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Rock-a-bye Babe
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 8, 2009 - 12:58am PT
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I married Dan in March 2008 and since he doesn’t post, I thought that on behalf of our hardworking Washington climbers, I’d spray some news about our fine Squire Creek granite that rivals Yosemite rock (okay, so we’ve got a little moss—at least it won’t eat you alive like poison oak!) Hats off to Dave Whitelaw and crew for pulling off The Slab Daddy. I stayed on the ground in a hotel writing while Dave, Bill and hubby Dan topped out. For you slab aficionados, check out the full length trip report on Northwest Mountaineering Journal.
http://www.mountaineers.org/nwmj/09/091_SquireCreekWall1.html
There’s only one correction (no offense, Dave). He wrote that “Dan got married… we coaxed him off the bench.” During that supposed “bench time” I was hauling water and gear to North Dome so Dan and Bob Steed could finish Nataraj!
The following pics are from:
http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/909893/1
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Yeah, that's my boy, the Drill Sargeant!
Way to go yous guys!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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big! neat
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perswig
climber
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Wow. Good story and some fine-looking rock (when it's dry!).
Dale
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cragnshag
Social climber
san joser
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Hi Suzy Q!
Thanks for letting me borrow your hubby this last labor day weekend. We had fun climbing "On Ramp".... and suffered big time on the slog out. All of my buddies who met Dan had such nice things to say about him.
Anyway, maybe we will see you two back in Cali this spring.
Bob
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cragnshag
Social climber
san joser
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Oh yeah, if anyone is interested in climbing "Slab Daddy" I have a PDF topo on my computer. Just shoot me an email.
Hey sooze, can you ask Dan if it's OK to distribute?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Mmmmmm, that's lot of slab. Sweet lookin'!
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Mazzystr
Gym climber
Homeless...
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WHOOO HOOOO!!! Oh Hell yea!!! This is the best news that I've heard all day!!!
Dave and Dan took me up to Slab Daddy in 2006 to climb the first 6 pitches. That is some damn fine slab climbing!
I have pictures of Dan climbing a very very dusty first pitch. Pollen and twigs, etc fall from the trees onto the snow then the snow melts and the twigs and pollen settles on the rock until it rains. That rock was some slippery business! Dave backed down and Dan took over to Me and Dave's amazement. And a-hem...I promptly fell through the 10ft snow drift at the edge of the rock and got stuck...Lol! I don't have pictures of that. ;)
I tell everyone I meet from the Northeast about Dan Dingle and Dave Whitelaw and how awesome the Weekend Rock: Washington book is.
It is great to hear news that you guys are still climbing hard.
Latah!
/Chris Callegari
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Tim Camuti
Trad climber
CA
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This looks so incredible! It is now on my ticklist. Thanks for the journal writeup and osting here! It is good to hear of people doing 3/8 bolting on lead...
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MisterE
Trad climber
Canoga Bark! CA
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Really nice job, Gentlemen - Darrington climbing at it's finest! Way to get after it!
I bet some Scurlock photos helped? That guy is the new messiah of backcountry climbing with his little plane and big camera!
Cheers, Erik Wolfe
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Sisu
Social climber
Moving
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I've enjoyed that rock when I was living in Western Washington. We'd call it the Darrington Dance. Wonderful granite, lots of wildlife around if you are quiet and watchful while on the wall.
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Rock-a-bye Babe
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 8, 2009 - 11:54pm PT
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Good to hear from you Bob. It's never too early to plan our next trip.
Please feel free to post the pdf topo. It's ok with David.
Suzy
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Rock-a-bye Babe
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 16, 2009 - 12:43am PT
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Here's the Slab Daddy topo.
Suzy
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Lee Bow
Trad climber
wet island
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Oct 17, 2009 - 01:18pm PT
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Hello, first time post (ever/anywhere)
As a fellow slab affectionado and a neighbor to the North, I think you just convinced me to get a passport so I can visit you country under the new rules...
