Black Horse Rock/La Croupe du Poney

Getting There

Drive Hwy 20 to east (downhill) of the hairpin turn.  Park at a large pull-off on the side of Hwy 20, the same pull-off you would use to access Silver Star via Burgundy Col (i.e. 48.5513, -120.6310)  To accommodate an early start, it is strongly recommended that you drive up the afternoon before, and bivy for the night at some other nearby car-campground or trailhead parking lot.

Approach

https://caltopo.com/m/M7BANPK

The approach is mostly off-trail, with light bushwhacking through mostly open forest with a few minor creek crossings.   It begins from the north end of the highway pull off, descends 270' through the talus field and into the forest below.  Utilize a log to cross Early Winters creek.  Continue following the Silver Star approach trail very briefly, then take a right on the old Early Winters Creek trail.  Go south on the Early Winters Creek trail for 0.4 miles, then pick an arbitrary departure from the trail, and turn left into the brush. From here on out, navigate by GPS or gut-feel through mostly open forest, with occasional bushwhacking, generally up and right.  At 5200′, slightly descend to Willow Creek (brush thickens considerably near the creek,) and find a crossing.  Once across, very soon an open talus field allows for going straight uphill, gaining the remaining 400′ of vert to the obvious toe of the buttress.

By mid-to-late June, the approach (and the walk-off from the buttress's top) are generally snow-free. If there is still snow in the upper Willow Creek valley beyond this, creeks may be running high, and boots may be appreciated to keep feet dry when stepping through streams. By mid-July or so, when little melt-runoff remains, the creeks are lower and you can rock-hop the crossings in approach shoes without stepping in water.

Ascent Route

• Pitch 1: 5.6, ~150′, tree anchor – Blocky & indistinct, with a bit more loose rock than any of the other pitches.  After about a hundred feet of climbing, begin to curve left.  Near the top of the pitch, nearby is a leftward-arching-roof above a white slab, just to serve as a landmark.  Straight left of that feature is a wizened tree, about 8' tall but stout, which is a good place to end the pitch.
• Pitch 2: 5.7+, ~190′, tree anchor – Sustained 5.7 for a lot of the pitch, with a few trickier moves. Left-facing-corner after left-facing-corner keeps coming, until just after passing a distinctive yellow & black vertically striped wall that’s off on your left, when you're nearly out of rope. As soon as you’ve climbed higher than that vertically striped wall, it’s easy to hook left and use the tree just above that vertically-striped-wall as a belay anchor.
• Pitch 3: 5.8, ~170′, tree anchor – Return to the line on your right, the last left-facing-corner, which is briefly stiffer climbing, 5.8 for a move or two. In about ~30′ that left-facing-corner tops out on a friendly ledge to the right with many trees. 5.0 scrambling for a bit, keep aiming straight up as soon as you can, then a flume of 5.6 friction & stemming side-pressure to reach a live tree to use as an anchor a little before running out of rope. A distinctive U-shaped (or W-shaped) snag is the next visible tree straight above the live-tree which this pitch ends at.
• Pitch 4: 5.6, ~195′. – This one's a rope-stretcher. Moderate and rambly climbing straight up past many trees takes you as far as the rope will let you go.  It starts out 5.6, but eases back to 5.4 for most of the remainder. Where exactly you end this pitch doesn't really matter, just keep going straight up and end as you run out of rope, and/or when you can see shish-kabob-tree in the distance.
• Pitch 5, "Shish Kabob Tree": 5.8, ~150′, tree anchor – From the Pitch 4 belay anchor, look up and right for a distinctive tree whose trunk is a straight skewer, but whose green branches seem to only be in a ball halfway up the skewer. We called it “shish-kabob tree”, though it also bears a resemblance to the Fernsehturm tower in Berlin. This is perhaps the only pitch on the route where the beginning belay-station and the ending belay-station can see each other, so that it’s actually possible for the belayer & climber to see each other for the entirety of the pitch. Move up and rightward, aiming for shish-kabob tree, which will take you through some small cracks in little right-facing-corners, a moment of tricky friction moving between some cracks, and then pushing past some smaller grabby trees until you reach that shish-kabob tree to end this pitch.  (Alternatively, the Sullivan variation, 5.9: near the end, instead of following the curved horizontal crack rightward to the grabby trees, it's also possible to stay in the last right-facing-corner and climb it more directly and aesthetically straight to shish-kabob tree.)
• Pitch 6, "The Clamshell": 5.8, ~100′, bolted anchor – Pay attention here, because this pitch has some very specific beta to keep it moderate & well-protected, and avoid crazy rope-drag by the end. Big picture, this pitch starts from Shish Kabob Tree, where an intimidating large headwall looms overhead, and a clamshell-like gigantic crack curves to the left. The first moves involve getting on top of a white block that looks like a horrifying “dagger of death”, but turns out to be secure enough to stand on top of. While standing on the “dagger of death” block, a higher horizontal small crack at eye-level is a good place to put in a BD grey #0.4, and extend it with a double-runner. Next, go a few moves up and left into the clamshell to clip the first bolt. (A short draw on the bolt is okay.) I recommend not placing any additional trad gear in the vicinity of these bolts, as many of the white blocks inside the clamshell are questionable. After clipping the 1st bolt, look out left on the slab to spot the 2nd bolt, and also spot the small foot-ledge below it. Work your way out there, with a cruxy move to pull just as your toes get above the 1st bolt and you leave the clamshell to fully commit to the slab. After clipping the 2nd bolt, the little foot ledge takes you further left and a bit downward, until a purely friction traverse flatly-left reaches the salvation of the trees. Above those trees, easier scramble-moves go up and right for a bit (get pro in mid-scramble if you can), then the scramble seems to dead-end just before this would turn into a squeeze-chimney, but up there is an excellent horizontal crack which provides really good hands for a big step left (a moment of 5.7. BD green #0.75 or red #1 for the horizontal crack). The key to avoiding crazy-rope-drag soon afterward is to both (a) place gear as far left in the horizontal crack as you’re willing to reach, and (b) put a double-runner on any pro you place in that horizontal crack. After this, go straight up and pop out into an area of lower-angle rock. Slightly to the right, a pair of bolts next to the bottom of pitch 7's crack may be used for a belay.
• Pitch 7: 5.7, ~100′, tree or gear anchor – To the right, an obvious vertical crack will take you up around the otherwise-imposing blank headwall above you. The beginning move getting into that vertical crack at its bottom is tricky; it turns out to be two cracks with a fin in the middle, and both cracks start as off-width sizes at the bottom there. After the initial stiff move, soon the cracks shrink to more secure jamming sizes, and continue straight until you arrive up in a room-sized alcove with a big roof over it. Around right of the big roof, you can see the rather-perfect right-facing-corner that makes for the next & final pitch. Pick a way to belay near that right-facing-corner without blocking it.
• Pitch 8, "The Incredible Dihedral": 5.8, ~120′, tree or gear anchor – A stunning right-facing-corner, with a hand-jam-sized crack at its heart, and a few hidden but helpful little foot ledges out to the sides at times, makes the perfect cherry-on-top pitch to finish this route.  End this pitch by topping out into scramble terrain, far enough that you’d be comfortable unroping there once your follower comes up, and pick something to build your last belay anchor on (there are plenty of options). Once you’re both up, you can change shoes, coil the rope, and start the walk-off.

