For the week of May 21 - 27, 2003

Sport climbers
train for big climbs

Try lava tube cragging on Snake River Plain

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"You can totally clear your mind of everything else you’re doing, regardless of whatever else is going on in your life. There’s more to it (rock climbing) than just pull, pull, pull. It’s kind of a chess game involving strategy and problem solving."

— Peter Heekin, owner Lost River Sports

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

The Wood River Valley will never be a world-class rock climbing destination, but for a few of the sport’s hard core local devotees, there’s enough nearby rock to pump forearms full of lactic acid during after-work outings.

"It’s pretty wild. This is what desperate people without a local rock climbing area are willing to do," says local climber Peter Heekin as he surveys dozens of carabiners and chalk-stained protrusions on the basalt ceiling of a Snake River Plain lava tube. "But it’s actually some of the cooler climbing I’ve done."

Ascending a steep, difficult climbing route in an underground lava tube, Hailey climbing store owner Peter Heekin combines grace with strength to power through an inverted portion of the climb. Express photo by Willy Cook

The Snake River country’s most well-known climbing is along the banks of the Snake River near Twin Falls and Pocatello, but diligent climbers have recently begun developing climbs closer to the Wood River Valley in the desert plain’s sweeping upland lava flows.

One of the most interesting projects is the underground sport climbing behind the Bear Claw Trading Post on Highway 75 between Timmerman Junction and Shoshone. About 25 difficult bolted sport routes ascend the walls and traverse the ceilings of lava tubes there.

"It’s a great way to stay in shape for climbing trips to bigger areas, but there are a lot of people around here who can’t actually get out. Then going to these areas becomes an experience in and of itself," says Erik Leidecker, who has been climbing locally for 17 years and guides for Sawtooth Mountain Guides.

For Heekin, who owns a Hailey climbing store called Lost River Sports, the caves aren’t too far to drive after work but far enough to spur a sense of having gone somewhere.

"In the summers, when it’s light out till 10 p.m., you can take a little mini vacation after work," he says.

But like alpine skiing in Georgia, climbing in the Snake River Plain’s lava tubes has its shortcomings. There are no views. The rock is dirty and sharp. And, most significantly, the climbing is hard.

"For entry level climbers, you don’t really have a lot of local options," Leidecker says. "To them, it’s just a dirty hole in the ground with sharp rock, and they can’t really climb it."

Ascending a steep, difficult climbing route in an underground lava tube, Hailey climbing store owner Peter Heekin combines grace with strength to power through an inverted portion of the climb. Express photo by Willy Cook

On the Yosemite Decimal System difficulty rating system, the caves boast routes primarily in the 5.11 to 5.13 range, with most routes in the 5.12 range. For reference, beginning climbers can commonly climb 5.8, and the most difficult route ever climbed is 5.15.

In two of the lava tube caves, there are about 25 routes.

"The climbing is generally pretty hard down there, so it’s not going to attract a lot of attention, especially for beginners," Heekin says. "But I think it’s a cool place for anybody just to come down and check out, too."

For Wood River Valley climbing opportunities, there is also limited cragging on Trail Creek Road near Trail Creek Summit and along Warm Springs Creek near Frenchman’s Bend. The Trail Creek area, called Sun Valley Crag by the "Rock and Road" climbing guide, is steep and has climbing ranging from 5.8 top-rope pulling to 5.12 bolted sport routes.

"There’s lots of moderate low-angle rock up Trail Creek, but it’s not user friendly, because that terrain up there is so steep and loose," Leidecker says.

Frenchman’s Bend, a small granite boulder outcrop near the popular Frenchman’s Bend hot springs, has several short top-rope climbs ranging from 5.9 to 5.12.

Strictly for a workout without the use of ropes, climbers often head to the dry channel of the Big Wood River below Magic Dam, where smooth boulders are sculpted by a once free-flowing river.

"It’s really a wonder of geology," Heekin says. "Generally, it’s big, long, reachy moves to slopey holds. It was discovered only a few years ago."

Leidecker says it’s not entirely clear who discovered and championed most of the local crags. He says the combined efforts of Marc Hanselman, Dave Bingham, Steve Thompson and Jeremy Scherer have contributed significantly.

If you’ve never been climbing, the local workout areas probably aren’t in the cards, but a trip to City of Rock, near Oakley, or Dierke’s Lake, near Twin Falls, could be in order.

"Once people get comfortable with climbing 5.11, once you’re able to break into those grades, there is a nearby place you can go to work out," Leidecker says.

"I always thought of sport climbing as training for big climbs, but now I’ve fallen in love with the sport climbing," Heekin says. "It’s a really good feeling when you send a new route.

"It’s also a social thing. You get out there with good friends and shoot the breeze and challenge each other."

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.