Snow Creek Wall — Outer Space
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Outer Space is the classic 5.9 of Washington granite — a 6–7 pitch, ~700 ft trad line up the Shield headwall of Snow Creek Wall, famed for an exposed crux traverse (P3) and a sustained, chickenhead-studded money hand crack up high. Only ~10 min from Leavenworth (cell/wifi in town) but it climbs like a full committing day: a 2-mi/500-ft approach and a loose, route-finding walk-off where parties most often get benighted.
🚗 Getting there & comms
Trailhead: Snow Lakes Trailhead (Snow Creek), Icicle Creek Rd
From US-2 at the west end of Leavenworth, take Icicle Creek Rd (FR 7600) ~4.2 mi to the large Snow Lakes TH lot on the left. NW Forest Pass. ~10 min from town.
⛽ Last services: Leavenworth, WA (~4 mi / 10 min) — gas, food, groceries; Cascade Medical ER in town.
📶 Cell signal: LTE in Leavenworth + intermittently near the TH; unreliable in Icicle Canyon, at the wall, and on descent — treat the climb as off-grid, carry inReach.
🧗 Routes
🥾 Approach · descent · season
Approach: Hike Snow Lakes Trail #1553 ~2 mi to ~3,200 ft, directly across from Snow Creek Wall. Drop left to a climbers' path, cross Snow Creek on a log/logjam (caution at high spring flow), then scramble ~500 vertical ft of talus to the base. ~1.5–2 hrs; start early (SE/S face bakes by midday).
⬇️ Descent: Walk-off: from the top trend climber's LEFT, follow cairns into gullies dropping S/SW back to the base — loose scree + exposed 3rd/4th class, ~1 hr, easy to lose; headlamp strongly advised. Bail: the Shield can be rapped with two 60m ropes (≈3 double-rope raps to Two-Tree Ledge, then a 4th-class downclimb).
🗓️ Season: Late spring–fall; best May–June and Sep–Oct. SE/S aspect bakes midday — climb early. Snow can linger in approach gullies early season.
🎒 Gear & food
Rack: Single cams green Alien/0.3 to #3, DOUBLES in hand sizes (triples in hands nice for P5/P6); nuts; a dozen alpine draws/long slings; cordelette — most anchors are gear.
Ropes: Single 60m climbs it (standard walk-off). A 2nd 60–70m only if rapping the Shield as a bail.
✅ Before you leave the trailhead
Auto-built from this dossier — ticks save on this device.
🏕️ Land · camp · water · permits
🪧 Land & passes: Okanogan-Wenatchee NF (Wenatchee River RD); Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
📋 Permits: NW Forest Pass at the TH. Day climbing needs no wilderness permit (the Enchantments overnight quota does NOT apply to a Snow Creek Wall day).
⚠️ Hazards · fire · emergency
- Walk-off: loose scree + exposed 3rd/4th class, hard-to-follow cairns — frequent benighting; carry a headlamp
- Long committing 800-ft wall; afternoon storms + building heat on the SE/S face
- Snow Creek log crossing dicey at high spring runoff
- Rockfall on the talus approach + from parties above
- Exposed crux traverse (P3); sandbag potential
- Ticks in spring/early summer
🆘 Emergency contacts
- Emergency (Sheriff / SAR / Medical) 911 — Chelan County Sheriff leads SAR here; 911 routes to RiverCom
- RiverCom 911 Dispatch (SAR request) 509-663-9911 — Regional dispatch; request Chelan County SAR
- Cascade Medical Center (nearest ER, 24/7) 509-548-5815 — 817 Commercial St, Leavenworth
🌤️ Live conditions
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👀 In the field
Tap any for ID, edibility & first-aid.
📍 Nearby & other interest
- Orbit (5.8+, Snow Creek Wall classic)
- Mary Jane Dihedral (5.9)
- White Slabs (5.7)
- Castle Rock + Icicle Canyon crags (shorter days)
💬 Comments
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