This is a Smith Rock knob romping classic climb with a fun dihedral start that takes gear. People make the hike to the Spiderman Buttress to climb the ever classic Spiderman, but don’t take off without climbing Out of Harm’s Way. If you’ve never been to Smith but have heard of the knob and nubbin pulling style, the upper half of this climb is the best example of the unique Smith style.
Bring gear from .5 to 2 inches to climb the starting dihedral. There must be a variety of ways to climb this but I found staying in the dihedral and using face holds to the right as a great way to start followed by bomber hand jams the higher up the dihedral you go. Cam placements are straightforward. Once you exit the dihedral the knob and nubbin climbing begins. I can’t think of many other climbing areas where a 5.8 requires as much thought and precision pulling on knobs and nubbins. Don’t think you are going to run up this climb, the precise nature of the climbing is easy but requires deliberate and slow moves that ends at a nice small ledge. This climb is a gem.
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Smith Rock State Park, OR
Last Updated on Jul 19 2019, 3:56 pm PDT
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Given Black Diamond’s reputation for strong and durable hard goods, we decided to give their 9.9mm rope a try as our go to gym rope. The rope is priced right and works great out of the box but early signs of wear in the gym make it hard to give it the nod as a preferred gym rope.