COMMON CLIMBER
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      • Don't Take Granite for Granite
      • Dorothy, We Aren't on Havana Anymore
      • No Health Insurance Changed How I Climb
      • Onsight vs Flash vs Etc...
      • Starting Over
      • The Bane of Northwest Climbing
      • Why I Started Common Climber
    • Poetry >
      • Anti-Social Climbers
      • Ice is Nice
    • Mental-Physical >
      • 12-Weeks to Onsighting a 5.8
      • How Auto-Immune Disease Affected My Climbing
      • Mastering Joy on Easy Street
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      • Of Cartoons and Quickdraws
      • Push and Pull
      • The Devil's Game
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      • Climbing into the Fold
      • Diversity in Climbing is Not a Bandwagon
      • My Husband Climbs Stronger than Me
      • Fuck "Gumbies" and "Noobs"
      • Social Network Rescue
    • Safety and Skills >
      • Bolting and Ground-Fall Potential
      • Euro-Death Knot is NOT
      • Multi-Pitch Tips: Two ATCs
      • Sketchy Anchor Bolts
      • Sliding-X Anchor
      • Three Ways to Use a Stick Clip
      • Top 10: Climbing Best Practices
    • Themed Editions >
      • Joshua Tree Articles >
        • Bouldering: JTree Made Me Do It
        • Improv at JTree: Bad Bolts
        • JTree: Bolting Pressure Cooker
        • Joshua Tree: Heinous Approaches
      • Developers and Authors >
        • Kevin Powell
        • Rock Star Groupie
        • Todd Gordon
        • Tony Calderone
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      • Bliss: Climbing in the Blueys
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina Crag
      • Vedauwoo, WY
      • Zone of Craptitude
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        • Edelrid Mega Jul
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        • Sukoa Chalk Bag Review
        • Trango Crag Pack
      • Personal Anchor Systems >
        • Camp-Daisy-Twist
        • Petzl-Dual-Adjust
  • Locations
    • 'Round the World >
      • 20 World Destintions for Adventurous Climbing
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        • Kangaroo Point Photos and Beta
        • Kangaroo Point Review
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          • Blue Mountains Photos and Beta
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          • Nowra Photos and Beta
          • Nowra Review
    • Mexico >
      • Potrero Chico Photos and Beta
      • Potrero Chico Review
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      • Climbing Area Check List - U.S. >
        • Climbing Area Check List Part 1: Alabama to California
        • Climbing Area Checklist Part 2: Colorado to Michigan
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          • Mount Whitney Photos and Beta
      • Idaho >
        • City of Rocks >
          • City of Rocks Photos and Beta
          • City of Rocks Review
      • Oregon >
        • Smith Rock >
          • Smith Rock - Photos and Beta
          • Smith Rock Review
        • Spring Mountain >
          • Spring Mountain Review
          • Spring Mountain - Photos and Beta
        • Trout Creek >
          • Trout Creek Photos and Beta
          • Trout Creek Review
      • Nevada >
        • Red Rock Canyon >
          • Red Rock Canyon Review - Yeahs and Neahs
          • Red Rocks Photos and Beta
        • Gun Club
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        • North Conway, NH
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        • Gunks Review
      • Utah >
        • Echo Canyon
        • Ferguson Canyon >
          • Ferguson Canyon Photos and Beta
          • Ferguson Canyon Review
        • Ibex >
          • Ibex Photos and Beta
          • Ibex Review
        • Maple Canyon >
          • Maple Canyon, Utah Photos and Beta
          • Maple Canyon Review
        • Moab >
          • Moab - Main - Photos and Beta
          • Moab -Main - Review
        • St. George >
          • St. George - Prophesy Wall- Photos and Beta
          • St. George - Prophesy Wall - Review
      • Wyoming >
        • Ten Sleep
  • Contributors
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      • Ice Climbing Photos
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      • B - Stephanie Bahnsen
      • C - Erin Collins
      • D - Stefani Dawn
      • G - Leesa Gallia
      • G - Enock Glidden
      • H - Grey Hensley
      • J - Jonathan
      • K- Melissa Kline
      • M - Rick Momsen
      • P - Brice Pollock
      • R - Juan Rodriguez
      • W - Lani Wilson
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 & The ground rules for climbing location "yeahs" and "neahs"
  • Each location will receive an opinion rating - "It Rocks!", "Worth It," "Meh," or "Trash."
  • Each crag has its own personality with unique advantages and challenges, which are highlighted.
  • It is tempting to list “beautiful” as a “yeah,” but that is true for a lot of crags. I allude to beauty and scenery in the summary. You can also (sometimes) tell by the photo. If the place is a dump, then that will be listed in the “neahs” and rated as "Meh" or "Trash.

