Monkey Face, West Face Route
Monkey Face, West Face Route |
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Smith's most awe-inspiring bolt line ascends four pitches of perfect rock up the blank west wall of Monkey Face. Although somewhat of an eyesore, the bolt ladders on the upper pitches provide exhilarating climbing whether done aid or free. You'll have to aid the second-pitch bolt ladder unless you can climb 5.17, but the rest of the route goes free. The first-pitch finger crack makes a fine climb in it's own right. Curiously, the original bolt line at the start still hasn't gone free; everyone begins by aiding a short bolt line to the first pin scars. If you dislike aid starts to free climbs, begin with the first few moves of Sheer Trickery.
From: Climbers Guide to Smith Rocks by Alan Watts
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This was my second trip up the West Face with Bob. This time we thought to make it interesting by dragging a haul bag (aka, The Pig) with us and sleeping in the cave. You know, "big" wall practice. This is one of the few routes in Oregon that will take three people all day to do. It is almost 400 feet of easy aid climbing. The belays are airy enough to give you that big wall feeling. We also brought spare bolts and a Bosch with us so that we could repair some of the crappier bolts. But with three of us and the pig, we were moving pretty slow and did not have time for any repair work. We barely made it into the west face cave by sundown. If you choose to do this route, you would be well advised to bring a cheater stick. The first pitch has been maintained well because it goes free. But the other pitches need some work. I blew a hanger on the ramp to the second belay on only half body weight. And the last pitch out of the cave has some real choss bolts. |
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Monkey Face, West Face Route |
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