Descent Route

The walk-off is mostly loose class 2, with some occasional class 3.  Once you've changed out of climbing shoes and into approach shoes, follow the surprisingly flat ridge top for 800' horizontally, until a lefthand exit from the crest utilizes ~50' of class 3 down-scrambling to merge into the loose class 2 gully.  About 200' vertically below the ridge-crest, a small but steep cliff impedes direct travel, but by walking far skiers-left, it can be easily scrambled around.  Eventually, the loose class 2 gully gives way to more stable forest and open talus, and then it's still a long curve around to get back to the toe of the buttress where the climbing route had begun, totaling 1000' of descent to there.

Trip Profile

SEGMENT	TIME (HOURS)	ELEVATION GAIN (FEET)
SR-20 pull-off to base of the route	2 - 2.5	1700'
Climbing route	6 - 9	1000'
Top of the route to SR-20 pull-off	4	270' regained at end

Equipment

60 meter rope. Cams equivalent to BD sizes #0.2 to #3, double up sizes #0.4 to #3. Set of nuts. 8-10 single-length slings, and 6 double-length slings. Most belay anchors are trees. Bring approach shoes for the walk-off.  Radios helpful.

Notes

This is a long route.  It will test your efficiency.  Have a contingency plan in case of a later-than-expected return to the cars.  Be safe, don't drive home if you are at risk of falling asleep.  Having some extra food, extra water, and a sleeping bag stashed in your car could allow for sleeping the night in the parking lot of some other trailhead and driving home the next morning, if that becomes necessary.

First Ascent by Mountaineers Members Rob Busack and Kelly Ryan on June 14, 2025

• Climbing Category: Intermediate Alpine
• Seasons: June, July, August, September, October
• Weather: View weather forecast

• Difficulty: Intermediate Rock Climb
• Length: 6.0 mi
• Elevation Gain: 3,000 ft
• High Point: 6,600 ft

• Land Manager: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests
• Parking Permit Required: Northwest Forest Pass
• Recommended Party Size: 4
• Maximum Party Size: 12
• Maximum Route/Place Capacity: 12