Summary
Located on the dry, east side of the Cascades outside of Terrebonne, OR (near Bend), Smith Rock is truly a world-class destination climbing area. The rock is primarily welded Tuff (which is what Smith is best known for), but there are also areas of high quality basalt. Yes, it is incredibly beautiful here!

Grades and Bolting

Grades tend to be typical outside hard (i.e. definitely harder than most gyms), but not really old-school or overly sandbagged (perhaps somewhat sandbagged). Bolted climbs are often well bolted (not run-out), but the first bolts are placed quite high. Smith is known for difficult starts. Because of that, combined with the high first bolts, a stick clip is highly recommended.

Camping and Amenities

There is the Bivouac (aka the "Bivy") campground at Smith Rock State Park (which has quite a few restrictions, such as quiet time and no cooking at the tent). The "Bivy" has showers and bathrooms with running water and is first-come first-served (no reservations).

Skull Hollow  campground has fewer restrictions but is farther away. Skull hollow has pit toilets, no running water or showers (so bring your own water!). There used to be free primitive sites just outside of the Skull Hollow campground where you could camp if Skull Hollow was full or closed for the season, but the Forest Service just put in camping restrictions (see link below). Check those restrictions before pitching a tent outside of the campground.

New dispersed camping restrictions at Skull Hollow - http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd507382.pdf 


Rock Type and Climbing Style

The rock can be sharp with crimpy holds and cool knobs and chicken heads. It usually has great friction, but popular climbs can be slick. The climbing is mostly featured face, but there are some cracks and slab.

Guidebooks and Resources
  • A Climber's Map for Smith Rock State Park: Crag Summaries, Approaches, and Walkoffs (2017) by Climb-On Maps
  • Rock Climbing Smith Rock State Park: A Comprehensive Guide to More Than 1,800 Routes, by Alan Watts (2010) (Amazon.com)
  • SmithRock.com
  • Smith Rock Select, by Jonathan Thesenga
    • electronic Rakkup guidebook (https://rakkup.com/guidebooks/smith-rock-climbing/ )
    • Print guide (2009) (Amazon.com)

Yeahs
  • There are thousands of routes, sport and trad, single and muti-pitch.
  • Smith is a very large area where you can go further and escape the crowds.
  • There are multiple hiking trails for rest days and exploraton.
  • Camping is nearby. 
  • It’s just a few miles from a store, restaurants, gasoline, and a climbing store in Terrebonne.
  • Weather can be variable in the winter, but you can hit great days of winter climbing.
 
Neahs
  • Unless you are climbing at the far north end basalt columns where you can top-out and walk to your car, Smith Rock has a long uphill slog back to the car at the end of the day.
  • High first bolts – bring a stick clip.
  • Holds are getting greasy on the easier climbs in some of the most popular areas, such as the Dihedrals and the Peanut.
  • There are usually lines for popular climbs on busy weekends (in the Morning Glory Wall area). Plan alternatives or be prepared to wait.
  • On busy weekends the no-camping restrictions outside of Skullhollow campground can really put a damper on things (since both the Bivy and Skullhollow campgrounds can be full.) There are some more expensive RV-park camping options in the vicinity.
 
Opinion Rating
It Rocks!


