Planning a trip to Skaha in mid March. Info needed.

[Khoi]

I’m planning a rock climbing trip for March 13 (Friday) – March 15 (Sunday). We would be leaving from Vancouver, BC. My first choice is Skaha, BC.

I have never been there before. Some of my friends have in years past, but I don’t know yet if they can come.

There is so much that I do not know regarding the feasibility of doing a rock climbing trip in Skaha in the middle of March.

Will the brand new parking lot and its access road be open by then? Are there any campgrounds that will be open and operating by then? Any nearby? What kind of facilities do they have? Cost?

If no campgrounds are available, then where are the cheapest lodgings? If there are no cheap lodgings, I’ve heard that there are quiet spots along some roads that you can camp at. Can anyone please elaborate?

What will the daytime (early morning, mid morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, etc.) temperatures be like? More importantly, how many hours of daylight can we expect?

Anything else we should know about in regards to doing a climbing trip in Skaha in the middle of March?

If, for whatever reason(s), Skaha can’t work then the backup plan is Smith Rock, Oregon.

I’ve been there, so I am familiar with the area. I know exactly how to get there, and the locations of the parking lot, campsite, and facilities. It is not my first choice due to the obvious reasons that it is much farther away, we would have to go through U.S. Customs, the exchange rate sucks once again, and I haven’t paid that speeding ticket I got on I-5 in Snohomish County, Washington, yet.

But if we do end up going there, what will the daytime (early morning, mid morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, etc.) temperatures be like? Will there be enough snow to interfere with climbing? How many hours of daylight can we expect?

Will going over Mt. Hood be a problem due to the snow? If so, then what alternate route should we take?

I’d greatly appreciate any and all beta!

Thanks!

[Dru]

Parking lot may not be open by then:
http://www.skaha.org/

If not, go climbing in Kelowna instead. same great rock, free parking, less crowds.

[raythebiker]

hey yah, skaha should be great in march, prolly daylight from 6 till 6..atleast. probabaly a anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees. i live in kelowna and was climbing at our local crag and skaha in the end of february and riding my motorbike to work. as for the new parking lot, i dont know if it will be open but shoud be by then...

there probabaly wont be any campgrounds open though, if u look on sattelite images of penticton you will see a bunch of logging roads that u can camp on.

kelowna might be a good choice though, 3 main crags mostly south facing, free camping. u can pick up the guidebook at chapters here or the crux climbing gym.

[pinner]

Skaha will be great in March. It's such a monstrous area that sees such little use beyond the first few crags, you'll meet a few Calgary and Canmore climbers visiting for the warm temps, but it'll be all yours other than that. Chilly in the canyons, but there are plenty of good south facing open crags too. The rattlers won't be out either. Tons of top notch sport climbing - crimper heaven, if that's your bag. This is where I learned to climb gear, and man is it forgiving - face climbing around cracks, hardly any that require jamming (joe's crack at 5.9 and an awesome 10b? at grassy glades are waiting if jamming is your bag though), and soft grades all around make you feel like a superhero. Camping very nearby, across the road from Skaha lake - don't know if it'll be open or not though. Good time to go actually - in the summer it is impossible to get a campsite, and it's rowdy and noisy as hell. Parking lot may be an issue too, and the north end is quite tricky these days... Have a good trip!

[Khoi]

Can you guys tell me more about climbing in Kelowna? How it it for sport climbing?

[raythebiker]

kelowna is mostly sport climbing. the main crags are kelowna crags(cedar park) lonely boy crag, lonely girl crag and the boulderfields. they are all excessible from chute lake and gillard forest service road, so they are all kind of in the same area. i think the boulderfields may require a 4wheel drive...
its a pretty quiet area even though its good. so you wont see to many crowds. the area is also fairly close to town. google "kelowna rock" and i think there is a newer website out there for it somewhere.

theres tons of good 10's and 11's and a few 12's in the area. mt.boucherie which is on the other side of the bridge on the way in to kelowna is also worth checking out. and the access is about 2 seconds of walking, so it might be a good place to hit on your drive up.

[Access Society of BC]

The plan is to have it open sometime in mid-March. As the road is not maintained in the winter it will be snow permitting. Updates will be posted on www.access-society.ca, as well I'm sure on skaha.org...

[the alpine scrub]

does anyone have the latest word on the open-ness of skaha?

I'm guessing if we had someone to drop us off we could get dropped at the old lot still ?

[marooned]

The old lot at Skaha is now closed, and the new lot opens mid-March. If you are planning on climbing before then, just get dropped at the new lot, not the old. Or, just park on the road leading up to the new lot. Directions are available at skaha.org.

As for Kelowna, don't expect to get into the Boulderfields until at least April - it's up out of the valley a ways, and the snowpack is sticking around. The lower crags (Cedar, Lonely) are ready to go in another week or two. I hear that some people have been out to Mt. Boucherie, which is lake level.