Skinner Butte (aka The Columns)

This popular wall is located in the heart of Eugene minutes from Elevation climbing gym, The Crux climbing gym, REI, and downtown pubs and restaurants. Despite its small size it has a great concentration of cracks. The basalt columns are all trad and TR lines that average 47 feet and have many nice bolted anchors and chains at top.The Columns get afternoon to evening sun and can be crowded with the after-work crowds. It is a great place to practice crack-technique and leading. The routes mostly range from 5.6 to 5.12 but the locals will tell you about the "off" holds and variations to make the climbs more challenging.Important note: The route-name board and ratings were done by someone who doesn't climb at The Columns (name omitted so as not to publicly shame him). Some of the ratings are therefore incorrect, both high and low. Also, many routes are missing from the board because the city's guide-writer didn't know that they exist. Trust Tom Rogers' old guide with ratings by Alan Watts (of Smith Rock fame).Finally, while the rock here is generally solid, occasionally the rock might break off. A few years back a large block came off the top of the route "Limp Dick." As a result, the right half of the crag has detestable chainlink fence over it. Luckily the best climbs remain open.

HISTORY Between 1893 and the 1930s, the columns were exposed by quarrying operations that provided rocks for the building of the Willamette Street and Shelton McMurphey House in Eugene. Material was moved by horse pulled wagons as well as narrow gauge railroad to the local construction sites. The remaining wide bowl of rock became popular for rock climbing around the 1940s.