Static Point 5/31/03<BR>
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It's the Friday before finals week...and realizing that I have a fair amount of studying to do, I had just cancelled
my Saturday sport climbing plans. But then the  opportunity came to do a 6-pitch friction climb on perfect granite.
After some brief consideration, the climbing won!<BR>
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The route On Line (6 pitch 5.10b [5.8R]) at Static Point has the reputation as one of the best rock routes in the Cascades. It also has a reputation
for being remote and very run-out. I knew that Glen had logged quite a bit of mileage on run-out slabs during his many summers
in Yosemite and Tuolumne--as a climber, park ranger, and research geologist. I however had limited slab experience, and wasn't
sure what to expect.<BR>
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I clocked some study time from about 7-9:30am, then we headed for the rock. After about 50 miles on the highway, we turned onto
a gravel road for about 10 miles.
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<img src="gravelroad.JPG">
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Next we cruised down a small overgrown logging road for an additional 2 miles.
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<img src="lastroad.JPG">
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Judging by the many used shotgun shells that littered the parking area, this was clearly a multi-use recreation area!!
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<img src="shotgun.JPG">
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Next we had a mile hike down an old road...
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<img src="hike1.JPG">
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Followed by a STEEP uphill mile, paralleling a ravine.
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<img src="hike2.JPG">
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<img src="hike3.JPG">
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Due to rainfall the night before, along with 100% humidity that morning, everything was soaking wet. And when we got to
the rock, it was completely drenched! Climbing seemed out of the question.<BR>
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<img src="wet.JPG">
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The approach was fairly tiring so we hung out for a while before hiking back out. But the fog seemed to lift a few feet...
and the humidity seemed to drop a tiny bit...so we stayed put.
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45 minutes later, the sun came out!
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<img src="sky.JPG">
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<img src="wet-dry.JPG">
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We watched the rock dry, eager to climb.
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<img src="watchdry.JPG">
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And in another 30 minutes, we were starting up the first pitch!<BR>
In this photo, I have just clipped the first bolt of the route.<BR>
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<img src="bolt1.JPG">
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The first bolt is 40 feet off the deck; from there it's another 40 feet to a gear placement. The residual water streaks
made this section slightly unnerving, as I had to pause several times to dry my shoes after inadvertently stepping on a
wet spot. I eventually located the anchors.<BR>
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Pitch two was similar--40 feet to the first bolt, another 20-30 feet to the next bolt...Glen cruised up, pausing en route
to tie his shoes!
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<img src="pitch2.JPG">
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<img src="glenshoe.JPG">
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<img src="pitch2top.JPG">
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By the third pitch, I was feeling progressively more comfortable with friction climbing. This pitch started out with a
totally blank slab--30 feet to bolt #1, another 50 feet to bolt #2...
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<img src="pitch3a.JPG">
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The quality of the friction was stunning. Even more stunning were the views! Rock outcroppings and craggy summits were
visible in all directions.
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<img src="mtnview.JPG">
<img src="view.JPG">
<img src="peak.JPG">
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We took some time during the climb to kick back, soak up the views and enjoy the setting.
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<img src="glensun.JPG">
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We were now getting used to the style of climbing, and pitch 4 went smoothly.
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<img src="pitch4.JPG">
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Pitch 5 is the crux, it starts with a 40 foot runout (of course) on climbing that felt up to 5.8 in difficulty. I hesitated
a few moves from the first bolt, and started to get a bit concerned. Fortunately I was able to pull it together and go
clip the bolt. The actual crux moves felt pretty reasonable, because they were actually protected! Interestingly, having a
bolt a full body length below my feet now, clipped with a shoulder-length runner, felt like perfect pro and I was able to focus in on the moves.
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Glen then led the
last pitch, which does not have a single piece of protection! However we were so comfortable with the climbing at this point
that the 60-foot runout wasn't even an issue.
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<img src="pitch6.JPG">
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First, we took the obligatory posed "summit photos".
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<img src="g-summit.JPG">
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<img src="m-summit.JPG">
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Then...we rappelled down. 
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<img src="rap1.JPG">
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There were chains at ever belay, which made the descent very easy. (like the use of the quickdraw in that photo? ok, maybe it isn't the
textbook way to go...)
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<img src="bolts.JPG">
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And we were soon back on the ground.
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<img src="lastrap.JPG">
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<img src="lastrap2.JPG">
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On the way out, we noticed the toll of repeated logging. The current forest was probably second or third growth, but an
occasional huge tree stump gave a hint of what the area was like several decades ago.
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<img src="stump.JPG">
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<img src="clearcut.JPG">
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We also took the opportunity to rinse the chalk off our hands with a convenient mountain stream that was encountered on the hike out.
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<img src="washface.JPG">
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Although I returned a little behind on my studies, the excellent day of climbing left me energized.
Static Point is definitely among the finest and most aesthetic
areas I have ever experienced. Static is home to many routes, and I plan to get back out there to take
a lap up several more of its multipitch friction classics. The combination of the beautiful remote setting, perfect
rock quality, stimulating but manageable runouts, and continuously enjoyable climbing makes the crag quite
difficult to beat. In fact Glen felt that it was as good as any friction route he has done, rivaling the finest
that Tuolumne and Yosemite have to offer.
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I am continually impressed by the climbing opportunities available in Washington
State, and I feel that I'm just getting started! There's still Darrington...Squamish...the Enchantments...Forbidden Peak...the list goes on and on.