Having spent the last several years working some 13p slabs in my neck of the woods I can appreciate how much hard work this is. Awesome and thank-you.
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Sioux Juan
Big Wall climber
Costa mesa
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Oct 20, 2009 - 03:59pm PT
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darn good looking topo
thanks for all the hard werk and $
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jimbo
climber
North Cascades
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Oct 20, 2009 - 06:29pm PT
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Got on this rig last month. A damn fine route it is.
I suppose this might actually draw folks to the D-town slabs, but I doubt it.
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50
climber
Stumptown
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Oct 21, 2009 - 12:54am PT
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Climbed the first seven pitches of Slab Daddy with a couple Tacoma buddies earlier this month. This was our first time venturing to Spire Creek Wall. Its as big as its cracked up to be and the location is amazing. As a bonus on our trip, we crossed paths with Dave Whitelaw and his friend Chris low on the route. These guys are very friendly and deserve special thanks for their hard work on the wall. Here are a few pics to commemorate the new route.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Oct 21, 2009 - 12:55am PT
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As another Northwest climber, I mostly want to give this a bump. Nice looking climb and nice photos. I liked reading about the bolting logistics and return to ground up ethics. Thanks. It's funny, though, I don't think I see the word "approach" in any of the reports. Here's a panorama from Jumbo Mountain on the other side of the valley from Squire Creek Buttress. You can see the top of the Squire Creek buttress in the central foreground and inspiring White Horse lies on the right.
And as a slightly higher resolution photo:
http://bigstupid.org/MiscClimbing/WhiteHorse.jpg
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jimbo
climber
North Cascades
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Oct 21, 2009 - 01:11am PT
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"It's funny, though, I don't think I see the word "approach" in any of the reports."
That's because it is one of the easiest approaches in the area. It's pretty clear that all of the trips that Dave & co. have made up there have created a plenty obvious trail through old growth forest.
50 - Hope you have plans to go back up there. The route really gets better & better the higher you go. Almost feels like a different route from pitch 11 to the top.
Cheers & Slabbiness.
JImbo
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Oct 21, 2009 - 02:24am PT
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Dave Whitelaw and Chris Greyell at City of the Rocks, 1981
Caught in the Cookie Jar
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Oct 21, 2009 - 10:53am PT
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22 pitches of slab climbing! Yikes, I'm gonna have nightmares!!!
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General Ripper
climber
GnarthWest
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Oct 21, 2009 - 03:23pm PT
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I thought thats what the old dads were into since they can get up it on technique.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Oct 21, 2009 - 03:29pm PT
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Really cool send, everyone involved!!!!
19 pitches of climing is still better than a day at the office!!!
Cheers on yur Northern Yosemite rival!!!
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50
climber
Stumptown
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Oct 21, 2009 - 09:10pm PT
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Jimbo, I'd like to go back and finish the route. Did you bivy or do it in a day? recommendations? nightmare relief before and after launching?
And yes, I'm an old dad that just turned 50. Now its all about slab and flab!
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Oct 21, 2009 - 11:55pm PT
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Reilly,
Thanks for posting that photo of Whitelaw and Greyell from the early days. I have been wondering about them since '93 when I moved to Seattle from Fairbanks (originally started climbing in Calif, though) and started going over the local guide books. Fluorescent Green Crab Traverse, at Static, right? I think I've also seen them pop up on Cascade Climbers, more recently.
Darwin
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jimbo
climber
North Cascades
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Oct 22, 2009 - 12:56am PT
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50 - We carried bivy gear to the expansive ledge at the top of 11, dropped the gear, climbed the rest of the route, rapped to ledge in the dark, and took in the stars and Mars. Finished the raps the next morning. I think the best way to do it would be to start later on day one to end up at the bivy ledge in the evening, then climb the rest of the route the next day. The bivy is worth it, and we were pretty gassed on the last few pitches, the hardest on the route.
