I haven’t gotten to climb outside in a while, but that doesn’t mean my harness has been sitting idle – In fact, I’ve been able to stay fairly consistent with hitting the local climbing gym here in Dublin since the semester started!
Now, I fully expect that 2025 will see that consistency slow down a bit as classes ramp up (Ed note: Ben may be writing with the aid of a bit hindsight here, as this post is actually being written in late 2025…), but for now… I’m enjoying the opportunity to stay on the walls, and get some good strength training in!
And, most excitingly… Andrea’s joined in on the fun! She joined in for her first-ever time rock climbing, and was an absolute trooper – getting on the wall, climbing a few routes, and hitting that coveted top hold on more than a few routes.
Three cheers for climbing through the end of 2024!
I’m actually getting a fair number of rock climbing trips in this summer!
Not as many as I’d like, mind you, but… Frankly, I’m okay with it. I’m happy with the backpacking, and the climbing that I’ve gotten to do has been exceptionally fun and solid. No one will hear me complaining, and the 4th of July was no exception.
I was worried it’d be slammed – I mean, everyone has the 4th off, right? But this is Oregon, and you never can tell… But it was beautiful out, and warm, and quite dry… Ahh, who knows.
Bri and I took stock of options and picked a crag that we figured would be the least likely to be inundated with climbers – a spot on the Eastern side of Mt. Hood, far from Portland, called Klinger. We got going early, met up at her place, and even got ourselves breakfast sandwiches on the way. We drove, found the last spot at the parking area, and started in.
“The last spot at the parking area” doesn’t bode well for our heroes, but keep in mind – this was a parking spot that’s shared between climbing and a nearby trailhead… and it only held eight cars or so.
In the end? No one else nearby. We ran into maybe 8 people the whole time, none of which were climbing near us, so… I’ll consider it a win.
What did we climb, you may ask? Hanging Chad – 5.7, Sport, Lead! Hot Pockets – 5.8+, Sport, Lead! Blue Grouse – 5.9, Sport, Lead! Felsschlupfer (Rock Wren) – 5.10d, Top Rope GSR (Good Sport Route) – 5.7, Sport, Lead!
Yeah – I felt strong. Lots of leading, though I was sad that we didn’t get any trad routes in… but I felt strong – even doing that 10d was pretty solid!
By the time we left the crag, we were the last car in the lot. We headed back, snapped some pictures of a cool little shrine we’d found in the woods, got a photo or two of Mt. Hood looking beautiful, and then I made a glorious dinner.
