Northwest Face, South Early Winters Spire III 5.11a

Washington Pass, Washington, USA

Currently 5.0/5

Avg time to climb route: 3-7 hours

Approach time: 1.5-3 hours

Descent time: 1.5-3 hours

Number of pitches: 10

Height of route: 800'

Overview

The Northwest Face of South Early Winters Spire is a varied and excellent climb. The more difficult sections have good protection on solid rock with a clean fall, making it a great option for those looking to break into the 5.11a grade. Even beyond the crux pitches, the Boving Roof, the famous double roof on Pitch is 5, is incredible –steep, pumpy, mostly hand-sized jamming horizontally for more than 25 feet with lots of smearing for your feet. Despite sharing the upper part of the route with the mega- popular Southwest Rib, the Northwest Face has a secluded feel with stellar views of many of the major peaks in the area.

Climber Beta on Northwest Face

There are currently there are no beta messages posted for this route. Be the first!

Find other routes like Northwest Face

Route History

The Northwest Face was first climbed in October of 1976 by Paul Boving and Steve Pollock. Boving returned in July of the following year with Matt Kerns to make the first free ascent. At the time, the two were some of Washington’s strongest rock climbers. Both were responsible for many difficult routes.

Boving died in a tragic accident in 1979 while climbing Thin Fingers on the lower Index Town Wall, a route he had put up. Boving had climbed Thin Fingers twice previously but on his third ascent he fell, pulled a few pieces and hit the ledge around 30 feet off the ground, sustaining a fatal head injury. “For some reason he didn’t wear his helmet that day, even though he typically did,” recalls Matt Christensen, another talented climber from the 1970’s. About a year after Boving’s death, the cracks of Thin Fingers would become more easily protectable with a breakthrough in climbing gear – the cam. Up until the 1970s, Index was considered mostly an aid crag and Boving was one of the people at the forefront helping to change Index into more of a free climbing crag.

Boving was a UW student and Yakima native who was responsible for many of the techy 5.11 crack climbs for which Index is now known. In the late 1970’s, Boving also FFA’d ROTC (5.11c) at Midnight Rock in Leavenworth and the Boving Route (5.10c) on Dragontail Peak.

Strategy

While the 5.11 grade means it’s unlikely that you’ll share this route with another team except on the busiest weekends, the route meets up with the popular Southwest Rib at the top of Pitch 6.

Some people think the first 5.10c/d pitch is more difficult than the second 5.11 pitch. Pitch 2 might have slightly hard... [full history for SuperTopo members only!]

Sign In or Join SuperTopo (it's FREE!) to read the complete route history, the recommended strategy for climbing this route, and useful tips should you need to retreat.

Everything You Need to Know About Washington Pass