Ethan & I headed over to Frenchman Coulee on this mild, partly cloudy day. Our plan was to hike the south rim of the South Alcove (aka Echo Basin) where we had never been before. The climber's encampment at the Middle Alcove was so crowded when we arrived about 10:15 that we had some difficulty finding a good place to park. This was apparently one of the few sunny climbing spots in the state today, so it seemed that every rock climber in the state was here. We followed the clear trail up onto Frenchman Coulee Rib and over to the Sunshine Wall Slot (aka Tunnel), then walked around to the end of Echo Basin and out the top of the cliffs on the south side of the Basin. There were lots of big clouds and not much nice light at first, but as we started walking up the south side of the Basin we were greeted with a rainbow over Sunshine Wall. We made our way to a nice lunch spot about 3/4 of the way up the Basin. As we ate we had everything from nice warm sun to a cool, cloudy breeze with some sprinkles. After lunch we walked a little farther west along the rim of the Basin, then made our way back to the car. The Rib was crawling with climbers, but once past the end of Echo Basin, we only saw a couple of other people. The grass was green, there were still a few wildflowers, and it mostly mild. It seemed more like spring than the middle of November.

Despite being primarily a climbing place, Frenchman coulee makes for some fun walking. Getting to the sunshine wall involves a neat decent down a little slot in the basalt. Just be careful as it does involve a very short scramble. Check out the Goran Kropp memorial, what an amazing guy. It's on the "Air Guitar" route, which is maybe the third alcove riverward of the entrance to the sunshine wall. Climbers are usually friendly and can point out where it is. Watch out for climbers above you as loose rock can come loose.

Fall and Spring is best seasons to climb / hike in vantage. It can be cold on the morning, but it is ideal conditions during the day (if it is sunny day). This is mostly "Climbers Land", but hiking can be fun as well. It is number of trails and "game trails", just don't lost here ;)

I had a poor alpine climbing season this year, with fewer trips than I had hoped for, but at least I can finish with a nice shot of me at the top of "Easy Off" (5.10c) at Vantage. I didn't lead this route, but if you had told me a year ago when I first cragged here that I'd be top-roping 5.10c and leading 5.7 on those otherworldly basalt columns, I would have called that an entirely unrealistic goal. It was a good day. We finally got chased off the rock by some light rain around 3:30M Routes I climbed: - Ride 'em cowboy (5.9) - top rope - Party In your Pants (5.8) - top rope - A half-column 5.7 crack - I lead trad - Easy Off (5.10c) - top rope. I'm really happy I challenged myself on this one. I had to rest on the rope three times, but I cleared the hard moves without falling. - Peaceful Warrior (5.6) - I lead bolted. This was the first route I ever climbed at Vantage and I still remember how exhausted it left me. What a difference this year; I sprinted up the easy holds clipping draws along the way! - Tangled Up in Blue (5.9) - top-rope. A year earlier, on my first trip to Vantage, I wasn't even able to get off the ground on this one.

Ethan & I decided to stay in the sun today, so we headed off to Frenchman Coulee. We hiked the 2-track up to the waterfall & then climbed a talus field to reach the top of the cliffs on the north side of the coulee. Once on top we walked west a ways & found a nice spot for lunch. Afterwards we walked west along the top of the cliffs & then down onto Babcock Bench at the mouth of the coulee, picked up the 2-track, & followed it back to the car. It was mostly clear when we arrived, but the puffy clouds increased all day. It was a little breezy at the trailhead, but calmer once we were in the coulee. It was quite windy, however, on top of the cliffs in the afternoon. There was lots of nice rabbitbrush in bloom along with some small asters. The sagebrush is also in bloom & sometimes was almost as colorful as the rabbitbrush. There were lots of climbers in the area, but didn't encounter very many hikers.