Smith Rock Climbing (2006, 2015, 2017, 2025)

Smith Rock Climbing (2006, 2015, 2017, 2025)

Route:

various

Region: Oregon
Elev: ~3,000 ft
Rock: Welded Tuff and Basalt
Mode: 
Date(s): 2006(x7 days), 2015(x1 day), 2017(x1 day), 2025(x5 days)
Partner(s): Jason Cullum, Trever Edwards, Joleen Prystupa, Erika (all 2006); John Plotz (2015); Todd Anderson (2017); Nate Beckwith (2025)

Located in the high desert in central Oregon, Smith Rock is Oregon's premier rock climbing destination, and one of the best sport-climbing meccas in the country. The main cliffs are made of welded tuff, and the surrounding bands by columnar basalt. Being less than three hours drive from Portland, the area tends to be quite crowded on weekends.

I've only climbed at Smith Rock a handful of times: a couple of quick weekend trips early on in my climbing career where our main objective was Monkey Face, twice for a day when passing by, and again in Fall 2025 for a stretch before I hurt my arm from pulling to hard.

On this page, I give photos from climbing at Smith Rock, organized by date. At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done at Smith Rock.

Photos

SOME RANDOM PHOTOS FROM CRAGGING AT SMITH ROCK


More climbing fun!
More climbing fun!
Dates: April 16, 2006 (Sun) & May 20, 2006 (Sat)
Partners: Jason Cullum, Trevor Edwards, Erika (April); Jason Cullum, Trevor Edwards, Joleen Prystupa (May)
Climbed at: Monkey Face
Routes (ordered by grade): 
• Pioneer Route 5.7 A0, 3p, 250', trad/sport/aid, Monkey Face
In April, three friends and I packed into a small truck and drove the eight hours down to Smith Rock in Oregon to escape the rain of BC. We spent four days climbing there. I cannot remember all that we climbed, but on our second day there, we climbed Monkey Face, which is a giant tower of rock. We climbed the easiest route up, which begins with a pitch of 5.6 gear, then a pitch of aid climbing (there were about 25 closely-spaced bolts up a sheer wall that we clipped quickdraws into and pulled on since we did not own ascenders and other aid gear), and then the route finishes with a super-airy bolted 5.7 pitch that involves stepping out of a cave to face a 200 foot drop to the ground.

When I returned to Smith Rock in May, we again climbed Monkey Face, and this time I led the second two pitches, since the first time I had led only the first pitch. The weather was a bit warmer for us on the May climb (in April it had snowed while we were climbing!) but we got stuck behind a slow group of 6 that took a couple of hours to aid up the second pitch. But we spent the time exchanging climbing stories, so it wasn't so bad.
Below are some photos from the climb.

More climbing fun!
More climbing fun!
Dates: April 15-17 (Sat-Mon) & May 19-22 (Fri-Mon), 2006
Partners: Jason Cullum, Trever Edwards, Joleen Prystupa, Erika
Climbed at: Morning Glory Wall
Routes (ordered by grade): 
• 5 Gallon Buckets 5.8, sport, Morning Glory Wall
• Karate Crack 5.10a, trad, The Dihedrals
• other routes I cannot remember
Other climbs we did on the Monkey Face trips.

More climbing fun!
More climbing fun!
Dates: September 13, 2015 (Sun)
Partner: John Plotz
Climbed at: Morning Glory Wall, Lower Gorge
Routes (ordered by grade): 
• Zion 5.10b, 4p, 350', trad, Morning Glory Wall
• Master Loony 5.11a, trad, Lower Gorge
Zion (5.10b, 4p) is THE trad multipitch route at Smith. So, naturally, when I met up with my friend John for a day at Smith (I was driving home from Red Rocks), this route was top on my list. To be honest, after climbing it, I feel this route is over-hyped, but then again Smith is known more for its sport climbing than its cracks. It was fun though. (Thanks John for climbing it for a 6th time!). The next day we climbed at Trout Creek.

More climbing fun!
More climbing fun!
Dates: September 17, 2017 (Sun)
Partner: Todd Anderson
Climbed at: Morning Glory Wall, The Dihedrals, The Fourth Horseman, Northeast Face
Routes (ordered by grade): 
• Moonshine Dihedral 5.9, trad, The Dihedrals
• Karate Crack 5.10a, trad, The Dihedrals
• Lost in Space 5.10b/c, 4p, sport, Northeast Face
• Headless Horseman 5.10d, sport, The Fourth Horseman
One day at Smith after a couple of days at Trout Creek.

