Start below a slightly overhung section of rock and work your way up and thru the easiest terrain finding edges and some larger holds until you reach the corner above. Continue up and rightward as the route zig-zags its way up the wall following a discontinuous crack system.

Look carefully for offset nuts and small to medium cam placements eventually reaching a stance below where the rock steepens again. Here find a good cam placement in a horizontal slot (aka purple 0.5 BDC4). Launch into the pitch's crux by moving up, passing a bolt and then exiting left around a buttress. Once you turn the corner, look for good features and a few more gear placements as you take the slab up to a bolted anchor.

Due to the nature of the rock on this pitch some of the gear placements are not obvious but they're definitely available to the skilled trad climber. Appreciate the fact that the FFA of this pitch was done without the bolt!

Smoke Signals

False Profits

Forbidden Slab

Fireballs

Full Steam Ahead

Charted Waters

Burning Calves

Pioneer (Spike) Route

The Steamboat Captain's Dream

Siege Tactics

Dorian's Dilemma

Genesis

Pleasure Cruise

Head Case

The Stowaway

Stone Soup

Gitmo Love Machine

Start climbing on easy terrain below a triangular pod. From the pod move step left and work up the face past a bolt and to a better stance. Pass a second bolt on a shallow slab and continue up the face and broken right facing corner above eventually going left on top of the corner. Finish by climbing the lower angle rock past a third bolt, trending rightwards and merging with the finish of The Steamboat Captain's Dream.

Start under the alcove and climb the left inside edge of the wall passing two bolts. Good edges but funk body positions are needed to pull over and on to the slab via a small edge near the start of a crack. Climb the discontinuous crack merging into the Forbidden Slab route and follow to the anchors above.

Climb the low angled face up to a small pod with a piton. From the pod angle up and right towards another pod with a piton and then follow a broken crack system to a set of bolt anchors to the left of the large tree on the top ledge.

Note that these anchors can be reached by climbing the first pitch of Pleasure Cruise.

Rappel from the top of Pleasure Cruise using the rap chains.

Follow crack system through a chimney to a small tree with dirt and moss. Move up and right through easier face moves. Follow right side of vegetated gully on juggy, slightly overhanging rock--crux. Pull up and onto right face to easier face climbing. Head to large tree at the top of the gully.

Start up a series of cracks and edges towards a good horizontal rail. Move right and up along the rail to an awkward mantle. Continue up the crack and then step right until under a shallow roof. After pulling the roof move left past a bolt and a committing step thru to a large ledge.

From the left side of the ledge climb the right trending crack on good holds to a second shallow roof. Past the roof a series of bolts protects the final challenging exits moves to the top anchor.

Rap with a 70m rope

P1 5.10a - This route requires a short boulder problem to get established on a large ledge approximately 5' up. From the large ledge move up the blocky crack passing a bolt to reach a second ledge. A second bolt protects the crux, move left to easier terrain, then climb back to the right mounting another slabby ledge. A third bolt protects a step across to the left again. Stay to the left after the third bolt and continue up towards a shallow corner system. It's fun climbing from here with intermittent gear and bolts to the top anchors.

Descent

Rappel with a 70m rope

The 1st pitch is good trad placements on low-angle, blocky terrain that meanders up to a bolted anchor.  2nd pitch is slab-tastic straight up from the anchor, move left under the roof to mount the upper slab section.  Stop at bolted anchor to the left (50 feet) of Big Tree Ledge.  Rap "Spike Route/Genesis" or top our via Spike Rt.

The original route to the summit of Beacon Rock, first climbed in the Summer of 1901 (

beaconrockclimbingassociati…

).  The route meanders all over the NW Face to follow the path of least resistance to the top.  It is characterized by mostly 3rd-class hiking on dirty ledges, with a couple of short stretches of 4th-and 5th-class rock, on which the FA party, and others shortly thereafter, fixed long iron rods into the rock to aid their ascent up these "impossible" sections (no harder than 5.7 by modern standards).

