Powerline Wall, 5.4-510a

    Gear Used:
  • 60 meter rope
  • gear to 2 1/2 inches
  • quickdraws
Oct. 1 2006

The Drive

Mt. Erie is a great place to go cragging if it's raining elsewhere. It lies within the Olympic Mountain Rain Shadow and can sometimes be the only dry climbing in Washington. It's about an hour drive from Seattle straight up I-5 North followed by 15 min. on Hwy 20 West.

The parking lot is actually at the top of the crags. You drive up a steep windy road with amazing views of the sound and the Olympic Mountains. Many trails start from the summit parking lot and meander their way down to the crags.

Powerline Wall

Tyndall's Terror 5.7 **

This is a great crack climb that takes natural pro with a couple bolts near the top. You approach the base of the wall by scrambling up the 5.0 flake near the bottom of Terminator up to a big tree on a ledge. We roped up here and climbed the start of The Right Stuff 5.4 until you can traverse to another large ledge. I set a 3 piece equalized anchor with 2 small stoppers and a small Alien. Pitch 2 starts with pulling a small bulge into a stellar although very short crack. Follow the crack up and through a blank section with a couple of bolts. After the second bolt the original route go's right but I clipped to more bolts straight up through the end of Scarface 5.9+. Belay from a two bolt anchor at top. You can rappel from the anchor (no chains) with a 60m rope.


Jodie climbing the crack on Tyndall's Terror.

Higher on the route.

Finishing Touch 5.8 **

Easy sport climb on the far right side of the wall. Climb past 5 bolts with the crux being near the last bolt. Scramble to the top and belay from tree's or traverse left from the last bolt to the anchors for No Holds Barred


Jodie following Finishing Touch.

No Holds Barred 5.10a *

This was a real fun edgy climb straight up from the single bolt anchor on the ledge (left of Finishing Touch). Follow 5 bolts through a couple steep crux sections to a two bolt anchor (no rappel chains).

Day 2
Jodie top-roping No Holds Barred

We both had to be back in Seattle around 4 so we packed up and hiked the quick 15 minutes back to the car. An hour in a half later we were back in the city fighting traffic and congestion and longing for the clean, crisp fall air of the mountains.

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