Smith Rock and the Vertical Dance

Driving to Smith Rock State Park in Central Oregon from home isn't a terribly long trip but we went through Sisters and stopped for a burger. While Sharyn was getting the food I got out (for Doreen) to take a picture of the Bright Spot coffee drive-thru.


When we got to the park we parked the Musemobile and started hiking around the easiest trail...


... but first stopped to talk to Jonathan Schrock who Guides the climbers for Smith Rock Climbing Guides


I liked this assessment of rock climbing calling it a "Vertical Dance."


And what a dance floor this is surrounded by beautiful spires, rock faces and Oregon's Crooked River.

Natasha Denyer writes on Oregon Live's web page :

"Central Oregon's Smith Rock may not draw the concentrated crowds of big-name international rock climbers that it did in the 1980s, but it's still got those world-class walls, the juniper-infused air, the vertical dance of climbers on prickly, sun-drenched rock."

and later says

"Smith was at the forefront of the birth of sport climbing -- in which climbers clip their ropes to permanent bolts in the rock -- in the mid- to late '80s. About 80 people who were the world's best climbers would gather at Smith in those days, says Volk, who's been climbing at Smith since 1971 and lives next to the park. 'That was the real mystique of the place. Literally every name you'd read about in the magazines was here all at once.' "

Hikers and climbers were everywhere today ...


...all in the space of this one canyon...


... with a plethora of rock faces...


... that stand like gods of stone...


... living in a unique paradise.


The exquisite beauty of this place is impossible to capture and I knew that midday was not the perfect time for soft light...


... but I am happy with the shots I did get even though the three climbers in this picture are tiny specks...


... but occasionally they reach the top and can be captured


The rocks are ruggedly beautiful...


... and the views are astounding....


... and even the river below accents the beauty of this place.

Quote of the Day ~

"Climbing is unadulterated hard labor. The only real pleasure is the satisfaction of going where no man has been before and where few can follow." ~ Annie Smith Peck Born Oct. 19, 1850, Providence, R.I., U.S.—died July 18, 1935, New York, N.Y., American mountain climber whose numerous ascents—often record-setting and some at an advanced age—made her a remarkable figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.