Trip Report: Climbing Dod's Jam, Beacon Rock Washington
Dod’s Jam
When: August 4 and 15, early morning
Conditions: No wind, warm, sunny
Duration: 3 hours the first time, 1 hr 45 min the second time
Difficulty: 5.10b
Neither kid nor pet-friendly
Looking up at the crux pitch of Dod's Jam
For those of us who long for the alpine, Beacon Rock provides the closest thing to it when suffering the pressures of a full-time job. Roughly an hour outside Portland, Beacon boasts numerous multipitch trad routes. The SE Face offers two decent pitches of 5.7 and a bunch of low-grade 5th and 4th class to the summit. Young Warriors is a fun 5.9, though route-finding can be tricky. The finest route I’ve ever done on Beacon is Dod’s Jam 5.10b.
The first time climbing Dod’s, we did the original start. We arrived at the base of a slab that looked more like my vegetable garden than a climbing route, however the 5.8 pitch quickly turns to fun hand crack moves up a dihedral which is frequently intersected by ankle-breaking ledges. My partner, Emmerson, worked this pitch and belayed from a semi-hanging belay with two Metolius rap hangers at the base of a 5.9 off-width crack. Carrying nothing larger than a #4, I led up the OW. The pitch is short and quite fun with good stemming technique. I used a yellow totem, a blue BD offset nut, a #4 (a bit tipped out honestly) and a large DMM #10 nut to protect the pitch the first time, though the second time I used a #3, the offset nut, and a #4, and led it much more fluidly.
The off width pitch
Though some people link the 5.9 OW with the crux pitch, we chose to pitch it out. I built an anchor using a blue Metolius, a DMM #8 offset not, and a DMM #1 Wallnut atop a detached pillar, below the tree with the awkwardly high rap anchor. Emmerson met me at the ledge and racked up for the 10b thin hand crack that awaited him. The first time we did Dod’s, we forgot a second #1. Arriving at the crux, Emmerson took on a #1 above a .75, a 4, and a rusty piton. He gave it a few goes before finally pulling the moves with thin hands and small foot jams above his only number 1, plugged a #2 Totem, and raced to anchor. I struggled up the crack on top rope, struggling to clean the gear which Emmerson’s long arms had placed from comfortable stances (thus forcing me, at 5’6”, to clean them mid-crux). I arrived at the ledge happy, but thoroughly pumped. We rested a minute before I racked up to lead Dastardly Crack, the glorious 5.9 hand crack that is the cherry atop this wonderful route.
Dastardly crack seems (to me) to be aptly graded and has some really fun moves. The hand jams are bomber, and with proper stemming technique you feel super secure while placing some really good gear. The crack varies in size a bit, and I used a both number ones (the second time we did this route when we’d brought both), the 4, 3, 2, and .75. The crux comes about two thirds of the way up the crack when the angle cants back a bit and you have to pull a few steep moves over a bulge, though on bomber hand jams, with good feet, and a great #3 below you (you can protect above your head with a .75). The first time we did Dod’s I stopped at the anchor and Emmerson led the suckey scramble to the trail, though the second time I linked that bit with Dastardly with a 70m rope and moderate rope-drag.
Cruxin out
The first time we did Dod’s it took us three hours. We didn’t dawdle much but speed certainly wasn’t our priority, and Emmerson hung for a little while on the crux pitch. The second time we did it, we climbed Free For All as the first pitch, which gives you another fun pitch of sustained, well-protected crack, and did the entire route in about one hour and 45 minutes. I led the OW and Dastardly quickly and fluidly and Emmerson sent the crux pitch like it was nothing and didn’t even use the second #1 we’d brought.
Gear-wise, I’d recommend singles to 4, though the four is option if you’re comfortable on OW, and potentially doubles in #1 and some smaller Metolius gear if you’re doing Free For All start (which I highly recommend). We used the two smallest DMM offset nuts both times.
