A thin, sustained arete with great finishing position.  Boulder to the first bolt, then launch into three bolts worth of very thin and technical crimping and high-stepping.  After a somewhat commiting deadpoint to a first-pad edge (it'll feel like a jug after what you've been pulling on), power over a slight bulge to a rest stance.  The rest of the climb involves classic arete liebacking.  The moves are easier than what's below, but stay technical and pumpy to the end.

The first 5.12 in the Tieton.  This climb was sent on a morning after.

Morning After

Serpent

Developing Arms

Dancing Madly Backwards

Cross-eyed and Painless

Thriller Pillar, Left Side

The Cutting Edge

Thriller Pillar, Right Side

Orange Sunshine

Western Front

Columns Holiday

The Overlord

The Leftovers

Solar King

Stress Management

Humpty Dumpty

Paul Maul

Thriller Pillar

Jam Exam

Entrance Exam (Now gone)

Cactus Love

Rough Boys

Rap Route

The Price of Complacency

X-Factor

Great route.  Start with some blocky face climbing (2-3 moves) then get into a perfect hand crack for about 50 feet.  Keep an eye on the face for some welcome foot holds.

I was attracted to the unusual looking variety on this. As with many routes at Tieton, this is pretty challenging for the grade. A little dirty and awkward but good too.

Burly.  Book says 5.9, so I put that as the grade... but it's a stiffy.  We just TRd it after leading Orange Sunshine, but it would be a fine lead if you brought some #3 and #4 camalots for the wide bit.  Enough face features keep the wide crack in check.

This one will get your blood going for the grade.

Really great lower angle thin moves on the lower half lead to a couple of thin crack moves around to the right.  Then a rest and easy climbing up to the roof .  From here you go straight over the roof onto rough somewhat chossy rock above with some strong moves then eases to the top.

A bit cruxy at the start, and then a long easy handcrack to the final steep, crux finish.  Enjoyable and worth doing.

Chimney and Layback your way up Thriller Pillar.

Start behind, placing gear in the main wall. As is narrows up, move out and layback your way to the top.

Climb the right leaning corner crack with a spooky blade shaped chock stone of questionable integrity mid way up . Good face holds keep it moderate. The crux is the last move (don't forget to to check the face for feet).

(There are allot of corner cracks in the area. The previous description was not specific enough to help climbers locate this climb)

Chimney on right side of pillar. Finish in a wide crack to the top.

Orange Sunshine hooked me on climbing.  Of course, I'd already been playing with the hook; I'd blown off much of my senior year of college bouldering at the UW Rock.  But on a warm summer evening in 1986, I discovered there was more to climbing than contriving moves on concrete.  The rock was bathed in the light of an amazing sunset.  Orange lichen glowed around the splitter sweep of the crack.  The sound of the river and the strong scent of sagebrush carried up from the canyon below.  I was toproping my first 5.10, and I was elated and surprised as I moved higher and higher without falling.  Eventually I did fall, but I was just as satisfied when I figured out the sequence of overhanging finger locks and footwork that ends the route.  When I awoke the next morning, Orange Sunshine was the first thing I thought of.

The crack begins as a flake that you can alternately jam and lieback, with good edges for the feet.  The first crux (5.10-) comes below a prominent break, where the crack narrows to finger pods.  You can cop a rest at the break, but then the true crux starts:  a gently overhanging flake, followed by pumpy finger locks with small edges and smears for the feet.  An insecure mantle provides a final surprise.

Fun, safe climbing on great stone.  Crux seems to be getting to the first bolt, though there are plenty of thoughtful moves above.

Face Climb up a wide pillar clipping bolts that lead to an overhang. Pull on over and top out.

Thanks to Walter for putting up this excellent new addition to the Orange Sunshine area. The Leftovers is a bolted sport climb on the arete to the right of X-Factor with modern, body-length bolt spacing. I though this climb was very similar to the style of Hard Last over on the Main Face area. Crimpy face climbing through the crux approximately midway (bolts ~3-5) through the climb.

With a one-move crux close to the ground, Solar King is an easy .11a tick, especially if you nail the right sequence of tips jams and stems.  The climbing eases to 5.9 after the start, but remains fun throughout, capped by a small overhang.

[The pillar Stress Management ascended toppled over on April 28, 2017.]

When first led in 1988, Stress Management featured three fixed pins (one of which was a tied off knifeblade), RPs finagled into imaginary fissures, and some stout runouts, including one through the crux.  It was also only rated 5.9.

Over the years bolts have continued to appear on the face, to the point where there's now considerably less stress to manage.

Not that this is a bad thing.  Stress Management is a great climb made better by modern protection.  It fully deserves the greater attention it now receives.  Just remember that when you cast off on the crux move and ponder where the bolt is, it used to be a #3 RP waiting to catch a screamer.

The climb starts with a truly difficult 5.7 move, a boulder problem getting past the initial bulge of Entrance Exam (5.7).  (Don't complain--it used to be rated 5.6.)  The move protects well with a medium Camalot.  Catch your breath, step right onto the pillar face, and place a good cam in a horizontal crack below a small roof (a #1 Flexible Friend works well).  Turn the roof, reach high for a fragile-looking jug, and clip a fixed pin if you want, or skip it and clip the bomber bolt just a half-move above.  Dance your way up edges large and small on great rock.  The crux comes near the top.

This crack was exposed when The Price of Complacency fell over. It is still pretty dirty, but is fun and takes gear well. Climb the cracks, down low the left crack is cleaner and better for placing gear and has good jams.  The crux is 3/4 of the way up moving around the shield feature, look for foot holds on the face. Finish right of the bush on lesser quality rock.

Thin finger crack, sustained and very fun.

Fun, balancy moves up the face to an overhang crux where great holds appear and keep it 5.9.

A 5.7 that is worth doing when at this wall. Make sure you protect the start well, because it is surprising hard for the 5.7 leader, and like the book says eases up higher up.

ATTENTION : AS OF 2017 THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS NOW GONE, NO LONGER A CHIMNEY. This route is kept here for the history of the area.

This is another good 5.9 crack. Fingers to hands, go to left side of roof at top.

I have also gone up the crack on the right side of the roof, cringing at the mossy, crumbly slopers up top.

This route is a step up from Jam Exam with a few tricky gear placements and more thought provoking moves.

I removed info about spooky chockstone that is no longer there. Also removed info about traversing to Solar King anchor since this climb now has it's own anchor.

Fun hand crack that can end on the anchors for Western Front or Rap Route.

Short hand crack that becomes a little off-width near the top.

This once was one of the better 60-foot sport routes of its grade in Washington, before the pillar it ascended toppled over on April 28, 2017.  It climbed an overhanging arete through a combination of left hand arete pulling and right hand edge cranking.  The story behind the route's name is recounted in Jim Nelson's Selected Climbs of the Cascades, Vol. II.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Orange Sunshine area