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Cleaning at Index


fenderfour

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There is a growing number of people interested in venturing away from the LTW and cleaning some of the forgotten routes at Index. I'd like to keep this thread going so that the larger climbing community can check out what we've been working on, and so that the routes can get some traffic to stay relatively clean.

 

Recently cleaned routes:

 

Private Idaho

Battered Sandwich 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour)

Magic Fern 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour, second pitch is still scruffy)

Senior Citizens in Space 5.8 (cleaned by Drepnick)

Wet Dream 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus, almost always wet)

Peanuts to Serve You 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour,just up the hill from Private Idaho)

 

Shady Lane

Free Range Chook 5.10b (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour)

Party Line 5.10a (Cleaned by Argus)

Chronic Relief 5.9 (Cleaned by S1W)

Eso No Se Hace 5.11? (Cleaned by S1W)

 

Rattletale Area

Avenging the Goddess Kring (Cleaned by David)

 

 

Get away from GNS and Godzilla and climb these routes!

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I'm all for cleaning of established lines and trundling of death blocks on new ones, but while climbing the lower town wall this afternoon (Wednesday June 3) there were several large blocks crashing down unannounced around the Thin Fingers area. This may have nothing to do with the aforementioned routes. In their defense, the trundlers were yelling "rock!" before most big crashes, but these block were seriously big enough to cause certain death of any person in their path. Just a reminder that if route cleaning is going on, we casual visitors would appreciate a banner of caution tape, a sign in the parking lot, or some other warning to stay away from that area. Keep up the good work, see you out there!

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If you see anyone on the Quary Wall, STAY OUT FROM BENEATH THEM (Don't go past Thin Fingers). A certain someone has been working on several cool new routes up there. However, it would be nice for him to post warning signs!

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If you see anyone on the Quary Wall, STAY OUT FROM BENEATH THEM (Don't go past Thin Fingers). A certain someone has been working on several cool new routes up there. However, it would be nice for him to post warning signs!

 

If they're still pushing blocks, I'd say Godzilla is the very limit of being safe. Seriously, last night, you could've been tagged by rock fragments if you were belaying Godzilla.

 

Whoever's cleaning should at least put a sign down low! The LTW is too popular.

 

I don't think it's related (or maybe it is), a good size rock fell from up above the black wall about 9ish. If anyone would have been in its path it would have been lights-out.

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The 3 things I've used successfully:

 

I once had Dan Forrester below me to roll a big block off the top of the cliff at Rocky Butte. This is a city park and fairly popular place. I had been shocked to have a finger crack behind a boulder roll towards me at the very top of a route while solo TR there, and resolved to cut the rock before it did in the next person. Dan and I started early and searched the entire area for people together looking for anyone. Then I ran up to the top and we continued to communicate with walkie talkies. He got safe and radioed me the go ahead then I rolled the block off.

 

Next I have used the caution tape to rope off large areas.

 

Lastly, once when I was cleaning at Ozone, I made up a mini poster with the header "DANGER" that I'd hang on a branch on the trail. It told folks of the cleaning efforts and asked people to both be aware of this danger, and to yell and notify me of their presence before they got to the base. This was very very successful, I got 100% compliance, and many climbers expressed their gratitude for it. The higher off the deck one gets, the more critical good communication is, as you cannot often see the base, and falling shit becomes more unpredictable.

 

Bless you all for this doing the work! Stay safe!

 

 

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In the past there had been a note posted on the stop sign by the railroad tracks when cleaning is going on in the quarry, it is easy to miss though. Most of the talus below thin fingers came down on its own from the large overhanging white section left of where routes are going in...its not exactly a safe spot.

 

Brad L and I gave the finger crack part of pressure drop a quick scrub a couple of weeks ago... it may need another once it is fully dry. There are lots of other routes in that area that could be re-de-mossed.

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There is a growing number of people interested in venturing away from the LTW and cleaning some of the forgotten routes at Index. I'd like to keep this thread going so that the larger climbing community can check out what we've been working on, and so that the routes can get some traffic to stay relatively clean.

 

Recently cleaned routes:

 

Private Idaho

Battered Sandwich 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour)

Magic Fern 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour, second pitch is still scruffy)

Senior Citizens in Space 5.8 (cleaned by Drepnick)

Wet Dream 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus, almost always wet)

Peanuts to Serve You 5.9 (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour,just up the hill from Private Idaho)

 

Hag Crag

End Run 5.10? (cleaned by Drepnick)

 

Shady Lane

Free Range Chook 5.10b (Cleaned by Argus and Fenderfour)

Party Line 5.10a (Cleaned by Argus)

Chronic Relief 5.9 (Cleaned by S1W)

Eso No Se Hace 5.11? (Cleaned by S1W)

 

Rattletale Area

Avenging the Goddess Kring (Cleaned by David)

 

 

Get away from GNS and Godzilla and climb these routes!

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Hag Crag

-End Run 5.10a

 

Scrubbed 10+ years of moss off with my WMD's (weapons of moss destruction) today. The bolts are bomber! Really fun slab straight out of D-Town.

 

If you go to Private Idaho or Lookout Point, go check out this one while you're there. A 60m rope will work fine for top roping.

 

Go get off your lazy butts and go climb something other than the LTW this weekend!

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i think i'm gonna climb GODZILLA dis weekend!

 

 

I will be teaching a class at the Great Northern Slab. We will be teaching rock climbing skills including how to place trad gear. We have 8 students and I'm hoping they can each get their first lead climb in this weekend. We did get a couple pair of those hand jammie things.

 

I'm definitely not calling "dibs" on the routes, but we are starting the approach at first light. Everyone is welcome to climb through if they want. There may be a rope, a helmet or a dropped #11 hex in the way...

 

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Thanks for the list Fender. Keep them coming.

 

I was up at the K Cliff today, which was pretty clean. We also climbed Al's Armed Response, which was filthy but a fun climb. I was wishing i had brought some brushes so i could clean up these ones. It seems like there are tons of forgotten routes that are fun climbs and could be brought back to life with some cleaning and some climber traffic.

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Mark and I were up there at Private Idaho and climbed a bunch of those routes. There is a route to the left of Magic Fern that is a LFC. I recall it is a 5.9. It's got salal and blackberries growing out of it. If it were cleaned, would it be any good?

 

I was thinking of hitting the growths with Roundup about a week before cleaning to ensure that the plants don't come back.

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