Dod’s jam is one of the finer routes on Beacon. With the Free For All start, four of the routes five pitches are fun, sustained crack climbing at a respectable level for intermediate trad climbers.
Leading Dastardly Crack
Looking up at the crux pitch of Dod's Jam
For those of us who long for the alpine, Beacon Rock provides the closest thing to it when suffering the pressures of a full-time job. Roughly an hour outside Portland, Beacon boasts numerous multipitch trad routes. The SE Face offers two decent pitches of 5.7 and a bunch of low-grade 5th and 4th class to the summit. Young Warriors is a fun 5.9, though route-finding can be tricky. The finest route I’ve ever done on Beacon is Dod’s Jam 5.10b.
The first time climbing Dod’s, we did the original start. We arrived at the base of a slab that looked more like my vegetable garden than a climbing route, however the 5.8 pitch quickly turns to fun hand crack moves up a dihedral which is frequently intersected by ankle-breaking ledges. My partner, Emmerson, worked this pitch and belayed from a semi-hanging belay with two Metolius rap hangers at the base of a 5.9 off-width crack. Carrying nothing larger than a #4, I led up the OW. The pitch is short and quite fun with good stemming technique. I used a yellow totem, a blue BD offset nut, a #4 (a bit tipped out honestly) and a large DMM #10 nut to protect the pitch the first time, though the second time I used a #3, the offset nut, and a #4, and led it much more fluidly.
The off width pitch
Though some people link the 5.9 OW with the crux pitch, we chose to pitch it out. I built an anchor using a blue Metolius, a DMM #8 offset not, and a DMM #1 Wallnut atop a detached pillar, below the tree with the awkwardly high rap anchor. Emmerson met me at the ledge and racked up for the 10b thin hand crack that awaited him. The first time we did Dod’s, we forgot a second #1. Arriving at the crux, Emmerson took on a #1 above a .75, a 4, and a rusty piton. He gave it a few goes before finally pulling the moves with thin hands and small foot jams above his only number 1, plugged a #2 Totem, and raced to anchor. I struggled up the crack on top rope, struggling to clean the gear which Emmerson’s long arms had placed from comfortable stances (thus forcing me, at 5’6”, to clean them mid-crux). I arrived at the ledge happy, but thoroughly pumped. We rested a minute before I racked up to lead Dastardly Crack, the glorious 5.9 hand crack that is the cherry atop this wonderful route.
Dastardly crack seems (to me) to be aptly graded and has some really fun moves. The hand jams are bomber, and with proper stemming technique you feel super secure while placing some really good gear. The crack varies in size a bit, and I used a both number ones (the second time we did this route when we’d brought both), the 4, 3, 2, and .75. The crux comes about two thirds of the way up the crack when the angle cants back a bit and you have to pull a few steep moves over a bulge, though on bomber hand jams, with good feet, and a great #3 below you (you can protect above your head with a .75). The first time we did Dod’s I stopped at the anchor and Emmerson led the suckey scramble to the trail, though the second time I linked that bit with Dastardly with a 70m rope and moderate rope-drag.
Cruxin out
The first time we did Dod’s it took us three hours. We didn’t dawdle much but speed certainly wasn’t our priority, and Emmerson hung for a little while on the crux pitch. The second time we did it, we climbed Free For All as the first pitch, which gives you another fun pitch of sustained, well-protected crack, and did the entire route in about one hour and 45 minutes. I led the OW and Dastardly quickly and fluidly and Emmerson sent the crux pitch like it was nothing and didn’t even use the second #1 we’d brought.
Gear-wise, I’d recommend singles to 4, though the four is option if you’re comfortable on OW, and potentially doubles in #1 and some smaller Metolius gear if you’re doing Free For All start (which I highly recommend). We used the two smallest DMM offset nuts both times.
Dod’s jam is one of the finer routes on Beacon. With the Free For All start, four of the routes five pitches are fun, sustained crack climbing at a respectable level for intermediate trad climbers.
Leading Dastardly Crack