Santiam Pinnacle South Face

Activity Notes

Santiam Pinnacle

Objective:  Santiam Pinnacle

Route: South Face  

Leader: Erin Reaksecker 

Climb date: Oct 23rd, 2026

Start time: 8:00 am

Asst. Leader: Gary Ballou

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Meeting time and driving directions:  

Arrive by 7:45 am to be geared up and ready to hike in at 8:00 am at the Santiam Pinnacle parking pull-off. Note that there are no bathroom facilities at this parking area.

Head east on Hwy 20 out of Sweet Home. Parking is on the south side of Hwy 20 at milepost 60.5. Approximate location.

Carpooling is encouraged. Please sign up on the Carpool List , even if you plan to drive alone.

Roundtrip mileage from Portland is about 260 miles. The suggested gas contribution is $0.10 cents per mile, or $26 per person to a maximum of $78 per car, payable to the driver. The most dangerous part of the trip may well be the drive home, so please carpool for safety and take a nap if you need to.

There are no permits or fees required to complete this climb. 

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Climbing Skills:  

Technical rock climbing at 5.6

Multi-pitch transitions

Knowledge to safely attach to an anchor or ability to follow exact instructions to do so

Lead belay and belay from above by assigned members of each team

Rappelling with an autoblock

        *If you have not rappelled recently or often, review and practice beforehand

Approach, climb, and descent:

Santiam Pinnacle is a rock pillar with a bolted sport route on the south face that has three pitches of 5.6 climbing. Each pitch has bolted anchors at the top. After a short, but rugged approach taking about 10 minutes, we’ll prepare to climb at the base of the pinnacle. We’ll condense gear into 1-2 small summit packs per team carrying shared gear. 

We’ll plan to climb in three teams of two. 

The first pitch is dirty, but easy climbing. Pitch two is the crux, but has some nice jugs and well-spaced bolts. The third pitch has a few moves followed by easy climbing to the summit.

We will do one rappel off the back of the pinnacle to descend.

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Climbing Gear:

Helmet

Harness

Belay & Rappel device and autoblock with carabiners

Prussik cord

Rated personal pro with locking carabiner

Large locking carabiner

Climbing shoes

Anchor material with carabiners for bolted anchors - Erin and Gary

Sport or alpine draws, Erin and Gary

10 essentials:

First aid

Water / water purification

Navigation system

Sun protection

Headlight

Extra food

Extra clothing

Fire

Emergency shelter

Knife

Clothing:

Weather appropriate layers

Hiking shoes / approach shoes / trail runners (no sandals)

Small (15-20 liters) summit pack - followers will likely carry water and a few other items of the lead climber

Other:

Food:

Compact water

Snacks

Group gear:

2 60 m and 1 70m Ropes (Mazama ropes)