Frenchman Coulee

Finally, a post about climbing!!!

With our friend Carlos in town, we headed out to Frenchman Coulee.  From our house it's about a 3 hour drive over the Cascade mountains to Vantage, which is the nearest town to the Coulee.  Shown here on this map What is Frenchman Coulee?  It's an amazing climbing area.  For most Washington residents, it's just about the best the state has to offer.  While it may not hold the destination climbing appeal of Yosemite or Moab, the 600+ routes of quality basalt column climbing are amazing and worth the drive.

We couldn't have had better weather.  The skies were nearly cloud free and it was warmer than forecasted.  For an early spring day, it was amazing.  In this picture, Carlos is climbing "Ride 'Em Cowboy", a 5.9 **** star route.  It's considered an area classic.  The list of reasons why it's so great include but are not limited to: the 60+ feet of climbing, the sustained grade, and the exposure.  I brought my 70 meter though a 60 would have sufficed.  It's great climbing in three's at a crag.  With Sandy or Carlos belaying one another, I was free to run around and snap good photos.  I'm surprised how much time I can spend composing a shot.  We just got a new Canon Rebel Eos T1i.  It takes a 15 megapixels photo.  I'm eager to get a telephoto lens and a macro lens. $$$$ for such things.  All in due time.  For now, we are very happy learning how to use this feature loaded behemoth.

When we first arrived, we drove straight to the Feathers climbing area.  In this shot, I'm preparing to climb "Jesus Saves", a 5.8 ***.  The Feathers is a nice place to bring either a new climber or a new-to-the-area climber.  With short route and dense bolts, a visitor will get a feel for the basalt climbing style without getting too far out of earshot.  Also, the 100 foot walk-in is convenient and quick.  The downside is that you'll be next to all the other newbies, and that can be a put off.

From many of the photos, people in the know are led to believe the area is similar to Devil's Tower, WY.  While Frenchman Coulee does offer some stemming routes and the majority is octagonal and hexagonal columns, it should immediately be noted that these are only about 100 feet tall.  Devil's Tower is in places some 600-800 feet tall, with many unbroken lines.  It's nice to think that the Coulee has the same route space, just spread out laterally, but I would venture a guess that it doesn't.  Devils Tower National Monument has 150 routes and rises 1200+ feet over the surrounding hills.  It's just not a fair comparison.  On the bright side, there is very little oversight by rangers.  Enjoy your beers and brats at your own leisure, responsibly.

We finished the day on "Clip 'Em or Skip 'Em", 5.8 ***.  My guidebook says that this is a perfect route for beginners at the grade.  It's a straightforward face/arete route with all the clips to the right.  Incidently, it is a nice follow up from "Ride 'Em Cowboy" that clips all left.  "Clip 'em".. is next to several other very good routes.  One in particular, directly behind me in this shot, is called "Air Guitar", 5.10a ***.  Bolted to the top of the route is a commemorative placard for the life and death of Goran Kropp.  He zippered off the route and fell to his death.  Although I never met him, I'm saddened by the loss.

Circa late 2001 or early 2002, Dusty and I would camp out and have the entire Coulee to ourselves.  Oh the memories.