Jay Richards leading “Searching for Elvis”

It was over a decade ago that Jay Green and I drove the logging roads of Silver Star Mountain searching for Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is actually two pinnacles. You see them off to the northwest when you are driving on I-84 just before you come to Troutdale. We drove to a dead end and decided not to drive endlessly around but to get out of the car and bushwhack uphill until we could see over the ridge, and then maybe we could see our prize. We both stepped out with minimal gear because we were convinced it would take us only a few minutes. Just as we lost sight of Jay’s car I pointed out some of the numerous black bear scat piles next to our little deer trail we were following. It was then that Jay revealed to me that this was the farthest he had traveled in the woods without a gun and it made him nervous. I thought he was joking until he looked at me and I could tell he was not. He was a guy who liked his guns. Years later Jay pioneered such hard climbs as “Packing Heat” and “Closet Nazi”.

At the end of that day, we found our prize, explored around both pinnacles, both of us claiming who was going to bolt and climb which route first like, we owned the place. The sun was about to set so we hurried back without getting lost and planned endlessly how we would make this new find of ours a very special place for us and our friends.

Multiple trips ensued with multiple partners before I bolted and climbed “Searching for Elvis” 5.11b on the east flank of the main pinnacle. Dave Sowerby bolted an equally impressive route just behind it on the minor pinnacle. It was going to have to wait for a redpoint on Dave’s next trip because it was in the 5.11d neighborhood.

I went back a few times that year and the next only to savor my prized route never adding any other lines. It overhangs gently all 55 feet where it tops out next to a convenient walk off. It begins with short pulls on thin holds, but as you gain height on the route the pulls grow farther apart with larger and larger holds keeping the pump from getting too bad. Jay and I never made Chimney Rock the next Smith Rock, nor did we make it the next Broughton Bluff but I never stopped discovering new climbing areas close to Portland. Jay unfortunately, tore his shoulder a few years later and quite climbing to join the National Guard full time. Chimney Rock takes 45 minutes of driving followed by 45 minutes of walking to get to from Portland. I’ll share with you my discoveries that are within a 2-hour radius of Portland in this blog. Hopefully, you’ll make your own discoveries.

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