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| Featured Trip: Static Point – or how I learned to quit worrying and stick my butt out on the slab |
| Author | Josh Schmidt |
| Date | July 13, 2008 |
| Report |
For those of you not fortunate enough to have enjoyed the granite of static point let me be the first to say that it is quite sticky. Static Point is a classic slab climbing area nestled in the hills above Spada Lake (which is where Everett gets its water). The drive out there from Seattle is about an hour to the trailhead, assuming you can find it using one of the maps in the guidebooks. Our group chose to rely on “Weekend Rock” and “Sky Valley Rock” as neither had a particularly good map or description and so the combination of the two should have followed the logic that two wrongs actually make a right (the topos were not of much help either). The majority of this trip report could be spent just discussing the forest scamper that passes for a trail, but that would be unnecessary digression from the discussion of the climb at hand.
I will digress only slightly to let those interested in climbing at Static Point know that the trail is in fact bereft of any semblance of being a trail at all. Instead it is long jaunt over an old logging road whose existence is verified by the steel culverts that are littered along either side. To say that there is not a trail is a little harsh as we were able to make it to the climbers' trail. The trail is, however, severely overgrown in spots and the climbers' trail leaves for want longer switchbacks and the clearing of blowdowns. Thanks should be given to the group that made a small dent in the brushing that the trail so badly needs.
Our group had three members: Amanda, the always hungry rope gun in hot pink pants; John Ray, the rookie; and me, the intrepid trailblazing and river crossing basic class graduate. We reached the base of the slabs eager to start climbing as we spent a bit longer getting up there than was expected. Unfortunately finding the base of the climb was a puzzle in and of itself. They refer to the climb as “Lost Charms” (5.7 A0/5.9) and that it starts at the 'Lost Charms Tree'. As there are no signs pointing to this particular tree we hedged our bets upon a lone stand to the right of where the trail comes out. As it turns out this would be our first pitch of the day because no one thought that a scramble with an aid move in the middle of a sketchy traverse was worthy of sliding face down a thirty foot slab of sticky granite. This would not be good for any of our love lives (especially Amanda's).
At the potential 'Lost Charms Tree' we began the ascent of the first pitch of the Lost Charms climb. This was a dicey slab traverse with a couple of hand peeling moves with your butt in the air. This was a move that John Ray worked out much faster than I had. The gear was good given the slabby conditions. This took us to a ledge with two bolts and a bail 'biner. The next pitch took us up along a low angle corner system where vegetation was plentiful... but the belay was bolted and in the shade. Did I mention that it was a hot day?
The third pitch was a harrowing adventure about thirty meters up and to the right of the belay anchor. It works up another corner system and over to a hairy unprotected move high above the last piece. One of the first 5.9 moves that is not in the route description but on the topo (never trust a topo or route description completely). This took us onto a flake that has been adequately named “The Bridge”. Amanda built a hanging belay and went for the next pitch while John and I surveyed the rappel stations and bail anchors on the surrounding climbs. At this point Amanda started to rant incoherently about there being a finger sized garden in her finger sized crack that was supposed to be the 5.6 part of the climb. She used the grass as aid and protection for the rest of the crack and made her way to another ledge to build another semi-hanging belay. At this point John began his ascent besting that garden with his nimble hockey player hands and foot work. I, on the other hand, made a steady ascent enjoying the scenery below me.
At the fourth belay we decided that this was the final pitch of the day as the sun was looking longingly at the other side of the world and the climbs were covered with bail 'biners on all of the bolted anchors and many of the bolts. Not wanting to be outdone we decided that sacrificing a 9-yr old Omega locking 'biner to the granite gods was not such a bad idea as it seems to have become some what of a tradition at Static Point. Amanda climbed the last thirty feet to the nearest solid bolt, a feat in and of itself as the rock was getting more vertical and the hand holds scarce, and set up our bail 'biner.
The first rappel turned into a traverse about 20 meters over and 40 meters down to a double bolted anchor just above what is known as the pillar. This wasn't so bad since the rock was super sticky and not too vertical. From here we rappelled to the tree stand that was our second belay station. Amanda tried to rappel down to the lost charms tree and ran out of rope about 15 feet high. I lowered her down the last few feet and rappelled down to an anchor about thirty meters below. John Ray followed suit and we set up for the last rap. I traversed further left and got past most of the ugly moves that we had scrambled across earlier in the day. Amanda jumped back on the rappel so that she could also get past this section and then John Ray finally got to come down. We finished the short scramble back to the packs where a lone cinnamon roll was waiting to be et. By this time it was about 7:45 and we wanted to get the hell out of there before the sun set. The hike down was fast and a lot more pleasant than the hike in. Though still full of brush.
We tumbled into a Mexican restaurant in Monroe just in time to get burritos before the kitchen closed. I had the pork burrito smothered in verde sauce it was quite tasty and at a whopping $5.50 it wasn't a bad price either. We made it back to The Laurels (Amanda's house) just about exactly 14 hrs after we left.
A few photos are at http://photos.google.com/achenck/200807StaticPoint
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WASHINGTON
ALPINE
CLUB
