined with p1 for a great time. (5.9)

[HotC p3]

Step right into a widening splitter, leading to a ledge (5.9 to here, where you can bail to the anchors at the right). Continue up the slightly overhanging hand crack, step left a bit, and find anchors on a ledge; feels a bit like Breakfast of Champions. (5.10a)

Rappel p3 --> p1--> ground.

This is the leftmost route to reach the top of the headwall.

Caution

-- The second bolt is a huge "legacy" bolt that cannot be clipped with a standard carabiner. Instead, girth hitch a sling through it.

Follow the rightward leading hand crack with good protection into a groove. From here work in some protection and climb the face on good holds and sloping feet to the anchor above.

The anchor at the top also provides a good TR setup for the classic stemming corner The View from the Bridge

Walk to the Beetle Bailey slab. This route is the line of bolts right of the first pitch of racer X (5.7 ramp) which can often be dirty. Look for the "Tomb-Stone" a 4ft tall shield of granite driven into the ground by the force of gravity. The start hides behind the tombstone.

Climb rampy jugs with big feet up the middle of a triangular face. Moving right clip a bolt and place a finger size cam in a horizontal cracked feature. Break soft left on face moves past two bolts to a pedestal belay for Racer-X/Metal/Beetle Bailey.

A tremendous psychological warm-up for Racer-X as it compares in physical difficulty, but is much more generous with protection. Initially viewed as a 2nd and slightly harder/longer pitch to Behind the Tombstone, it also became the 2nd pitch of one of Index’s best moderate multi-pitches, Ride The Lightning.

From the top of “Behind the Tombstone”, Follow the ramp with natural gear a few feet until you see a bolt above in a “circular cutout”. Climb into the cutout and then onto the slab. Climb past the intermediate anchor (the start of p3 of Ride The Lightning) and another bolt. Move right to the white corner, padding up fun knobs for feet and crimps in the roof to the anchor for the 5.10a/b finish. The route uses a series of expanding flake systems that are safe for climbing but highly suspect for gear.

The anchor is shared with “Beetle Bailey P2” and “Larry’s Lycra” and is an easy access to set up a TR for those routes.

Inspiring roofs, slabs, traverses and exposure rolled into four very different moderate pitches, everything to test the new 5.10 leader.

P1 Climb “Behind the Tomb Stone. 5.9

P2 “Rope Eating Mice” Bolts and a handful of finger-to-tight hand-size gear placements. some face moves to start into expanding flakes and a high crux. Stop at the first set of anchors NOT the high set of rap rings. 10a/b

P3 “ From the lower belay, make an easy traverse right, up a ramp with optional gear, aiming for an obvious low bolt on an exposed Arete (5.6) At the bolt match low then make an exposed karate kick to good feet and slap out right to a jug. Follow bolts up exposed terrain minding your feet with a few reachy moves. 10c

P4 This pitch can be seen from the pullout by the river. It’s a fantastic clip-up on slabby mantles, high steps and a memorable foot traverse with extraordinary views of Mt Index and the river singing in the background. 10a

this route is well protected and will most likely become popular for entry-level climbers at Index.

The route is about 15 feet to the right of Behind the Tombstone. It is a right-facing corner, with a bulge at the top. Climb up and over a detached flake at the base of the route. Step over and onto the wall. Make several face moves until you clip the first of 8 bolts. Go back and forth between using face moves and the right-facing corner. If the move seems hard, look around you might be missing a hidden hold (most are on the left side). Climb up a slab section and move left, over onto the bulge. This is an exposed move, but exciting face climbing with 2 bolts to protect the last moves

70 METER ROPE REQUIRED

The route is about 15 feet to the right of Behind the Tombstone. It is a right-facing corner, with a bulge at the top. Climb up and over a detached flake at the base of the route. Step over and onto the wall. Make several face moves until you clip the first of 8 bolts. Go back and forth between using face moves and the right-facing corner. If the move seems hard, look around you might be missing a hidden hold (most are on the left side). Climb up a slab section and move left, over onto the bulge. This is an exposed move, but exciting face climbing with 2 bolts to protect the last moves

Continue past the first anchor on Flying Salamanders heading up a beautiful bolt-protected slab. The first couple of bolts leads off the ramp ledge and into a rock scar with a couple of powerful crimps. Followed by a series of subtle weathered dishes and knobs.

After the second bolt, a variation extends right up a ramp to a perma-draw anchor. This is access for two yet-to-be-published lines.

Continue past the anchor just past the roof of the short version through a difficult crux. Easier climbing follows. It may be possible to aid through the crux on a bolt.

Gain a chalked-up diagonal rail to start a fun, generously bolted slab. Follow the right bolt line through an acrobatic roof.

Start as for the short version, continuing past the anchor up a bolted slab through a roof.

Found just right/uphill of Master Wong, this short and low-angle climb is mostly bolted. Bring one or two hand-sized pieces for the nice splitter just below the anchor.

Sagittarius without pulling the roof, as it's most commonly done.

This venerable climb seems to be everybody’s first aid lead. With its comfortable belay ledge and many additional gear anchor options, it’s also great for practicing hauling or pitching a portaledge. Boulders at the base provide rope solo anchor options.

Scramble up a short ways (a bit scary when wet) to a short bolt ladder, followed by a thin, piton scarred crack that leads to a bolted anchor shared with Godzilla.

Bring nuts and small cams. A small number of medium cam placement can also be found. There are many options to use narrow cam hooks.

1. 5.7 6B

2. 5.8+ 13B

3. 5.7 4/5B

4. 5.8 7B

5. 5.9+ 9B - Crux pitch

6. 5.6 5B

7. Class 3/4 scramble. 1B, natural anchor. Unroped scramble possible

Common recommendations include linking P1/2, P3/4, P5/6.

Bring alpine draws and considering skipping bolts based on your risk tolerance.

Descent: A downscramble to P6 anchors, followed by six single length raps on a 60 m down the regular route will bring you to the base. Alternatively, rap anchors are below the lower of two trees sighted from P2 anchors. Rap down the south face is also possible.