Climbing at the Lost Wall

The Lost Wall in all its hidden glory. Our route climbs the dihedral (book-like formation) on the left.

It's not exactly on the same level as the "Lost World" Jack Black travels to in King Kong, but the "Lost Wall" located in the forests and hills of the Flathead Valley hides is nevertheless a place worth seeking out, especially by those desirous of adventurous rock climbing. Since being home this summer I've made several trips out to this secluded location. Strangely enough the two trips featured two climbing disciplines not often associated with each other: traditional lead climbing and bouldering. Both are specialties that require their own training and technical expertise.

The first trip was with two good friends, Dan and Strider, to climb the 5.9 crack to the left side of the wall. We climbed the 200 footer in two pitches and were able to rap off the chain anchors at the top using two 60 meter ropes.

Me climbing with Dan on belay duty. I'm top-roping the first section that Dan led before running out of gas and lowered.

The second was with a buddy from high school, Ryan, who was in town visiting friends and family and looking for a climbing partner on that Saturday morning. Although the weather had been rather wet over the past week, we decided to go out and explore the potential of climbing in the boulder field at the foot of the Wall itself. We worked a couple of really hard overhanging problem that were relatively dry before the sun came out around noon and started drying things out. We found evidence of other climbers and tried several problems indicated by characteristic chalk marks. The highlight of the day was sending the new route Spayed and Neutered, a razor sharp knife-edge with a hip-shifting top out.

Ryan on Spayed and Neutered on an attempt right before the First Ascent.

My hope is to become familiar enough with the area to be able to take camping trips out there, take laps on the traditional climbing routes, and establish new boulder problems. I've heard rumors of a Montana Bouldering Guidebook that would feature a section on the Lost Wall. It would be great to be a part of something like that.

Pictures to come...