"Hop on Pop" - By Eileen Kutscha
With the multitude of sport routes within a day's driving distance of Seattle, it's hard to choose just one favorite, but the Peanut Area at Smith Rock has a nice selection of bolted routes. "Hop On Pop" is one of my favorites. It's a 5.8 with a 10a start. Good technique, not brute force, will get you to the first bolt which is placed high off the ground. It's a precarious start, but well worth the work. After clipping the first bolt, move on to small ledges and nubbins conveniently placed in a sticky, crystalline rock face. The bolts are closely spaced, providing a good comfort level to try more daring and experimental footwork and balance techniques. After the fifth of seven bolts the route becomes more slabby and the bolts are spaced further apart. Despite the widely spaced bolts the climbing is very pleasant due to the good foot holds. A confident climber will enjoy the friction challenges. By the time one has reached the sixth bolt, the anchors are in sight and it's a satisfying finish. The route does not share its anchors with any other routes so no need to wait for other climbers.

Approach: After crossing the access bridge, turn left and follow the main path along the base of the cliff to Morning Glory Wall. The Peanut is the rock bulge between Zebra and Fourth Horseman areas. The approach to the Peanut Area from the parking lot is short making it and the entire surrounding area very popular. Climb it in the morning or early evening to avoid the heat of the afternoon sun.

"Jesus Saves" and "Fifty-Four Forty" - By Jason Racey

I'm new to sport climbing, having just started April 2001 in the Crag Course, so my list of climbs is still short, let alone my list of favorites. However, for any Mountaineers member just starting out on sport climbs and wanting to know where to go, I'll highlight 2 good routes that I really enjoyed completing. Try them toproped first if you like. These climbs will allow you to test yourself just a bit when you feel you're ready for your first challenging sport lead.

First, "Jesus Saves" (5.8) at The Feathers near Vantage, WA is a great arete route that presents the climber with 2 interesting challenges. One of these is that you are forced to plan from the start where with respect to the arete your center of gravity will take you. Sometimes the holds are on the left, sometimes on the right. Sometimes it's feet left hands right, sometimes opposite. This is probably common on many arete routes, but it was the first time I encountered it and I found the challenge a lot of fun. Although I've read otherwise, the other big challenge a climber faces on this route is how I think it got its name. In the crux of the route you'll find your right hand on a tiny hold. From this position, you've got to dyno to a hidden hold a few feet up. Your belayer swears it's there and shouts "you gotta' have faith brother!". You draw in your breath, crimp hard and spring up expecting to take a peeler off that tiny hold, but then you find your right hand reaching for the promised land and suddenly, it sees the light and grabs onto the biggest jug you could ask for. "Thank Jesus" you say as you clip in that last bolt. Kidding aside, this move gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to sustain tiny hands when needed.

The other is "Fifty-Four Forty" (5.10a) at Clamshell Cave in Icicle Creek Canyon near Leavenworth, WA. The granite in this area offers great friction that makes face climbing and liebacks enjoyable, and this climb offers both and more. This route starts off as a difficult face problem, with seemingly tiny nubs for both feet and hands for the first 20'. Bolts appear when needed and the angle isn't very steep so it's the perfect place for a beginner to challenge their face skills. There's a big ledge in the middle of the pitch to rest on if you want, and then the fun begins. First is a big mantle onto a tiny ledge, perhaps 6" wide. Pushing up to this is not hard but keeping your balance once on it takes patience and a lot of control. Off this ledge comes the crux move. You've got to move from the tiny ledge into a lieback off a finger crack and a sketchy foothold. Once in this position, continue up a few feet and you've all but finished your first 5.10, since the crack gets slightly wider allowing slightly better hand and footholds.