twosmallcones

Imagine this… you are located in a beautiful area, surrounded by snow-capped mountains in every direction, rushing water from the many large rivers is running below you, and the sunshine is warming your body, spraying loads of Vitamin D into your skin. Ahhhhhh. This is exactly what we experienced yesterday during an amazing session of climbing at Tsaina River Gorge, only 27 miles from home.

Tsaina River Gorge is a very secluded, off the road climbing wall with spectacular views at every angle. Just a few feet from the Richardson Highway, this gorge is a small gold mine of fun sport climbing routes. It can only be accessed if rappelling from the top of the cliff down or running the Tsaina River on a kayak or raft. With the combination of a scenic mountain backdrop, a wild and rushing river below, and fun routes to climb, Tsaina River Gorge may be considered one of our newest favorite climbing areas in Valdez. It seems to also have a nice variety of climbing. The routes that we did started off with very thin, technical features and ended with large, acrobatic moves. Unfortunately, there is no guide book to tell us grade, the name of the climb, or any other detailed information, but from our guestimate, we do know that each route is roughly 60 feet or so, has an average of 8 bolts per climb, and is super fun to get on! We definitely look forward to going back to Tsaina River Gorge, conquering the remaining routes, and running laps to stay strong. Only miles from home, it is great to have a local crag to climb at. With Tsaina River Gorge now in our climbing equation, we currently have four local crags to choose from that are only minutes from our cozy home.

We drove the beautiful 27 miles home to end our night with a fire in our newly built backyard fire ring and enjoy what every climber longs for after a perfect day of climbing: some delectable brews.
Cheers.