Start hiking up a left-trending dirty 3rd-class ramp just to the left of the clean (ish) face at the base of the NW Face just above the large boulders.  The first iron spike is within 50', so you will know that you are on route.  You will reach a modern bolted anchor after about 250' on route (well-after the first switchback, and just above the first bit of 4th-class rock) that you can use to belay the crux pitch above:  60' of dirty 4th-class followed by a 40' 5.7 dihedral.  Follow the trail across the ledge, up another 15' of 5.easy rock, and walk through the perched forest before cutting back left up some 4th-class rock for 150'.  The final 70' to the narrow summit ridge is up a right-trending dirty 3rd-class ramp.  This is the highest and coolest top-out of any route at Beacon.  Descend the hiker's trail.

There is some poison oak along the easiest stretches of the route, but it is quite small and easily avoidable if you know what you are looking for, except for the final 70' where there are some large bushes quite close to you (don't try to rope-up for this stretch).  Most of the oak on route that would cause you problems was eradicated as of July 2015.

In 1901 Frank Smith, a steamboat captain, and his party made the first ascent of Beacon Rock via the northwest face on what is now commonly known as the Spike Route. This route is named in his honor. For more on this history, watch the short film

Beacon Rock Then & Now

.

The Steamboat Captain's Dream is a link up of a few existing pitches from a couple of different routes together with newly opened pitches. The line stays true with the character of the opening pitch and offers more varied and superb climbing on the way to the true summit of Beacon Rock.

While most of Beacon Rock is closed to climbing annually from February until early July, the NW section of the rock remains open year round. This route is a great option for those looking for a multi-pitch adventure earlier in the season. The 5.10 nature of the route will keep you reaching into your bag of trad tricks and will ask for a wide variety of climbing skill as the route offers everything from low angle slab to slightly steeper terrain and thin crack to wide flakes.

Pitch 1

5.10B, 28m

-  Ascend large ledges and good holds to a wider left leaning crack. The first gear is about 20' up in this crack but the climbing is straight forward to this point. Continue up as the route zig-zags its way up the wall following a discontinuous crack system, look carefully for offset nuts and small to medium cam placements eventually reaching a stance below where the rock steepens. Here find a good cam placement in a horizontal slot to compliment the older baby angle piton. Launch into the pitch's crux by moving up, passing a bolt and then exiting left around a buttress. Once you turn the corner, look for good features and a few more gear placements as you take the slab up to a bolted anchor. Due to the nature of the rock on this pitch some of the gear placements are not obvious but they're definitely available to the skilled trad climber. Appreciate the fact that the FFA of this pitch was done without the bolt!  For the most part (except a slightly different start) this pitch was originally called

Smoke Signals.

Pitch 2 5.10D

32m

- head up a weakness on the right of the anchors passing a small tree on its left side. Continue up the discontinuous crack finding good stances between reachy moves on good holds. Clip a bolt and step left on to a slab, working across the slab below a small roof towards another bolt. Climb up towards a small tree passing it on the right side and then on to the final crux head wall. The head wall has bolts, a pin and can take a couple of nuts if required. Plenty of gear can be found on this pitch. Offset nuts will be very useful on this pitch, especially the #7/gold size.

Move the belay about 25' up above the trees and to a comfortable ledge with anchors.

Pitch 3 5.10C

25m

- continue up the short 15' right facing corner just right of the belay anchor and the short cracks above. Weave through a series of ledges and traverse left into a stance behind a large tree, a larger cam can be placed here. Lay back the big flake past 2 bolts and then traverse right across the face to find the next anchors just above.

Pitch 4 5.10A

18m

- climb the low angle left leaning crack passing a piton mid way. Clipping the last bolt of Stone Soup's bolt ladder at the exit is fair game if needed. Find a belay station on the face to the left after you exit on to the comfy ledge. The micro-cams are useful on this pitch.

Pitch 5 5.6

20m

- make a step up a 6' corner and follow the low angle ledges passing 2 bolts to an anchor below a steep arete and behind a tree.

Pitch 6 5.10C

30m

- head straight up the arete following a line of bolts to a small roof. Step right, through the roof and continue up the ridge past a short crack to a set of anchors above a small ledge on the face.

