moderate trad routes at Skaha, British Columbia.


			Last update: April, 2008

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	Moderate crack climbs at Skaha
	Few climbers outside of the Pacific Northwest know much about this area, located in Canada's Okanogan Valley some 40 miles north of the border. But up here it is an important crag, drawing hundreds of climbers on fair weather weekends. It is not conveniently accessed from any of the regions large population centers, being 5 hours east of Vancouver and at least 6 hours from Seattle. But unlike said cities, Skaha is behind an effective rainshadow formed by the Cascades to the west, with practically guaranteed dry conditions from March to October. In a part of North America that's famously wet almost constantly, this aspect alone will draw the masses. As if that's not enough, Skaha is also a sportclimber's mecca, with massive vertical walls full of friendly holds, yielding maybe 500 clip-ups in all grades. The Owens River Gorge of the Northwest. So, our article would end right here if it wasn't for two important facts: The guidebook, written by Howie Richardson, is absolutely brilliant, and, guess what, Skaha hides a couple dozen quite worthwhile gear routes ranging from 5.9 to easy tens. Below is a brief treatise of the ones fivenineclimber has done:
	Skunked, 5.8 A good introduction to Skaha trad climbing. Crotalus Crack, 5.9 Very fine steep affair. Mostly fingers with real footholds, until it gets even steeper and a tad bit awkward near the top. The surrounding sport routes are so hard that you normally have some well needed privacy. Seen rattlers here on 2 out of 3 occasions, so watch out! Grassy Glades, 5.10- A cruxy route. An ever steepening handcrack suddenly morphs left into a strenuous mantle on top of an overhanging no-feet wall. More hard climbing follows after a brief semi rest. Good pro all along, despite the warning about run-outs in the guidebook. Flying Flowers, 5.9 A long walk to an area with just one route. But so it is at Skaha, if you're hunting for cracks. This is worth the effort despite having a broken easy section at mid heights. Finger crux thru gently overhanging terrain with good feet. Double Exposure, 5.9 Classic must-do route. Reachy face crux followed by weird balance on sustained and exposed climbing. Beware of yellow jackets possibly nesting in the crack near the crux. Bring a big piece for the finale. The Dream, 5.9 Fingerlocks and liebacks around a couple of roofs, following a thin crack that eats up stoppers. This would be a classic at any crag. Basement Abortion, 5.10- Shady and cool route in a narrow corridor, but right above a busy trail. Good gear and fabulous moves right up to the crux, from where the good climbing certainly continues but the pro becomes a little sparse. Lesbian Pope, 5.9 Not super classic but if you pass by one day, drop the pack and do it. Ready to Strike, 5.10- One of the better routes up here at this grade. A couple of bolts protect the reachy moves around the huge roof, before it turns into a long, delightful corner crack to the top, with yet another hard section before finishing. Jim's, 5.9 Standard Skaha finger/face thing bordered by very popular sport routes. Splendiferous, 5.9 As the previous entry, but without the crowds. Slacks, 5.9 I seem to remember some runout sections on this one. Assholes of August, 5.9 Long thin crack with two steeper crux bulges. Skaha trad doesn't get much finer than this excellent route. Mrs. Palmer, 5.9 One and a half pitch climb on Great White. Despite a manageable rating this route feels serious. Steep bulges and semi loose blocks leads to a vertical finger tweaking finale. The second, short pitch is also steep and strenous.
	The sprawling nature of Skaha, with its long steep trails and complicated topography, makes it less convenient to tick off side by side quality routes. Especially when hunting for the few elusive crack climbs. A trad day at Skaha will therefore involve a lot of tromping around, but hiking is good for you, and certainly more rewarding than doing the generic sportclimb... Here's a 5 pitch circuit ticking off some very classic lines with minimal tranportation time. Most of the hiking is on the 25-30 minute approach to the first route, after which the cracks are lined up nicely if climbed in the order here. Should be a fine day of plugging gear: Refer to the guidebook. Hike the steep loop trail counter clockwise to Crotalus Crack, 5.9. A short jaunt around the corner to the west leads to Mrs. Palmer, 5.9, after which you cross a shallow canyon, pick up a secondary trail and descend to Double Exposure, 5.9 in less than 10 min. Take the loop trail to the shady base of the Red Tail Wall and navigate up on a high exposed ledge to Assholes of August, 5.9. More delicate routefinding lead the short way up to The Dream, 5.9.