Pee-Wee’s Playhouse: An Old Crag Made New

In the spring and summer of 2026, with support of guides from the American Alpine Institute and volunteers from the Washington Climbers Coalition, Caden Martin led an Eagle Scout project to restore this long-forgotten crag on Mt. Baker Highway. Once buried beneath years of 30-years worth of moss and vegetation, the climbing area was brought back to life through nearly 100 hours of volunteer effort. Working together, Caden, AAI guides, members of the WCC, and Scouts from Bellingham Troop 4019 transformed the site into a welcoming destination for climbers once again.

The crag is open to both rock climbers and drytoolers. During the winter months, portions of the wall often develop thin ice smears (and sometimes more!), creating excellent mixed and drytooling opportunities. A good indicator of conditions is the road cut near the Nooksack Market—if you can see ice there, you’ll likely find a sheen of ice on sections of the crag as well.

Pee-Wee’s Playhouse consists of two distinct climbing areas. The first is the Main Wall, which contains the first five routes. The rightmost route on this wall is Today’s Magic Word, with four additional routes located immediately to its left. Beyond a break in the cliff, you’ll find the second area: a small detached tower known as The Theatre. The final five routes are located on this feature.

Approach:

Drive Mt. Baker Highway to Milepost 40 and park unobtrusively on the road to the now closed Excelsior Campground and the pump house. Hike back down the highway (west) and find the trail directly across the street from MP 40. Hike up the trail to Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. Stay on the trail and try to avoid disturbing the moss.

Note that you can access the top of the Main Wall via a trail on the right. In addition to that, there is a set of anchors that may be used to more safely approach the top of the wall to set-up topropes.

Interesting Fact:

The Boy Scouts found and explored a handful of small cave systems below the approach trail. Be wary of holes between the boulders on the approach. Some of them are deep!

Main Wall:

Today’s Magic Word (5.7/M2, 35’, 3 bolts) This is the first route on the far right hand side of the crag. Climb up and right, passing three bolts to an anchor. FA on TR: Jason Henrie, 1997; FFA: Caden Martin, June, 2026.

1. Today’s Magic Word (5.7/M2, 35’, 3 bolts) This is the first route on the far right hand side of the crag. Climb up and right, passing three bolts to an anchor. FA on TR: Jason Henrie, 1997; FFA: Caden Martin, June, 2026.
2. Big Top Pee-Wee (5.7/M3, 35’, 2 bolts, gear to 3”) Climb past two bolts, work along a ledge to a final near-vertical hand crack. FA: Jason Henrie, 1997.
3. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (10b/M4, 35’, 3 bolts) Climb up to the small overhang and stay left of the bolts on mildly honeycombed rock. FA: Jason Henrie and Rob Knowles, 1997.
4. Cowboy Curtis’ Wild Ride (5.10a/M4, 35’, 3 bolts ) Start at the mildly arching crack and work up into honeycombed pockets to reach the anchor. This may be the most fun route at the crag, both for rock climbing and drytooling. FA: Jason Henrie and Rob Knowles, 1997.
5. The Secret Show (5.10d/M4+, 35’, 3 bolts) This route was likely named the secret show because the first moves are not obvious at all. The difficulty eases after the first ten feet. There are great pockets on the upper part of the route for drytool fun. FA: Jason Henrie and Rob Knowles, 1997.

The final five routes can be found on “The Theatre,” the triangular-shaped tower to the left. All of these routes have bouldery starts with easier climbing above.

6. Jambi the Genie (5.6/M2, 30’, 3 bolts) The furthest right route on The Theatre, climb through the roof and continue up to the top. The first crux move can be skipped by climbing the ramp next to the log and clipping the second bolt. The remainder of the route is 5.4 to the anchors. FA: Caden Martin and Jason Martin, 2026.
7. Mecka-Lecka-Hi-Mecka-Hiney-Ho! (5.7/M2+, 35’, 4 bolts) An awesome lieback crux leads to easier terrain above. Be careful not to z-clip, as the first two bolts are close together. This line ends at the same bolts as the previous. FA: Caden Martin and Jason Martin, 2026)
8. Jail Time (5.6/M2, 35’, 3 bolts) This is the third route on the The Theatre. Lie back on the first bouldery move and then continue on 5.5 terrain to the anchors shared with Peep Show. FA: Jason Henry and Matt Diamond, 1997.
9. Peep Show (5.6/M2, 35’, 4 bolts) Make a bouldery move (harder the 5.6 without the right beta) to the first bolt, then continue up easier terrain. This line shares an anchor with Jail Time. If desired, the line can finish at the anchors for Bow Tie. FA: Jason Henrie and Rob Knowles, 1997.
10. Bow Tie (5.8/M2+, 30’, 4 bolts) The final route on the wall starts with a fun balancy ramp (5.8), followed by easier terrain. Finish on the left side of the feature and the arete. It is also possible to continue beyond the anchors up to the anchors for Peep Show. FA: Caden Martin and Jason Martin, 2026.