Climbing group buys Index wall

Published 1:18 pm Friday, August 27, 2010

INDEX – A group of rock climbers announced Friday that they’ve raised enough money to buy the Index Lower Town Wall.

The Washington Climbers Coalition stepped up to purchase the rock climbing wall after a private landowner considered selling the property to a quarry.

The coalition got their funds from a loan from Access Fund, a national climbing advocacy group based in Boulder, Colo., and donations from climbing organizations and businesses.

The coalition also announced it is working with Washington State Parks on a possible donation of the property.

The Lower Town Wall is the state’s most famous climbing destination apart from Mount Rainier. The Lower Index Town Wall is granite riddled with huge cracks to grab and edges that provide challenge and variety for rock climbers.

As early as the 1950s, mountaineers practiced scaling the sheer walls that zoom up 500 feet and higher. In the years since, climbers have established hundreds of climbing routes.