Tears of a Clown Area, 5.8-5.10a

6487 Hits
79.04% Score
10 Votes

Bob Marshall Country
- Additional Parents
- The Sawtooth Range
Tears of a Clown Area, 5.8-5.10a

Page Type:	Mountain/Rock
Lat/Lon:	47.88400°N / 112.717°W
Activities:	Sport Climbing, Toprope
Season:	Spring, Summer, Fall
Elevation:	5106 ft / 1556 m
	Sign the Climber's Log!

Overview

Most people who drive into the canyon of the North Fork Teton River in the summer are either fishing or heading to the wilderness trailheads at Cave Mountain and road's end, but sport climbers can find some bolted routes out here, including a multi-pitch one that goes up over 500' and provides a bit of an alpine feel due to the length and the setting.

A drive through this area will reveal that there is a lot of route potential out here, including for long multi-pitch routes, and the author of the Mountain Project page for this area hints that there may be new routes going in right now. This page covers the routes that I know are there and which I have climbed.

Getting There

About five miles north of Choteau, look for a west-heading road with signs indicating fishing and access to the Teton Pass Winter Sports Area. Take this road. 17 miles along, a road will branch left, cross the river, and become gravel. DO NOT take this road. Instead, stay straight (a sign will say you are on 144); the road will soon turn to gravel (well-maintained and probably passable even to a Corvette), enter the mountains, and take you through some gorgeous mountain scenery that almost no one outside Montana knows is there. The Cave Mountain Recreation Area is about 5.5 miles from the fork.

Turn into this location, but instead of driving to the campground or trailhead, find a dirt road on the left just after you cross the bridge and drive this short road to its end. Find a trail leading to the cliff, which you actually passed about a quarter-mile before reaching the recreation area.

Note: flooding has washed away parts of the trail and you may have to negotiate brush or unstable banks at times.

A better way to get to the climb is to park off the road just across the stream from it, clamber down, and cross the stream if it is low enough.

Routes

Four routes begin from the ground here. Three are clustered about 50 yards left of the fourth (Tears of a Clown). Traveling between the two spots will likely require going through pools of water.

From left to right:

Chert on My Shirt-- 5.8+
Cherty Business-- 5.10-
Cherty Kurty-- 5.10a; this had some awkward moves and sketchy rock that made it feel spicier than Cherty Business.
Tears of a Clown-- 5.7-5.9+, 6 Pitches