Juneau, Alaska Rock Climbing? Yup!!
Juneau - Where the Rock Grows Green
Whenever I heard someone talk about rock climbing in Juneau it was always with a certain tone, similar to if we were talking about life on the moon. One would easily believe that it simply doesn't exist. I decided that it was time to find out what the real deal was. Having my ticket paid for didn't hurt either.
Soon I was on my way to Juneau where the sun seems to shine only when I am here. I think this because I always hear about how rainy it is only to find that it sprinkles here and there but its just not that bad. Arriving at the airport I end up taking a taxi where the driver waits until he is about to drop me off and then mentions the bus I could have taken, better luck next time. I was lucky to be able to acquire a place to stay in the harbor free of charge and was soon listening to the sound of water lapping gently at the side of boat as it rocked me to sleep.
The next morning I gathered my gear and headed to the hill above town that I had read about where there were supposed to be a few climbs lurking in the mist. Clouds would roll though dropping slight impressions of rain before dissipating back to where they came from as I made my way to the base of the cliff. As I arrived the clouds opened and the sun came out to stay. I found the first anchor for my toprope solo and setup above what appeared the be the dirtiest corner I had ever attempted, that in itself is impressive. I moved slowly and groveled my way through the climb often pulling off holds, inspecting them, and tossing them to the base of the cliff. The piles of moss rolled off my head and down my back as my rope ripped them from the wall and soon I would all but disappear under the massive pile of undergrowth. This is an exaggeration but only slightly. Welcome to Juneau rock climbing.
The rest of the climbing went smoothly and I headed into town stopping by Foggy Mountain Outdoors shop and talking with someone who had done most of the routes I just finished gardening. I was told how they cleaned the rocks, then cleaned them again, then used a drill with wire brush to finally get it all off. That was last year, the wall grows the equivalent of a warm quilt in less then a year. Again I am impressed.
The next day I get to take a drive to what they call the Sea Cliffs, I am a bit worried and wondering if I should swap my harness and crampons for rake and shovel when we pull off to the side of the road. A short walk through the forest and we were at the cliffs overlooking a beautiful stretch of ocean. As we arrived we hear shoots of water and know some wildlife is in the area. Gazing to the ocean we see sea lions not 50 yards offshore, later they would be only 5 or 10.
Within a few routes we hear another noise and turn to see a pod of Orcas going by, I am quickly falling for the majesty of the area.
Another few routes and we turn to see a few Humpback Wales slowly cruising by, even if the climbing wasn't good this area is one of the most beautiful I have climbed. The climb was decent! Dare I say it even bordered on very enjoyable. Although we were able to climb all but one of the routes (12) in this specific area in one day it was worth another trip and I feel I will be back in the future.
(notice the 5 bald eagles in the trees behind the cliff)
We left the crag as the sun went down after watching sea lions play in the orange glow of the sunset and I returned happily to the boat with a great appreciation for climbing in the area.
More to come....
Whenever I heard someone talk about rock climbing in Juneau it was always with a certain tone, similar to if we were talking about life on the moon. One would easily believe that it simply doesn't exist. I decided that it was time to find out what the real deal was. Having my ticket paid for didn't hurt either.
Soon I was on my way to Juneau where the sun seems to shine only when I am here. I think this because I always hear about how rainy it is only to find that it sprinkles here and there but its just not that bad. Arriving at the airport I end up taking a taxi where the driver waits until he is about to drop me off and then mentions the bus I could have taken, better luck next time. I was lucky to be able to acquire a place to stay in the harbor free of charge and was soon listening to the sound of water lapping gently at the side of boat as it rocked me to sleep.
The next morning I gathered my gear and headed to the hill above town that I had read about where there were supposed to be a few climbs lurking in the mist. Clouds would roll though dropping slight impressions of rain before dissipating back to where they came from as I made my way to the base of the cliff. As I arrived the clouds opened and the sun came out to stay. I found the first anchor for my toprope solo and setup above what appeared the be the dirtiest corner I had ever attempted, that in itself is impressive. I moved slowly and groveled my way through the climb often pulling off holds, inspecting them, and tossing them to the base of the cliff. The piles of moss rolled off my head and down my back as my rope ripped them from the wall and soon I would all but disappear under the massive pile of undergrowth. This is an exaggeration but only slightly. Welcome to Juneau rock climbing.
The rest of the climbing went smoothly and I headed into town stopping by Foggy Mountain Outdoors shop and talking with someone who had done most of the routes I just finished gardening. I was told how they cleaned the rocks, then cleaned them again, then used a drill with wire brush to finally get it all off. That was last year, the wall grows the equivalent of a warm quilt in less then a year. Again I am impressed.
The next day I get to take a drive to what they call the Sea Cliffs, I am a bit worried and wondering if I should swap my harness and crampons for rake and shovel when we pull off to the side of the road. A short walk through the forest and we were at the cliffs overlooking a beautiful stretch of ocean. As we arrived we hear shoots of water and know some wildlife is in the area. Gazing to the ocean we see sea lions not 50 yards offshore, later they would be only 5 or 10.
Within a few routes we hear another noise and turn to see a pod of Orcas going by, I am quickly falling for the majesty of the area.
Another few routes and we turn to see a few Humpback Wales slowly cruising by, even if the climbing wasn't good this area is one of the most beautiful I have climbed. The climb was decent! Dare I say it even bordered on very enjoyable. Although we were able to climb all but one of the routes (12) in this specific area in one day it was worth another trip and I feel I will be back in the future.
(notice the 5 bald eagles in the trees behind the cliff)
We left the crag as the sun went down after watching sea lions play in the orange glow of the sunset and I returned happily to the boat with a great appreciation for climbing in the area.
More to come....
My Pictures can be seen at http://prezwoodz.smugmug.com
I Live at http://www.alaskamountainforum.com
I Live at http://www.alaskamountainforum.com
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Comments
Cuong
Heres more pictures!
Heres a bunch more pictures!
Oh and heres some more Juneau rock climbing photos!
the second area I climbed at was the Tee Harbor Boulders. These guys have been cleaning pretty heavily and theres a lot of excellent potential in the area.
This was the first ascent of this little problem and it was a huge boulder with clean slab. If your a boulderer you could clean a new boulder every day for a month in this area.
One thing I noticed about Juneau is that they have a great climbing scene. Everyone was really nice and open about the climbing and just seemed to love to be out.
Oh and this is where I was living while in Juneau
Oh btw heres The Projects, the newish area near Mendenhall Glacier.
A bunch of photos of Olcay on what I believe is the first redpoint of Hustlin' (5.12a)
He took a fall then the shirt came off. Time to kick its butt.
For the jug!
And on to the finish
Plenty of rocks to play around on.
There are objective hazards when climbing so close to a glacier. As we were all enjoying the sunlight I heard a small block calve. Then I watched as this massive block began to sway. Soon Rob was running full speed by me and took a quick glance at me yelling "Canoe!" which was our transportation and was about to get swept away from a giant wave. Olcay and Rob managed to get the canoe up just high enough to stay out of the wave and I am pretty sure that is fastest I have ever seen anyone run over glacial rocks barefoot.
All is calm on the front.
Oh and for you dog lovers there was also at least one well behaved dog.
The last climb of the day was one now known as Turkish Dihedral.
The end of the day included a canoe ride back to the shore and a nice walk along the beach to the parking area.
I Live at http://www.alaskamountainforum.com
www.morffed.com
My website:
http://www.jasonstoos.com