Smith Rock State Park: Day of Top Rope Climbing

Activity Notes

This activity is a day of top rope climbing at North Point of Smith Rock State Park (also known as the Smith Rock Amphitheater), with some additional mini-lessons (8-10 minutes) that will include some topics such as movement technique, traditional gear placement, and anchor building.

This activity is from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. Please be ready at the trailhead and ready to hike at 8 am. Please arrive around 8:15 am to give yourself time to get your parking pass, use the facilities, and organize your gear for the day.

SMITH ROCK STATE PARK:

Smith Rock State Park: North Point driving directions: http://goo.gl/maps/LCyJarQNUFTLFCsR6

Parking day permit costs $5 for a State Park Day-use Pass. There are payment kiosks at the parking lot, or you can buy one online: https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=visit.day-use.

WEATHER FORECAST:

National Weather Service: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=44.36929&lon=-121.13837

PARTICIPANT PREREQUISITES:

There are no climbing skills prerequisites for this activity-- open to first time climbers. You do not need to have any outdoor climbing experience, or even have been to Smith Rock before.

• There will be various grades of climbing available from easy to difficult. Hiking boots will be sufficient for the easier climbs, but rock climbing shoes will really add to your experience. Climbing shoes and/or approach shoes recommended for more difficult routes. Use of rock chalk is optional.
• Jewelry, rings, necklaces and earrings are not recommended while climbing. They can easily become caught or scratched up on the rocks, caught in your belay device, etc.
• If you have long hair, it is recommended to bundle it together and not let it loose. If windy the hair could easily get jammed in your belay device while rappelling (not fun).
• There is no water at North Point @ Smith Rock; be sure to bring a couple of liters with you (2 to 3 liters).

EQUIPMENT:

• backpack
• suitable climbing clothing: comfortable climbing clothes, rain jacket, puffy jacket, hat & gloves
• lunch/snacks/water (2-3 liters of water)
• personal effects: sunscreen, personal medications, 
• climbing harness
• climbing helmet
• belay device w/ locking carabiner (optional) -- tubular device or GriGri style device are ok
• rock shoes (optional, but really helpful) 
• car camping gear (optional)

CAMPING:

We will be camping at Skull Hollow Campground on Saturday night. This campground is a car-camping campground, with picnic tables, fire rings, pits toilets, but no running water. The Mazamas will secure some campsites on Friday (no reservations allowed, first come first serve), and will communicate the site numbers by email.

There is a $5 (cash) additional charge per car. Plenty of space for tents. The larger campsites can easily fit four cars. The Mazamas intend to get at least two large campsites, for a total of eight cars for certain– first four cars park for free, first come first serve for folks camping out with us.

Water: There is no water at Skull Hollow Campground, so you'll need to bring any you'll need. Perhaps a gallon?

Skull Hollow Campground Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ochoco/recarea/?recid=39154

Skull Hollow Campground driving directions: https://goo.gl/maps/XjJaY7DvFoScfoLR8

CARPOOLING:

The Mazamas activity starts and ends "at the trailhead" so we won't be formally coordinating carpooling, that's for participants to organize. However, we support carpooling and the Mazamas can facilitate by providing a spreadsheet to communicate with each other the week prior to the activity.