Luke Distelhorst on Luna Park, 5.11a/b, Newhalem.
Photo by Kris Taylor.
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Ownership/Management:
Ross Lake National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service (NPS).
Land Manager:
Roy Zipp, Natural Resource Specialist
North Cascades National Park Service Complex
7280 Ranger Station Road
Marblemount, WA 98267
(360) 873-4590
Current status:
All crags are open, but there is a voluntary moritorium on new route development and cleaning boulders (see "2008 Agreement," below).
Access considerations:
Climbers are urged to take care in walking near moving traffic on highway 20. Walking along the narrow roadside is
dangerous and pedestrians should walk outside the guardrails if at all possible, cross with care, etc.
Please do not park illegally in Newhalem or along Highway 20.
Other resources:
Weather forecast
For discussion:
West Side Crags forum
Although climbers speeding along Highway 20 have cast wondering glances at the cliffs of the Skagit River Gorge for years, the largely crackless nature of the cliffs, a lack of easy parking and access, and a general lack of information all conspired to keep the area largely undeveloped.
In the late 1990s, however, climbers began exploring and establishing routes on two cliffs close to Newhalem and one at the far end of the Gorge, near Diablo Lake. Soon after, a bouldering area was discovered partway up the Gorge. To date, more than 20 sport routes have been established, ranging from 5.9 to 5.13. There are also more than 40 boulder problems from V0 to V10. The potential for much more climbing exists. A partial online guide to one of the cliffs can be found at Newhalem online guide.
Newhalem's rock is Skagit gneiss, a metamorphic rock that resembles granite. Although there are occasional loose flakes, the rock is generally sound and high-quality. Many walls are consistently overhanging. The walls are also deceptively large, growing in scale when you reach the base. There are very few cracks.
All the Newhalem crags are located within the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, which is administered by the
National Park Service. The Park service is in the process of creating a new general management plan for the area
but budget concerns have slowed the process and any new plan may be several years away.
In the summer of 2002, rangers grew concerned about intensive climbing development at what is known as the
"Newhalem Crag" near the town of Newhalem. Climbers' removal of moss and vegetation, and their moving of rocks
and creation of landing zones for bouldering was of particular concern, although the sport crag nearby also gave
rise for concern. The NPS determined that an evaluation of environmental impacts from these climbing activities
needed to be undertaken so they could assess impacts to vegetation and possible cultural resources (e.g., historic
rock shelters and other traces left behind from when the Skagit Valley was a major trading route for Native Americans
living on both sides of the Cascades). Once this evaluation was completed, the NPS intended to develop a climbing
management plan.
In response to their immediate concerns, an NPS resource manager contacted the Access Fund and we at the Washington
Climbers Coalition contacted local climbers who agreed to voluntary refrain from further route and bouldering
development until a climbing management plan could be put in place. The NPS completed “scoping” of the environmental
analysis in late 2003 but budget shortages and a reallocation of staff resources to deal with a massive washout of
Highway 20 delayed work on the climbing management plan. The NPS now plans to work on that plan as part of a renewed
general management plan for the National Recreation Area.
2008 Agreement: In March 2008 we reached an agreement with the National Park Service providing that
the voluntary moratorium on the establishment of new climbing areas was lifted at three specific sites in the
Skagit Gorge: the "Town Crag" in the town of Newhalem, the "Newhalem Crag" just to the east along highway 20,
and the "Diablo Crag" where the Diablo road turns off HIghway 20. The moratorium continues to apply elsewhere.
Further, a moratorium on new bouldering sites will continue until completion of the General Management Plan at
which time the National Park Services promises to re-examine this policy. In discussing this interim agreement,
Park Service personnel commented that they greatly appreciated climbers' voluntary compliance with the route
development moratorium at the crags where they were now going to permit renewed exploration, and they hope
the ongoing moratorium will be respected. The 2008 agreement is titled "Agreement regarding establishing new rock
climbing routes in the Skagit Gorge area, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, pending completion of the General
Management Plan." (Copy of Agreement in PDF format)
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