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Windwalker (5.11d), a newer pitch high on Beacon Rock.
Photo by Mark Deffenbaugh.
Beacon Rock's South Face.
Photo by Joseph Healy.
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Ownership/Management:
Washington State Parks (Beacon Rock State Park)
Land Manager:
Erik Plunkett, Park Ranger
Beacon Rock State Park
34841 State Route 14
Skamania, WA 98648
(509) 427-8265
Current status:
The South and West faces are closed until July 15th. The Northwest face (close to the road) remains open.
Access considerations:
After the falcon nesting seasion, climbing is allowed on the South Face and Northwest Corner. The Northeast Corner is closed to climbing. Climbing on the East Face has been prohibited for years and it
remains closed.
The South Face is seasonally closed each year for nesting raptors. The closure begins on February 1 and runs through
approximately July 15 (in 2006 and again in 2007 they opened it earlier).
New routes are regulated under a climbing management plan (see below).
Please don't walk on the railroad tracks below Beacon Rock—this has been an issue with the railroad.
Other resources:
Weather forecast
Weather cam
1 Weather cam 2
State
Park & camping information
For discussion:
West
Side Crags forum
Maybe because it’s often considered an “Oregon area,” or maybe
because the main climbing area is closed for half the season, Beacon Rock draws relatively little attention from
Washington climbers outside the Portland/Vancouver area. This is a shame, because Beacon offers some spectacular
climbing in a scenic setting.
Beacon Rock is an 800-foot basalt monolith rising above the Columbia River at the west end of the Columbia River
Gorge. It is the scene of what must be one of the first technical rock climbs in the Pacific Northwest. On August
24, 1901, Frank J. Smith and Charles Church of Portland, along with George Purser of White Salmon, climbed a route
on the northwest face using iron spikes and ropes.
Most of today’s climbing is on the South Face (facing the river), which is a 400-foot high wall of columnar basalt.
The routes typically follow cracks in dihedral systems. Routes generally range up to five pitches. There are a
very few bolt-protected climbs. Routes range from 5.7 to easy 5.12, with a concentration in the 5.10-5.11 grades.
The routes tend to be sustained and Beacon ratings are generally considered stiff.
In 1996, State Parks developed a climbing management plan for Beacon Rock. The plan regulates things such as bolting
and cleaning. The plan needs updating, including to incorporate some changes desired by State Parks. Under the current plan:
- The placement, replacement or removal of fixed protection on established
routes must be approved by the park’s climbing advisory committee. (See below.)
- New routes using entirely removable protection may be established
at the discretion of the first ascentionist without prior approval. Fixed rappel/belay anchors may be established
on such routes without prior approval. (But see below.)
- Any new routes on the South Face and Northwest Corner involving
fixed protection (bolts) must be approved by the park’s climbing advisory committee. (See below.)
- If a bolt placement has been approved, power drills are allowed for bolting.
- With the understanding that all of Beacon Rock is considered valued habitat, cleaning is allowed as follows: “Moss and small vegetation that
are not sensitive, threatened or endangered species may be removed only from the direct line of ascent as required
for climber safety.”
There is a key role for a climbing advisory committee under the
plan. This committee has not been convened in recent years and needs to be re-established. In the absence of a functioning committee, State Parks asks that all fixed protection be approved by Park staff. State Parks now wishes to approve all new fixed rappel/belay anchors, even on routes with all natural protection.
The Beacon Rock Climbers' Association (BRCA) is working with State Parks staff to review the management plan. The BRCA is also reviewing and establishing revised fixed protection and route development protocols to, among other things, address past issues that halted route development on the Northwest Face.
There are two key access issues at Beacon Rock. The first is the annual seasonal closure of the South and West Faces for
nesting raptors. The second is the long-time closure of the East Face to all climbing.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, State Parks (with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife) began seasonal
closures of the South Face to protect nesting peregrine falcons. Like many nesting closures around the country,
these closures are keyed to whether nesting activity is successful. If successful, the face remains closed until the chicks fledge or July 15; if unsuccessful (or if it can be confirmed that the falcons have nested somewhere other than the South Face), the Park, WDFW, and the BRCA will coordinate on an opening date as early as possible after the determination.
Qualified local climbers and the BRCA are currently assisting WDFW with nest monitoring at Beacon to provide as many opportunities for climbing as possible while remaining protective of the falcons. The progress of this monitoring, as well as any notice of a potential early opening, will be posted on the WCC's discussion forum. The BRCA is also reviewing the inclusion of the West Face in the scope of the current closure.
The spectacular, often overhanging East Face has been closed to climbing for decades. This closure is based on the presence of two endangered plant species, among other concerns. It is very important that this closure be respected if there is to be any possibility of climbing on even part of the East Face in the future.
Camping is available for a nightly fee at Beacon Rock State Park. For more information, click on the link above.
Poison oak is common at Beacon Rock, including on some routes.
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