Siwash Rock?

[NateDoggOG]

Anyone climbed it? Is there a specific route up it, or do you just go? Which side is best to climb on?
Which side is best to jump off of once up? (Not dive, I've read that plaque) High tide only......
I'm thinking of giving it a go, just not sure how solid the rock is.....

[Tricouni]

The rock is pretty solid (but then I'm an old-school choss-a-holic), but it's not granite. Can be a bit brittle. The easiest route is up the side facing the seawall. Bottom half is easy; crux is the so-calles "slippery slab" just before the angle eases off near the top. Not difficult (5.4?), but can be well lubricated with bird sh*t. There might still be an old piton about half way up. A few small nuts might be handy.

There's another commonly done route on the west side. It makes a few moves up and just left of a prominent jutting-out overhang, then climbs dirt and steep grass to the top. Feels harder to me.

Years ago, some of us would spend lunch hours top-roping other lines, including really hard stuff on the east and north faces. I don't know what the current law is about climbing S.R. Nowadays, it's probably best to do it in the wee hours of the morning (take headlamps).

As for jumping off the top, you're on your own. Never done it. But I presume the north side would be the deepest. By the way, you need something like a 7 foot or lower tide to get across to the rock without swimming. We did a tyrolean traverse once; one of these days I'll find the photo and post it.

Glenn

[Brendan]

Looks like the tides are pretty low this week

[NateDoggOG]

Excellent, thanks for the info.

[damien]

Watch for a loose block on the west side.

[Dru]

I pulled Tricouni's "old piton" out by hand a dozen or so years ago. Promptly stuck it back in and pretended it was bomber. But the other members of our assault party claimed it wasn't and had to monkey with it further.

Which resulted in a block coming out during the rappel ( I think the pin was holding it in place), which hit our inflatable raft, knocking it out to sea, which resulted in a long cold swim for someone to rescue it at 3 AM in March.

Best advice is go when tide is low and you can wade. A medium nut and maybe a #2 friend is fine for rack iirc.