Pitch 7 5.9

30m

- from the belay move right and up a crack and corner system passing a bolt, a piton and another bolt. Continue following the discontinuous crack until it hits a shallow roof, step right at the roof and continue up following a couple more bolts as the terrain eases. A final belay can be found at a comfortable stance. Be careful as some of the blocks are loose.

Pitch 8 4th class

30m

- climb a couple of steps and follow the easy terrain along the ridge crest for 100' to reach the Beacon Rock trail.

VARIATIONS

Pitch 1 var. 5.11A

-

A direct finish to the exit on the first pitch can be climbed. After stepping left and up from the bolt, follow a direct line to the top on good holds requiring some longer reaches. Small to medium nuts are useful for this option. FFA Stephen Shostek, Jul-10-2020

DESCENT

If you complete the route then walk down the Beacon Rock hiking trail back to your car, shoes or flip flops recommended. Otherwise rappel from any pitch with a 70m rope.

Notes:

(i) When rappelling from the anchors at the top of pitch 5, angle down the 5.6 low angle pitch to get to the top of pitch 4 and the hand lines which lead you to the next rappel anchors.

(ii) From the top of pitch 2, rappel from the anchors near the edge of the wall and not the anchors behind the trees on the spacious ledge. A 70m rope will not reach the last rappel anchors if one rappels from the anchors behind the trees.

Follow ramp to small roof below left-facing dihedral with tips crack (crux). Move through small overhangs up and right to rap anchor below large roof.

Follow left-leaning, jagged weakness to a small roof. Pull roof (crux) and pass a small fir tree. Continue up discontinuous cracks to a shallow dihedral. Pass 2 bolts on small edges. Rap rings below large roof.

Genesis starts next to the Spike Route and follows it to Big Tree Ledge.  Mostly bolts with some gear placements to protect some run-out sections.  Watch for poison oak on the 2nd pitch.  3rd pitch climbs slab to the right of the Spike Route dihedral.

P1 5.7 - start right of the roof on easy terrain and climb up and left towards the crack behind the roof. Ascend the crack/corner to get on top of the roof. #1-#3 Camalots protect well here. Once on top of the roof move left to the arete. Clip a pin but ignore the old 1/4 bolt museum piece. Step on the block and move above the pin, a small 0.2 cam can be used in a face slit above the pin. Follow the arete on big holds passing a couple more bolts to a large ledge with a big tree and anchors.

P2 5.7 - climb straight up from the belay passing a bolt and pin and plenty of good gear options. Make a step up a shallow groove and traverse right on a ledge to easier ground passing 2 more bolts to a big ledge. At the big ledge clip a third bolt using a long sling to reduce rope drag. Traverse hard left passing one more bolt to reach the anchors.

P3 5.8 - from the belay step right and head up clipping a bolt. Go to the back of the large ledge and climb the short crack using the block of Damocles. (You’ll pull and stand on that thing. I have reefed on it to no avail but your mileage may vary.) If you protect the crack, it is recommended to extend the sling before continuing to alleviate rope drag.

On the next rightward sloping ledge move to the far left side to find good holds ascending a slab past 3 bolts to yet another big ledge. Again consider how to manage rope drag on this pitch by extending slings.The last part of this pitch ascends either an off width crack on the left (bring bigger gear if wanting to do this) or the face to the right. The face has a crack higher up that takes a nice 0.3 size cam. It might perplex some but the short face is easy once you figure out the movement.

3 raps to the ground with a 70m

All belays bolted.

Starts below a bolt on the right side of the face, followed by 2 pitons. From the 2nd piton, traverse left, then up to the roof corner (crux). Or, attack the roof directly from the 2nd piton and move left. Pull the roof and follow the balancey slab to a rap ring anchor.

This route was established as a practice aid route close to Portland. In 2016 the route was freed, starting via Smoke Signals.

Both the aid climbing and free climbing descriptions and grades are provided here.

AID CLIMBING OPTION

Pitch by pitch aid descriptions (edited 31 March 2017)

Pitch 1: Approximately 30 m, 5.7 C1. Start up the slab about 100 feet right of the climbing/no climbing boundary. The first pitch begins with some free climbing and progresses into aid about half way up. A few bolts are used on the head wall. Finish at a bolted belay on a grassy ledge.

