Smith Rock-2474
From the Smith Rock State Park Brochure ...
"Smith Rock became world famous in the mid-1980s as a rock climbing destination, and offers routes for beginning to expert climbers. Climbing is very technical and dangerous, and proper instruction is critical. Several guide services operate in the park. Guidebooks with information about climbing can be purchased at local shops. Rock climbers enjoy their sport year round, but the busiest seasons are spring and fall. Routes are found throughout the park, but the main concentration is ¼ mile downstream from the footbridge. If you make it over to Monkey Face, you might see people climbing the easiest route on the south face, which was first climbed in 1960. Or, you might see someone on Just Do It on the east face: Smith’s hardest route, first climbed in 1992. It is also the first 5.14c. rated route in America."
"The dramatic appearance of the park area is a testament to the cumulative force of vulcanism and the erosive power of running water. Millions of years ago, this area was a center of volcanic activity. After a period of localized eruptions, lava flows entered the
canyon and crowded the ancestral river into the flanks of the main volcanic structure. Forced to establish a new channel, the Crooked River eventually eroded the interior of the volcanic vent. The wondrous and multicolored formations are composed of rock known as “welded tuff ”—volcanic ash erupted under conditions of extreme heat and pressure."
To understand the scale of Smith Rock the trail circumnavigating the rock is some 6 to 7 miles in length. The height of the rock is approximately 700 feet from the valley floor.
Smith Rock-2474
From the Smith Rock State Park Brochure ...
"Smith Rock became world famous in the mid-1980s as a rock climbing destination, and offers routes for beginning to expert climbers. Climbing is very technical and dangerous, and proper instruction is critical. Several guide services operate in the park. Guidebooks with information about climbing can be purchased at local shops. Rock climbers enjoy their sport year round, but the busiest seasons are spring and fall. Routes are found throughout the park, but the main concentration is ¼ mile downstream from the footbridge. If you make it over to Monkey Face, you might see people climbing the easiest route on the south face, which was first climbed in 1960. Or, you might see someone on Just Do It on the east face: Smith’s hardest route, first climbed in 1992. It is also the first 5.14c. rated route in America."
"The dramatic appearance of the park area is a testament to the cumulative force of vulcanism and the erosive power of running water. Millions of years ago, this area was a center of volcanic activity. After a period of localized eruptions, lava flows entered the
canyon and crowded the ancestral river into the flanks of the main volcanic structure. Forced to establish a new channel, the Crooked River eventually eroded the interior of the volcanic vent. The wondrous and multicolored formations are composed of rock known as “welded tuff ”—volcanic ash erupted under conditions of extreme heat and pressure."
To understand the scale of Smith Rock the trail circumnavigating the rock is some 6 to 7 miles in length. The height of the rock is approximately 700 feet from the valley floor.