I turned 40 the week after our ascent. Not many young bucks gettin' on this rig yet. Course they might not have the technique yet.
Once again, great route. Can't wait for another run up it next year.
Cheers.
Jimbo
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50
climber
Stumptown
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Oct 22, 2009 - 02:25am PT
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Jimbo aka jshamster - Now I get the Cascade Climber connection. Good advice for next time on the route, thanks. Your CC post reminds me of another tidbit of route beta to pass along: temps in the high '50s to low '60s in Darrington meant comfortable temps for us on Slab Daddy as the route gets a lot of sun. Sounds like you guys baked when you were up there. I look forward to checking out the Balcony Bivy and the upper pitches.
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Brandon
Trad climber
Santa Maria, CA
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Aug 11, 2010 - 11:14am PT
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Dan Dingle from the FA party suggested that I write up a little trip report on my recent climb on Slab Daddy on Aug 3, 2010.
My buddy Matt Pollard and his family drove from Idaho to meet my family and I in Darrington. He was fresh off the Butte 100 Mt. Bike race but willing to give the 22-pitch Slab Daddy a go. I was able to gather some route info from Dan Dingle and David Whitelaw’s approach description off the internet. Using mt. bikes from the car we were able to quickly knock out the 1.5mi trail section, then we entered the forest. Hiking through the old growth forest was unlike any California approach I’d done. About 1.5hrs later we emerged from the forest with many berry bush scratches, at the base of the climb. With overcast skies and the upper half of the route shrouded in clouds, we started up the route. Matt and I hadn’t climbed together for a year, but we were able to efficiency move up the route. The climbing was excellent. It takes the cleanest line up the face. Several moves on the climb required slapping the face for friction. The second half of the climb gets a little steeper and continuously more difficult. We arrived at the 20th pitch, which the topo said has a short A0 section. I was able to free the section by using little gaston crimps and a mixture of foot smears in the corner and stemming. I’d say the rating is 5.11. We continued to the top and started to hear thunder in the distance. We took a few photos and started the rappels down. With 2 60m ropes(1 big and 1 skinny) we were only able to link together a few raps. We luckly were able to get to the base of the route without getting a rope stuck and not having any rain fall. This is not a route you want to be stuck in the rain. We eventually made it back to the bikes and rode all the way to the Clear Creek campground where our families were. It had been dumping for hours there. We were lucky to have missed the rain on the route.
This route is fantastic and very well protected. The FA folks put a tremendous effort into drilling sturdy 3/8” bolts so the route finding is easy and the route will have some longevity.
Stats:
17min from parking area to leaving the trail.
6hrs to complete climb
~2.5hrs to rap climb
12:33 car-to-car time.
Matt at the belay on pitch 13
Matt following up pitch 15
Matt starting the cool pitch 19 crack pitch
Traversing at the top of pitch 19.
Freeing the small A0 section on pitch 20
One of the cruxes of this climb for me, since I’m from California, is how to find it. Here is some useful info, some from previous post and some I figured out during the approach.
Driving directions from hwy 530 (driving from the west):
When in Darrington turn right on Mt. Loop Hwy. After 0.35mi turn right on Darrington Rd. The sign is missing, but if you see the “Skidders Bar and Grill” this is the correct turn off. Take Darrington Rd for 3.75mi to the end of the road. After going through town the road will turn to dirt, go up switchbacks, and get really narrow.
Hiking Directions from the end of the road parking area: (taken from Cascadeclimbers.com)
The approach involves walking up the remains of the old road for about a mile and a half and then descending to Squire Creek at a point just opposite the route. To start the approach one walks across the landslide and regains the old road and at the far end. There are two points at which the roadbed has been washed out at culverts. The first has only a small bit of pipe exposed and the second, perhaps a half mile further on, reveals the entire metal pipe lying in the eroded creek bed. This is the signal that you are getting close.
