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Overview
The east face of Beck Hill is (seemingly) the standard route up the impressive Beck Hill rock formation. There is a well-trodden trail leading to the steeper sections high on the peak.
Beck Hill
Getting There
See main Beck Hill page
Route Description
From the big boulder on the unofficial trail, head west, quickly gaining elevation on a decomposing talus slope. The trail should be fairly obvious -- obvious being a relative term. But when I climbed it it was easy to follow. After a few hundred feet of elevation gain, a series of ledges and blocky steps are reached. There seemed to be numerous options at each section, usually by going right or left. However, eventually the goal is to reach a little slot (see pictures.) Scrambling through the slot leads to a beautiful bowl, with the summit pinnacle towering above you. Scramble northwest up some slabs to a notch below the east side of the tower. It would appear that a steep, but feasible class 4 route could be climbed from this gap. However, when I was there, I was solo, and didn't really feel like risking it without a partner on hand. So I dropped down the gap to a beautiful vegetated spot north of the tower -- this is truly a magical place. From there I saw that the north face of the tower, although significantly taller than the other sides, appeared to have a steep but moderate route up towards the summit. I wasn't sure how it would go but this looked like the best option. The route I took started on the left side of the face -- right of a deep alcove. A steep class 3 move led to mellower terrain. The route moved up and right, crossing over two narrow slots as I climbed. There is a prominent bush just below the last summit block. Aim to climb to the right side of this bush. At this point there is a nice flat platform there, and a west-facing wall. A few easy 3rd (maybe 4th) class moves leads up and left, around a corner. From there steep 3rd class climbing on iron-oxide flakes leads to the nicely satisfying summit.
Descent: Climb back down the route, taking extreme caution. While the climbing is not particularly difficult, there is a lot of moss and a ton of exposure. This would be a very bad place to fall.
The following pictures roughly show the key spots in the ascent.
Essential Gear
Sticky approach shoes would be best, a rope and some slings for those uncomfortable with exposure. Food, water, camera.