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  • Home
    • About
  • Writing
    • All Writings (List)
    • Adaptive Climbing >
      • El Capitan: Enock Glidden
      • My Journey to Adaptive Rock Climbing
      • Planning for Mt. Rainier: Adaptive Climbing
      • Resources - Adaptive Climbing
    • Alpine >
      • California Still Has Untouched Climbing Wilderness
      • Mt. Ogden Spanking (Part 1)
      • Mt. Whitney Whipping (Part 2)
      • My Common Epic
    • Equipment (writings) >
      • Carabiner Strength Ratings
      • Climbing Shoes Fit
      • Guide Book Follies
      • Rope Buying 101
      • The One Item to Stockpile
      • Which Way Should I Carry My Trad Rack?
    • Grades, Styles, & Types >
      • Bouldering-Falling
      • Bouldering Grade Advancements
      • Grading Climbs at the Gym
      • Top 10: Increase the Climbing Grade When...
      • Trad Climbing is for Chicken Sh*#s
      • WTF 5.7?
      • 18 Climber Types: Which Are You?
    • Kids >
      • Family Stages
    • Other/Misc >
      • Climbing, Community, and the U.S. Presidential Election
      • Climbing Drinking Games
      • Climbing Gyms: The Gateway Drug
      • Climbing Resolutions
      • Don't Take Granite for Granite
      • Dorothy, We Aren't on Havana Anymore
      • No Health Insurance Changed How I Climb
      • Onsight vs Flash vs Etc...
      • Starting Over
      • The Bane of Northwest Climbing
      • Why I Started Common Climber
    • Poetry >
      • Anti-Social Climbers
      • Ice is Nice
    • Mental-Physical >
      • 12-Weeks to Onsighting a 5.8
      • How Auto-Immune Disease Affected My Climbing
      • Mastering Joy on Easy Street
      • Mind, Body, and Soul
      • Of Cartoons and Quickdraws
      • Push and Pull
      • The Devil's Game
    • Social/Social Media >
      • Climbing into the Fold
      • Diversity in Climbing is Not a Bandwagon
      • My Husband Climbs Stronger than Me
      • Fuck "Gumbies" and "Noobs"
      • Social Network Rescue
    • Safety and Skills >
      • Bolting and Ground-Fall Potential
      • Euro-Death Knot is NOT
      • Multi-Pitch Tips: Two ATCs
      • Sketchy Anchor Bolts
      • Sliding-X Anchor
      • Three Ways to Use a Stick Clip
      • Top 10: Climbing Best Practices
    • Themed Editions >
      • Joshua Tree Articles >
        • Bouldering: JTree Made Me Do It
        • Improv at JTree: Bad Bolts
        • JTree: Bolting Pressure Cooker
        • Joshua Tree: Heinous Approaches
      • Developers and Authors >
        • Kevin Powell
        • Rock Star Groupie
        • Todd Gordon
        • Tony Calderone
    • Travel Stories >
      • Bliss: Climbing in the Blueys
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina Crag
      • Vedauwoo, WY
      • Zone of Craptitude
  • Reviews
    • Equipment/Gear >
      • Belay Device Review >
        • Edelrid Mega Jul
      • Harnesses >
        • ArcTeryx-FL-365
        • Misty Mountain Cadillac
      • Packs and Bags >
        • Sukoa Chalk Bag Review
        • Trango Crag Pack
      • Personal Anchor Systems >
        • Camp-Daisy-Twist
        • Petzl-Dual-Adjust
  • Locations
    • 'Round the World >
      • 20 World Destintions for Adventurous Climbing
    • Australia >
      • Queensland, Australia >
        • Kangaroo Point Photos and Beta
        • Kangaroo Point Review
      • New South Wales Australia >
        • Blue Mountains >
          • Blue Mountains Photos and Beta
          • Blue Mountains Review
        • Nowra >
          • Nowra Photos and Beta
          • Nowra Review
    • Mexico >
      • Potrero Chico Photos and Beta
      • Potrero Chico Review
    • United States >
      • Climbing Area Check List - U.S. >
        • Climbing Area Check List Part 1: Alabama to California
        • Climbing Area Checklist Part 2: Colorado to Michigan
      • California >
        • Joshua Tree >
          • Joshua Tree Photos and Beta
          • Joshua Tree Tips
        • Mount Whitney >
          • Mount Whitney Photos and Beta
      • Idaho >
        • City of Rocks >
          • City of Rocks Photos and Beta
          • City of Rocks Review
      • Oregon >
        • Smith Rock >
          • Smith Rock - Photos and Beta
          • Smith Rock Review
        • Spring Mountain >
          • Spring Mountain Review
          • Spring Mountain - Photos and Beta
        • Trout Creek >
          • Trout Creek Photos and Beta
          • Trout Creek Review
      • Nevada >
        • Red Rock Canyon >
          • Red Rock Canyon Review - Yeahs and Neahs
          • Red Rocks Photos and Beta
        • Gun Club
      • New Hampshire >
        • North Conway, NH
        • Rumney, NH
      • New York >
        • Gunks Review
      • Utah >
        • Echo Canyon
        • Ferguson Canyon >
          • Ferguson Canyon Photos and Beta
          • Ferguson Canyon Review
        • Ibex >
          • Ibex Photos and Beta
          • Ibex Review
        • Maple Canyon >
          • Maple Canyon, Utah Photos and Beta
          • Maple Canyon Review
        • Moab >
          • Moab - Main - Photos and Beta
          • Moab -Main - Review
        • St. George >
          • St. George - Prophesy Wall- Photos and Beta
          • St. George - Prophesy Wall - Review
      • Wyoming >
        • Ten Sleep
  • Contributors
    • Photos by Contributor >
      • Ice Climbing Photos
    • Writings By Author >
      • B - Stephanie Bahnsen
      • C - Erin Collins
      • D - Stefani Dawn
      • G - Leesa Gallia
      • G - Enock Glidden
      • H - Grey Hensley
      • J - Jonathan
      • K- Melissa Kline
      • M - Rick Momsen
      • P - Brice Pollock
      • R - Juan Rodriguez
      • W - Lani Wilson
  • Contact and Submissions
    • Dialogue
    • Mailing List Request