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Dark Rhythm, 5.10a, on Exfoliation
Dome in Clear Creek. |
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Darrington Road Repaired!
In April, 2005, the Forest Service cited a budget crisis and said the Clear Creek
road was not a high enough priority to justify repair. They blockaded the road. After receiving your letters and phone calls,
they fixed the road. |
Dreamer, 5.9, on Green Giant
Buttress in Clear Creek. This has been an extremely popular climb since 1979.
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The Darrington Ranger District has been generally supportive of climbing and other
recreational access over the years. Many roads in the area are going without maintenance because they lack funds,
but they DO respond to public comment and they do their best to maintain recreational access. In early April, 2005, they
announced that they were not going to reopen the Clear Creek road even though they had largely repaired it following
that winter's washout. The Clear Creek road is the main road serving the Darrington climbing
area, and it was blocked off by a construction barrier about five miles from the trailhead for the most popular
crag in the area, Three O'Clock Rock, and seven miles short of the trailhead for the classic climb, Dreamer. After receiving our letters and phone calls for two weeks they decided to
bump this road up on their list of priorities and it reopened in May of 2005.
It is not too late to write the Darrington ranger station and two of Washington's
Congressman: Rick Larsen, representative in the District that includes Darrington, and Jay Inslee, member of the
House Committee on Resources. Let them know that you appreciate their efforts to maintain recreational access and
view activities like rock climbing as appropriate uses of public lands. We can and should be working hand in hand
with environmental groups as well as government agencies to address access and environmental issues and promote
balanced management of our public lands.
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LET'S TALK
In addition to telling us they have little budget
for this road, the Forest Service has invited us to contribute toward funding or repair efforts -- provided this
can be done in a safe and responsible manner. If you have ideas as to how we may do this, questions or comments,
or if you want to help coordinate any volunteer efforts, please contact us:
email
to Matt Perkins |
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Even with the repairs that were completed in 2005 and which we hope will be ongoing as needed, we are
gradually losing access in Darrington due to a lack of maintenance. In about 1999, the Forest Service completely stopped maintining the last
two miles of road leading to Dreamer, which was formerly the most popular rock climb in this area, about five or
six years ago. Despite volunteer efforts to maintain the road, trees are growing in the roadbed and increasing
water damage each winter has created a situation where this stretch of road is no longer passable by some cars.
To read more about this remarkable climbing area, go to Darrington Rock Climbing...
A loss of access to this nearly fifty year old climbing area should not
be taken lightly. We hope climbers will join us in continuing to voice their desire
that the road to the crags in Clear Creek remains open, and in voicing their support
for climbing access around the State. |
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