Tag Archives: The Beacon

Oct25

Getting some outdoor leads in!

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Saturday, 25-Sept-2021


The Beacon, Washington State

Man… with the exception of my Devil’s Tower climbing adventure, I can’t really remember the last time I just went out to climb with friends in the great outdoors. Ehh, okay. That’s a bit hyperbolic – It was last November, or maybe October, climbing at Ozone / FarSide with Bri and Lizzie. I had to trundle a huge boulder out of the route when it nearly fell out.

Fun times.

But… distant times, you know?



When Imogen expressed interest in climbing outdoors… well, I jumped on it. I was psyched, and came up with a few ideas of where we could go – she’s a newer climber, so I didn’t want to overwhelm her just yet… so just some shorter and cleaner pitches to get the blood flowing, you know?

In other words, The Beacon called.



It’s not an easy area, but there are a few very well travelled, very clean, very moderate routes that I’ve gotten to know pretty well. Not so much that I could climb them blindfolded… but the “with one arm tied behind my back” phrase does come to mind.

I packed up the car, picked her up in Portland, and we made our way toward adventure!

What did we climb?

SE Corner, 5.6, Trad – I got to lead!

We also explored quite a bit around the base of the Beacon… I feel like I’ve explored these before, but I can’t quite remember any specific instances… so we crawled into caves, stared up at huge walls, and appreciated the open air and cool fall breezes.



It was a simple and fun day – we got one solid pitch in, but… I’ll admit, I underestimated just how intimidating outdoor climbing can be, in comparison to gym climbing… especially when you get an amazing view of the Columbia River Gorge. Great views are a double-edged sword, right? They’re awesome and beautiful… but they’re also intimidating if you’re not accustomed to them.

Which leads me to the real meat and potatoes of this post – Climbing today, I was reminded just how deeply immersed I am in my element. It doesn’t really fall into one of the four natural elements… but instead I’m just exceptionally comfortable outdoors. Which… I’m just going to say it, I’m really exceptionally proud of.

It’s neat to think of, you know? I’d been camping when I was younger, a few times, but I’d never really considered myself into the outdoors until I got to college and had a chance to really stretch into my own wings.

But once I did… I’ve learned a lot, and experienced such a huge bounty of amazing trips, places, and… well, let’s be honest here. Quite a few mistakes along the way as well.

But… It’s been at least 16 years that I’ve been doing this. 16 solid years of trips, adventures, mistakes, memories, and excitement. Highs and lows, great summiting and rappelling in the rain.



It’s good to step back and recognize just how awesome we really are, every once in a while. To look at ourselves from the outside, and see just how many experiences we’ve lived, and how comfortable we’ve become in our elements – be it work, adventure, hobbies, or what have you.

To quite a wise (if short) old master: “Luminous beings are we”

Dec1

Taking a line up The Beacon!

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Taking a line up The Beacon!

Saturday, 26-September-2015

So when I first moved to Oregon and started talking to climbers, I heard about The Beacon. I believe the actual phrase was “the best climbing in Northern Oregon is the Beacon. Which is in Washington.”

So I’ve wanted to climb it for a while – I did the first pitch of it with Dave and Sarah a few weekends ago, and the climbing was fun! It was pretty clean, made up of solid granite that’d been broken up by time and weather. From what I read at the entrance signpost, the spire is actually the core of an ancient volcano; the rest of the mountain was worn down by the floods that carved out the Columbia River Gorge itself.

So when Sarah and I found ourselves in possession of a free Saturday, we racked up the gear, reviewed topos, and got ourselves on the rock!

South East Corner – 5.7 Trad, 5 pitches official. Grades with “?” are estimated, based on my opinion. Which is clearly important, since this is my blog.

Pitch 1 – 5.6ish? – This is the one that we’d done before, so it went cleanly and easily. The anchor was huge, and the belay was comfortable. Good, clean climbing.

Pitch 2 – 5.2ish, if that. – A traverse… basically just walking along a ramp, with a few spicy moves with a bit of air. Not a lot of protection, but you don’t really miss it as you walk along a 2ft wide ledge.

Pitch 3 – 5.7 – Now this. This was the climbing. This pitch is generally classed as the best on the route, and I have to agree with it. Basically, we worked our way around two huge roofs; 5+ ft big, give or take. This was where I started seeing old Pitons, which is always a really fun thing.

Pitch 4 – 5.6? – The first section of a fun ramp. Not the traverse like Pitch 2, but a good technical section of fun climbing.

Pitch 5 – 5.4? – the remainder of the Pitch 4 ramp. Split into two due to the wind causing communication issues between Sarah and myself, and rope drag starting to become an issue.

Pitch 6 – 5.6? – This one was pretty fun for the first few moves, then evened out a lot. An interesting chimney turned into a standard-issue ramp… basically, I started to feel like I was just hiking a series of really steep switchbacks.

Pitch 7 – 5.2? – So the topo calls this a “4th class to summit trail” section. Which is totally believable if you’ve done it repeatedly, and/or have a death wish. Large, slightly-loose blocks on a steep arete, with huge falls on both sides.

Pitch 8 – 5.2? – The finish of the “4th class” section that Pitch 7 started. Then, we topped out onto the summit trail!

Descent – We descended The Beacon via the summit trail, a beautifully designed and built “trail”, that consists of concrete embankments, wooden bridges, and amazing civil engineering. To quote the builder…

“My purpose in acquiring the property was simply and wholly that I might build a trail to the summit.”

– Henry Biddle

Please note that this trail descends what is, basically, a vertical wall. In a fashion that a wheelchair could get up. Dude was awesome.