Pitch 2: Approximately 30 m, C1F. Continue up a corner system, past a tree and follow cracks and seams to a bolt and an arching overhang, and another 2 bolts. Step up and then right past a tree with tat and progress up a bolted head wall to a 3 bolt belay. Mostly small gear on this pitch but include cams to supplement the bolts. This is the second pitch of Smoke Signals.

Pitch 3: 25m 5.8ish Move the belay to above the big tree on the ledge. Continue up the corner right of the anchor and through a series of ledges. Traverse left behind a large tree and continue left and up a seriously bushy ramp. Behind the bush is a double off-width crack with a bolt at the start. Belay from atop of these cracks using the first bolts of pitch 4's bolt ladder.

Pitch 4: 15m C0 Bolt ladder, with one hook move between bolts if you can't reach. Bolt belay at the top.

Pitch 5: 30m 5.6 C1F From the belay move thru easy slabby terrain clipping a couple bolts and following a fixed line to an anchor behind a tree. Head strait up on bolts to a small roof. A couple free moves and bolts get you to a pair of bolts with chains at a hanging belay.

Pitch 6: 25m 5.8 C1 From the hanging belay, head strait up on gear to a bolt, or head right for more free climbing. Both join together for loose free and C0 climbing to the final anchors.

Pitch 7: 30m Head up along 3rd class terrain and a few 5th class steps to the hikers trail on top.

FREE CLIMBING OPTION

This route was free climbed in the spring of 2016 using Smoke Signals for the first pitches. Here are the details if free climbing the route.

Pitch 1: 5.12- 30m:  Starting in the ditch, follow a shallow right leaning ramp to get into the Stone Soup crack features. Follow this up and past a pin. The route steepens and climbs through the bolted (crux) short head wall.  Alternatively, one can climb the first pitch of Smoke Signals (5.10b).

Pitch 2: 5.10d 32m: Head up a weakness on the right of the anchors passing a small tree on its left side. Continue up the discontinuous crack finding good stances between reachy moves on good holds. Clip a bolt and step left on to a slab, working across the slab below a small roof towards a bolt. Climb up towards a small tree passing it on the right side and then on to the final crux head wall. The head wall has bolts, a pin and can take a couple of nuts if required. Plenty of gear can be found on this pitch. A set of offset nuts will be very useful, especially the #7/gold size.

Pitch 3 5.8 25m: Move the belay to above the big tree on the ledge. Continue up the short right facing corner right of the bolt and through a series of ledges. Traverse left along a ledge, behind a large tree and continue left and up towards a bush at the top of the ramp. Climb a double off-width crack with a bolt at the start. Belay from atop of these cracks from the Alice In Wonderland ledge using the first two bolts of the bolt ladder of pitch 4.

Pitch 4 5.12+ 25m: Ascend the bolt ladder crimping away madly and brushing lichen as you go. An alternative is to ascend a short vertical crack about 10' right of the bolt ladder and then traverse left along a hand ledge back to the bolt line. Follow the upper half of the bolt ladder still crimping on small edges and pull onto the large Swiss Family Ledge system. Continue following the low fifth class slab steps up and rightward passing a pin and a few more bolts until you reach a belay platform below the steep arete.

Pitch 5 5.10d 30m: Head strait up the arete following a line of bolts and pins to a small roof. Pull the roof on the left and continue up a short crack to a set of anchors at a hanging belay.

Pitch 6 5.9 25m: From the hanging belay, move slightly right and head up a crack on gear passing a few bolts, a pin and two more bolts. Be extremely careful of the blocks that you are climbing on as many are loose time bombs. Reach the final anchors

Pitch 7 4th 30m: Follow easy terrain along the ridge crest until you reach the fence adjacent to the summit trail. I

Burl through juggy, overhanging roof moves off ground and directly into the crux sequence on thin holds. Continue through delicate face climbing into the second crux roof. Runout climbing on easier holds, one final roof sequence at 70ft and moderate face climbing to anchor.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Northwest Face