More climbing fun!
More climbing fun!
Dates: September 28-October 2, 2025 (Sun-Thu)
Partner: Nate Beckwith
Climbed at: Morning Glory Wall, The Dihedrals, Llama Wall, Northeast Face
Routes (ordered by grade): 
• 5 Gallon Buckets 5.8, sport Morning Glory Wall
• Deteriorata 5.8, trad (toprope), The Dihedrals
• Wannabe Llamas 5.8, sport, Llama Wall
• Helium Woman 5.9, sport, The Dihedrals
• The Outsiders 5.9, sport Morning Glory Wall
• Moonshine Dihedral 5.9, trad, The Dihedrals
• Karate Crack 5.10a, trad, The Dihedrals
• Light on the Path 5.10a, sport Morning Glory Wall
• Captain Xenolith 5.10b, sport, The Dihedrals
• Leper Messiah 5.10b, sport (toprope solo), Northeast Face
• Wedding Day 5.10b, sport, The Dihedrals
• Master of Puppets 5.10b/c, sport (toprope solo), Northeast Face
• Llama Enlightenment 5.10c, sport, Llama Wall
• Nine Gallon Buckets 5.10c, sport Morning Glory Wall
• Morning Sky 5.10c, sport Morning Glory Wall
• The Struggle Begins 5.11a, sport, Llama Wall
• Zebra Direct 5.11a, sport Morning Glory Wall
• Cool Ranch Flavor 5.11b, sport Morning Glory Wall
• Higher Messiah 5.11b, sport (toprope solo), Northeast Face
• Damage, Inc. 5.11c, sport (toprope solo), Northeast Face
• Zebra Seam 5.11d, sport (toprope) Morning Glory Wall
• Cool Ranch Flavor Finish 5.12a, sport Morning Glory Wall
I had just wrapped up the move from Colorado to Washington. With everything tucked away in a storage unit, it was time to hit the road for a climbing trip. The original plan was Squamish, but a soggy forecast sent us south instead to Smith Rock, where we climbed for xx days.

Day one (Sunday) was bustling with Portland climbers. We started on some open lines at The Dihedrals, but the 87° heat quickly chased us into the shade of the Northeast Face. There, we strung the rope and toprope soloed two long 165-foot pitches in the 5.10b–5.11c range—a solid warm-up day.

Day two (Monday) brought cooler temps - overcast skies and no sun. So we took the opportunity to climb at the often scorching Morning Glory Wall. We got on six routes ranging from 5.8 to 5.11d, finishing with 5 Gallon Buckets—arguably Smith’s most popular 5.8—which I led in a downpour. Another solid day of mileage.

Day three (Tuesday) I led six enjoyable routes, opening with the trad classics Moonshine Dihedral (5.9) and Karate Crack (5.10a)—both of which had felt much harder the last time I climbed them—before moving on to sport lines at The Dihedrals and Llama Wall in the 5.10b–5.11a range. Another strong and satisfying day.

On Wednesday, we took a rest day. After three days of climbing, we needed it, and I also had a midday interview and the forecast didn't look great. I went on a loop hike around Smith Rock (Misery Ridge to River Trail, ~4.6 miles, 1000 ft gain/loss) before my interview and rains.

On Thursday, our fourth day on the rock, we returned to Morning Glory Wall and each got in about six pitches. My highlight was leading Nine Gallon Buckets (5.10c), while Nate celebrated a milestone—redpointing his first Smith 12a, Cool Ranch Flavor with Cool Ranch Flavor Finish (12a), on his second try. I followed with a fun toprope lap.

Nate flew back to Boulder on Friday and Saturday for a scheduled commitment, giving me the chance to scramble up Broken Top on Friday and spend the weekend climbing basalt splitters at Trout Creek.

By Monday, we were back at Smith Rock. I’d tweaked my arm again after pulling too hard on Thursday (I'd first injured it sport climbing in Red Rocks in April and the injury had plagued and frustrated me ever since), so I was on belay duty while Nate worked on Crossfire (12b). It was a beautiful day to sit in the sun, and as I watched, I found myself reflecting on the string of minor injuries that seem to come with sport climbing—the strength and precision it builds are valuable, but I can’t help wondering if it’s worth it when I end up sidelined. I’d rather be out on what I love and what I've trained my body for: endurance adventure climbs.

Next up: Yosemite Valley.

List of Climbs I've done at Smith Rock

LIST MAINLY FOR PERSONAL RECORD-KEEPING | DATES I'VE CLIMBED THERE ON SECOND TAB

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