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punjab
Gym climber
oregon
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Feb 26, 2008 - 10:20pm PT
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a hint of light is seen in the distance, but it is still cold. a frigid air has descended upon the canyon during the night blanketing everything in a thick layer of frost. the almighty deschutes can be heard but not seen, the condensation is dense. anglers begin their march to the shore to submerge their bodies in the roaring torrent of icy water in search of their prize. but i just pull the cocoon of down tighter around my face and return to sleep, i will need the rest. coffee in hand the hike is on, and as we casually stroll along the river we wave to the men of the river and they return the favor, each respectful and awed by the others dedication and love of this place. as the sun warms our bodies we shed a layer, and take in the pungent smell of damp sage. the trail tips back and shoots us upwards, and in no time we reach the wall, but we are not alone. a pair of hawks has taken flight and patrols the sky. perched high atop central oregon we sit speechless and stare at the rock, lost in a sea of golden vertical fissures. mt. jeff looms in the distance engulfed in a layer of winter, the views in all direction are endless. we jam, we stem, we lieback, we thrash.... completely lost in our own small world. exhausted we begin the hike down, completely fulfilled and happy. before we know it beers are cracked, dinner is simmering and the cold returns.
matt.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 27, 2008 - 04:25am PT
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It looks like a nice crag; I would definitely climb the cracks at least once if I lived locally (say within weekend distance of Smith).
I wouldn't worry too much about it being overcrowded with climbers or suddenly becoming a "destination".
There many local columnar (basalt, phonolite porphry, etc.) areas around the west, such as:
 Crooked River Gorge (near Smith Rock)
Skinner Butte (Eugene)
Beacon Rock
Tieton (Yakima, WA)
Massacre Rocks (American Falls, ID) http://www.isu.edu/outdoor/climbing/massprint.htm
Table Mountain (Jamestown/Sonora, CA)
Devil's Tower (OK, midwest)
"miles of desert rimrock" (Oregon), etc.
Trout Creek might be nicer than some of these, but probably not superior enough to dominate the similarity of columnar climbing at the closer areas. Personally, when I occasionally drive from California to Smith Rock, I'm not interested in the columnar stuff. I spend the travel time to climb on something different than what I can get locally.
A guidebook/PDF without directions to the crag/trailhead is a weird compromise. But not a new one - there is similar online info for Shuteye Ridge climbs on rockclimbing.com, with driving directions suppressed. It will definitely prevent some people from visiting the crag. Charging for the PDF will also have a similar effect. It also lets the guide authors claim that they didn't give away all the "secrets", even though they are revealing most of the info. Usually I am in favor of free info, if an area can take the traffic. But I have certainly kept a few secrets as well (usually it has something to do with trying to finish off the last of the FAs that I'm capable of).
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