astounding beauty of the obscure
areas and the wonderful thrill of
seeing something new and exciting.
Those routes are cool but there is so
much more to Smith than just the
main area.

In other areas at Smith, the tuff is so
different from the rock in the main
area that you feel like you are on a
completely different rock type. And
people who only climb in the main
area miss out on seeing plants and
wildlife at the base of the climbs,
instead of just bare dirt and land-
scape timbers. Sure the holds might
have a bit more lichen, and the rock
might not be scrubbed by a thousand
ascents, but they might see climbing

at Smith from a new perspective.

I think people really need to open up
their eyes to Smith Rock and not limit themselves to the main area. There
is SO much land here, even if you
don't do any climbing and you just
go exploring and hiking. There are
hundreds of acres here. Why stand
around and wait in line for a sport
climb when you could go hiking? Go
up to the Gunsight Rock, or Squaw
Rock, or go out to the Marsupials and
walk around and find some cave or
something that few people have seen.

Photos on pages 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7:
Ryan Lawson collection.

Photos on pages 4, 6 & 8:
Mike Volk/SmithRock.com

Content editor:
David Morgan/SmithRock.com

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