The Drive

I have usually taken HWY 2 to get to the Leavenworth are but because of snowfall and pass conditions we decided to go over Snoqualmie Pass. I honestly am not sure which route is faster but it does kind of seem like Snoqualmie route would be quicker. You are driving on a faster HWY most of the time and there is not much traffic on Blewett Pass. We were driving late at night so we had no traffic at all but we did slow down through a blizzard on Snoqualmie Pass. We rolled into Leavenworth in about 2 hours and 20 minutes! Not Bad!

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The Approach

Ground hog Day is located on February Buttress right on the edge of town. You can literally see the climb from Leavenworth! Drive slow while you head up Tumwater Canyon going west cause the first parking area you reach is right under the climb! There are a couple more parking spots a few hundred more feet up the highway. A trail leads straight up to the beginning of the route and only takes about 7 minutes. The first climb you reach is Ain' t Misbehaven, look for a bolt about 15-20 feet up. A few more feet up and you are at the base of Ground Hog Day.

Ground Hog Day, 3 pitches

Mouse over the image to see the route.

Pitch 1, 5.7

This was probably my favorite pitch as it follows a pretty cool little crack system. Start by climbing the initial bulge to get to the crack and then just plug away. There is another fun little bulge about half way up that may be the crux of the whole climb. Once the crack disappears move up easy but unprotectable rock to a bolt anchor on the right.

Lacey climbing the first pitch. Mouse over image to see the short and easy approach.

Lacey pulling the bulge on the first pitch.

Pitch 2, 5.6

The second pitch was a bit contrived. I started off by leading straight up from the belay until I climbed to a tree. I then traversed right and under the tree until I was able to climb to the end of the slab on onto a ledge. From the ledge there was a large overhanging block. It looked like you could go to the left or the right. I chose the right which lead to a ramp and then the chains. There seemed to be a bit of zig zagging on this pitch and I had a little rope drag. I'm sure there is a better way to climb it.

Lacey climbing the second pitch before traversing to the right.

Lacey climbing the ramp to the belay.

Pitch 3, 5.7

This was another fun pitch as we had some fun cracks and interesting climbing. It started off with a crack that climbed to the left and eventually turned into a little corner system. After the corner I tried to go more or less straight up to another crack system but ended up on some not so fun rock. I down climbed a bit and then climbed to the right a bit and then straight up some fun and steep cracks to the belay. This was a great pitch and provided the best climbing on the route.

Lacey climbing low on the 3rd pitch.

Almost to the top of the climb.

All pitches are almost exactly 30 meters. Which mean tie knots at the end of your 60 meter rope on the descent. We had to downclimb about 5 feet on the first rappel!.

This was a fun route to start the Leavenworth climbing season with. Easy climbing with great views of Tumwater canyon and no approach!

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