Trout Creek Rock Climbing

Looking up at the crag from the campground

Hiking up to the base of the pillars at the northern end. The Prow is seen at right.

Overview
I'll describe some beta on how to get there. Be sure to download a copy of the guide book here if you plan to go here as it has all the information you would need. It's free and you can print off as many pages as you want! As of this writing the seasonal closure has been lifted and climbing is once again allowed here. Please refrain from wandering around on the mesa top as this is private property.

The climbing here is pure crack climbing at its best. A long wall of basalt pillars with over a hundred crack routes of all different types can be found here and the rock is incredibly good and rough so tape is almost mandatory. Unlike Vantage which has smoother rock and many more features, nearly every route here is sustained and requires you to only use the cracks to climb. No features, no rest stances and plumb vertical climbing is the name of the game here. Bring lots of cams!

Getting There
Located near Madras, Oregon it is a ways drive from everything. Portland is the nearest major city which is about 120 miles away which is about the same distance Vantage is from Seattle. To get here, if coming from the north on Highway 26, drive through the small town of Warm Springs where there is one Shell station and a large casino. Just east of town you will cross the Deschutes River over a large bridge. Continue 5.5 miles past the bridge and up the hill and turn left onto NW Gumwood Lane. Take the first Right on NW Deschutes Drive and head north across the flat mesa top through a bunch of farms for three miles where you will continue to the right onto NW Juniper Lane. Go an additional 4.5 miles east at which point you begin switchbacking down off the mesa and towards the valley floor. You descend into the tiny settlement of Gateway and will turn left on NE Clemens Drive (right before the train tracks). Follow this road which turns to dirt after 1.7 miles and heads under the train tracks through a single lane tunnel. Just past the tunnel, veer left away from the entrance sign for the Trout Creek Ranch and continue on the dirt road along Trout Creek which is easily drive-able for any car for 2.5 more miles to the campground. At the west end of the campground is a day use area you can park.

The approach hike starts from the day use area and crosses a small cattle guard where you follow the old road along the south side of the Deschutes River for 0.7 miles. Just after the road makes a couple sharp turns locate the trail heading steeply up the hill to the south. Follow the easily recognized trail as it switchbacks up the slope for 800 feet where it reaches the base of the basalt pillars at the northern end of the climbing area. If you find yourself bushwhacking you missed it! Continuing along the base of the wall over large talus (sketchy when wet) will get you to the west facing main wall where the bulk of the tough classic 5.10-5.12 lines are found. The northern end is known for having easier less sustained lines in the 5.8-5.10 range. A section of highly tilted pillars on the northern end known as the prow offers the easiest routes in the area with a couple as low as 5.5. Since the main wall is west facing it sees sun in the afternoon and the rock is clean. The routes at the northern end face north and are somewhat covered with lichen but it doesn't affect the quality that much.

Camping
The campground has about 25 sites that cost between 8-12 dollars per night depending on the time of year and week you are there. See more red tape information on the MountainProject page here.

Memorial Day Weekend 2013

This was my first time here and I had an awesome time. Two great days cragging on single pitch crack climbs mostly in the northern end. I led four 5.8 routes and followed a bunch of 5.9 routes and a couple 10- lines as well. I thought the ratings here were stiffer than at Vantage and the climbs had much less rest stances however the rock was all around better. Since it was Memorial Day weekend the campground was packed with fisherman, families, boaters and other climbers. The Deschutes River which flows right next to the campground apparently is a very popular fly fishing destination but we never saw anyone catch any fish. From what I also heard there are some good rapids to ride up to Class 4 so we saw lots of rafters as well. To our surprise there were less climbers than expected and we didn't really have to ever wait for a route.

For our first day on Saturday we drove down from the Seattle area early and hiked up the trail. We first climbed Shasta 5.8 which we both led. I just followed everything else Jacob led that day which included a couple 5.9's like Plumb Line and Electric Chair and one 5.10 called Lively Up Yourself. We met a nice group who allowed us to camp with them since the place was full that night. Unfortunately it rained Saturday night so our campfire was cut short and the hike up the next morning was damp but by the time we reached the wall around 9:30 AM Sunday it was drying nicely. We both led Usual Suspects 5.8+, Northern Exposure 5.8+ and I led Anorexic Doughboy 5.8 at the end of the day. I followed other leads Jacob did which included Salad Daze 5.9 (awesome climb)! We had a nice long fire Sunday Night with the stars overhead. We thought for sure Monday would be nice but around 5 in the morning it started raining and never stopped so we just headed back. Great trip though and worth going back.