After 150 walking steps up the road from the corrugated metal pipe one will be able to see that the road (trail) gently starts to angle away from the creek (left). (I placed a rock cairn here on 8/3/10)
Descend to the creek in only a couple of hundred feet and hopefully arrive at a expansive gravel bar immediately opposite the slide alder swath coming down from the wall. (I placed a rock cairn here on 8/3/10) If it’s the right spot there will be a truck sized boulder in the creek with a small bonzai tree growing out of it. On the other side of the creek, at the confluence of a small feeder stream and about 100 feet upstream from the crossing, is a largish bright boulder almost hidden in the brush.
Climb over the boulder and follow a path across the fern forest for a hundred feet until a short 15-foot uphill leads up and to the left and into the old-growth forest.
The path is not marked but we have walked the same way many times and a keen eye will be able to discern most of the path. Annual blowdowns and such do tend to obscure the path in places. At about 2/3 height a short rock slab and obviously avalanche-shattered tree will be visible 100-feet off to the right. Generally the route goes just far enough into the forest to stay away from the avalanche track out to the right. Stay in the big woods until just below the toe of the formation. Some years the bottom several pitches are buried in ice and avalanche debris until sometime in July.
GPS Coords: (keep in mind there is some error in these coordinates)
Parking Lot: N48deg 13.236’ W121deg 37.566’ 1246ft
Spot to leave trail: N48deg 11.957’ W121deg 37.861’ 1510ft
Creek Crossing: N48deg 11.943’ W121deg 37.981’ 1546ft
Base of Climb: N48deg 12.066’ W121deg 38.264’ 2220ft
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Delhi Dog
climber
Good Question...
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Aug 11, 2010 - 11:23am PT
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...and I might add I went to a great Bluegrass Festival in Darrington a few years back.
So if you time it right...
Great photos!
Cheers,
DD
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Aug 11, 2010 - 11:35am PT
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Wow, super cool.
That does indeed look like it would have been a lot of work to establish.
I didn't read everything. The A0 goes free now, is that right?
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Aug 11, 2010 - 11:44am PT
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Zippy told us they did all those routes on SQW in the late 80s without placing much of anything. Of course Zippy is a little out there. Too bad the old C&S site is no longer functional, they had some beta on other stuff up there at SQW.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Aug 11, 2010 - 06:12pm PT
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Yeah Brandon and Matt! Dude, Matt still has the same freakin' helmet from the early '90s!? I think that shirt is from then too ha ha. Great work. Long mungy a$$ lookin slab! Glad you broke the rain curse.
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50
climber
Stumptown
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Aug 11, 2010 - 10:45pm PT
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Congrats Brandon and Matt on the FFA and a speedy C2C! Glad to see that even rock stars take a few minutes to hit the trail from the parking lot. We did the route last month and really enjoyed it. Trip Report on CC.com
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pc
climber
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Aug 11, 2010 - 10:47pm PT
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Looks like an excellent adventure! Nice going!
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Brandon
Trad climber
Santa Maria, CA
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Aug 13, 2010 - 08:15pm PT
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Yeah the whole route goes free now. The crux is visually deceiving. It seems like some of the lower sections should be harder than the crux on pitch 20.
This route was great. A full day of exercise. It reminded me of another long day of climbing on one of Dan's routes: Linking Royal Arches with Crest Jewel Direct.
Has anyone been on the face during a cloudburst? Is there falling rock or waterfalls that you'll drown in?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 13, 2010 - 08:32pm PT
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Is there falling rock or waterfalls that you'll drown in?
Uhhh, is it in Washington?
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Curt
Boulder climber
Gilbert, AZ
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Aug 14, 2010 - 12:28am PT
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Whoa, that thing looks great.
Curt
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 21, 2016 - 07:45pm PT
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Just a bump.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Feb 21, 2016 - 07:56pm PT
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Looking at the pictures makes me reminisce about my one trip to New Hampshire and Whitehorse Ledge. Seems like similar climbing and similar quality stone.
It looks fun actually. Not hard or sketchy, just fun. Nice pics.
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