Black Spider Climbing Guide - Download

The Black Spider is one of Oregon’s most enigmatic climbing objectives. This large headwall on the east side of Mt Hood is said to contain some of the region’s best alpine climbs - or unreasonable loose rock and objective hazard - depending on whom you ask. For most of my climbing career I assumed I wasn’t strong (or crazy!) enough to try any routes on the Spider. I’d read about Wayne Wallace’s dozen attempts to complete the first ascent of Center Drip, and I’d looked at the strangely meandering lines and intimidating grades on the old, hand-drawn topo. After climbing Yocum Ridge in 2020, however, my partner and I agreed we were ready to take a look, unsure of what we’d find. Over the next few climbing seasons I made many trips to the Spider, often finding no ice, or fleeing due to rockfall, but occasionally getting up some exceptional, long, moderate ice climbs! The goal of this writeup is to provide a comprehensive, updated overview of the Black Spider and its routes, reflecting how they are often climbed in contemporary practice. I’ll begin by discussing some background information on the hazards, climbing season, and approach, and then provide a description of each route, of course including a lot of photos!