Trip Date: May 27, 2025
Golden Hour Wall Sport-Climb
Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley
Civilian Conservation Corp Trail
Solar Storm Route (Class 5.6)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Taylor-Tolt Mountains
Locale: North Bend, WA
Setting: Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley
Approach Starting & Ending Point: CCC Trailhead adjacent to Middle Fork Trailhead parking lot on Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road (Elev. 1030 feet)
Approach Way Points: Middle Fork Campground connector trail junction & Nordrum Lookout Trail junction & long puncheon & Golden Hour Wall climber’s path junction & overhanging boulder & Golden Hour Wall base (trail hike)
Feature: Golden Hour Wall (Base Elev. 1375 feet)
Route: Solar Storm (3 pitches of sport climbing)
Approximate Stats for Approach (one way): 1.1 miles traveled; 330 feet gained.
Approximate Stats for Climb: 200 feet gained; 3.0 hours elapsed.
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Full Trip Report
Golden Hour Wall is a steep slab of granite located on the lower flank of Quartz Mountain in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley northeast of North Bend. This slab consists of strikingly white granite with a high content of quartz and plagioclase feldspar. It can be reached by a 1-mile hike on the historic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Trail and a climber’s path, starting at the Middle Fork Trailhead parking lot.
Eileen and I had never heard of Golden Hour Wall until our friend Andrew alerted us to its existence as a new climbing crag. According to Mountain Project, three multi-pitch routes—two sport and one trad—were established here in 2024. What caught our interest was a three-pitch sport route called Solar Storm, rated at Class 5.6. When we suggested to Yoko an exploratory trip, she immediately signed on.
The Approach
Eileen, Yoko, and I parked at the vast Middle Fork Trailhead parking lot on a warm Tuesday morning. We walked out to the entrance, crossed Middle Fork Road, and located the start of the CCC Trail adjacent to a roadside warning sign.
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Within a few yards on the CCC Trail, we found ourselves engulfed in a splendid west-side lowland forest of mature evergreen and broadleaf trees—including some giant maples that would look at home in the Hoh Rainforest! The forest floor is covered by a verdant carpet of moss and ferns and flowering plants, and the trail surface consists of well-graded gravel. The approach to Golden Hour Wall begins with a delightful stroll.
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After passing a marked spur trail leading over to the Middle Fork Campground, the CCC Trail steepens a bit and comes to an unmarked trail leading straight uphill (0.4 miles from TH). This trail leads to Nordrum Lookout. Turn left here and continue hiking along the CCC Trail as it makes a westerly traverse across the hillside. You will soon cross a short puncheon (low wooden bridge) and then a very long puncheon.
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From the long puncheon, continue hiking approximately 100 yards and look for a vague path heading off to the right (0.8 miles from TH). This is the Golden Hour Wall climber’s path. Follow the path as it makes a moderately steep ascent through the ferns and trees. It takes some vigilance to stay on this winding path; keep watching for boot tread and pink flagging.
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A notable feature along the path is a large, white, overhanging, granite boulder. Scattered chalk marks on this boulder indicate that it must be a popular spot for crash-pad climbers.
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Past the overhanging boulder, follow the path as it makes a very steep ascent and then a short leftward traverse over to the base of Golden Hour Wall (1.1 miles + 330 feet from TH). The Solar Storm route is easily identified by a long swath of clean granite bounded by mossy rock on each side.
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The Climb
After roping up at the base of the route, Eileen took the first lead. Pitch 1 involves 40 meters / 130 feet of delicate friction climbing on clean granite with a moderately coarse texture. It is well-protected by a whopping 15 bolts! Upon reaching a low wall with a two-bolt anchor, the pitch surmounts this wall and makes an unexpected leftward traverse on a sloping ledge, ending at another two-bolt anchor.
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Pitch 2 involves a few moves up blocky terrain, followed by a right-angling traverse over to a wildly contorted tree trunk. More friction climbing up a steep, well-protected slab ends at a two-bolt anchor on a wide, dirt-covered ledge.
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Pitch 3 involves a high-step off the ledge and then an interesting combination of friction, crack, and face climbing that ends at a final two-bolt anchor on a tilted slab. This pitch is about half as long as the first two pitches. We agreed that all three pitches warrant a 5.6 rating.
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The Descent
We descended by way of three rappels straight down the clean granite swath. Our first rappel was fairly short, but our second and third rappels took the full length of our 70-meter rope. In fact, our rope came up about 15 feet short on the third rappel, thereby necessitating that we do a short walk-off on a steep, muddy, side path—grungy but easy.
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Equipment Comments
We used a single 70-meter rope during our three-person climb. It is important to reiterate that on the second rappel, a 70-meter rope barely reaches the next anchor, and on the third rappel, it does not quite reach the ground. As such, a single 60-meter (or shorter) rope would be totally inadequate.
For protection, we used a dozen quickdraws and two extended slings. Due to the close spacing of the bolts, one could do the route with fewer quickdraws by merely skipping selected bolts. Having a couple more extended slings would be valuable for reducing rope drag on the traversing portions.
Yoko wore conventional rock shoes on the climb, whereas Eileen wore Five-Ten Guide approach shoes and I wore La Sportiva TX Guide approach shoes (reviewed here). In the end, we each found that our footwear provided adequate friction on the coarse granite.
Route Map & Profile
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Photo Gallery
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