Oregon Has It All....

I will be based in Bend, OR for the next several months. Bend is the outdoor recreation hub for Central Oregon and I have everything from large glaciated volcanoes to sunny desert sport climbing right out my door. I will primarily be guiding on Mt. Hood via the South Side Route.

This climb is a great introduction to steep snow climbing and the world of mountaineering. The route provides pitched snow climbing up to 45 degrees and tops out on an aesthetic knife edge ridge.

The Oregon Cascades are also an amazing playground for ski mountaineering. From tours on the Three Sisters and Broken Top right here in Bend to long complex glaciated descents on Mt. Hood, Oregon has plenty of peaks to climb up and ski down.

And if you're like me and crave sunshine and flipflops, the high desert just East of the Cascades provides year round rock climbing and warmer temperatures. Smith Rock State Park is a mecca for rock climbers offering hundreds of routes from 5.5 to 5.14. I first climbed at Smith in 2003 and have been coming back ever since!

Most of the sport climbing is on a light colored volcanic rock known as welded tuff. The Crooked River also cuts through a basalt canyon. Smith's basalt columns provide great traditional climbing on clean cracks as an alternative to the pocketed tuff. And right here in Bend is some more great climbing on andesite, another volcanic rock. When it gets too hot down there at Smith, the Bend high country provides much cooler temperatures. 

Here's a photo of TMG guide Chris Wright and me working some andesite crimpers just west of Bend. Stay tuned for more updates from Oregon. Don't hesitate to call the TMG office at 541 312 9242 to inquire about trips or visit Timberline Mountain Guides and Smith Rock Climbing School on the web.