goatboy

I believe the Dolphin Route is in the Split Rock area, not far from Bird of Fire. It's a flaring, strenuous, grovelly chimney that is rated 5.7 but will make you bemoan the day you laced up shoes, if you take it lightly. An absolute J Tree classic for suffering and improbability!!! If there has ever been a place that humbles you at 5.7, it's the monzonite playground of the great Mojave.

Hey Good to Go, Thanks for the perspective and I appreciate your points. Allow me to respond to a few of your comments and questions. 1) I don't see how they could have been unaware of the trespass as there are in fact signs posted at the point where the road meets the trailhead where they came from. 2) As for speaking to them, they were racing by at full, loud speed about a football field away. Impossible to speak to them. 3) However, when done climbing for the day, I did drive down the road with the intent to speak with them and they had already left. That's when I saw the signs posted. 4) Even if they were ignorant of the rules for whatever reason, that does not entitle them to do something as destructive as what they did. 5) So while I may be a little bit harsh, perhaps you will consider the possibility that you are being a little bit lenient. 6) I think more signage is a fine idea but the existing signage didn't work -- not sure why these particular riders would respond differently to MORE signage. Perhaps that is up to the land use manager to determine, as is his job. 7) I don't know what f'ing chivatos are but if you want to perceive my post as encouraging the community to be that, you may do so. What I want is for the Coulee not to have motor bikes tearing it up. If that makes me a chivato, then I will happily be one. I think it's great that you're a member of the biking community who follows the rules, and I appreciate your perpective. But I disagree with you.

Whether to bolt, or not, is a gray area that can be argued (and is in fact argued) endlessly and without resolution. That is a valid conversation that continues to have its place in the climbing world. Riding motorcycles in a wildlife refuge is not a gray area. It is absolutely, irrefutably, and simply, illegal and destructive to habitat. And we as climbers can choose, if we wish, to take responsiblity to protect the area in which we climb. I have no doubt that the bolting argument is another facet of "protecting the area in which we climb" but I think the nature of that dicussion arises from an ethical standpoint, not and environmental/habitat standpoint.

This doesn't really make good sense even after your judicious editing, Crack.

thanks for the info. To clarify what I saw, they were in the basin immediately below the Sunshine Wall -- could have maybe hit them with a well thrown frisbee. If anyone else saw this happening, please let the wildlife manager know. Thanks! Dave -- PM on the way!

I would encourage folks who are planning to go to Vantage to put these numbers in their cell phones: 509-762-1160 or 1-888-431-9911 - Grant County Sheriff 509 765-6641 - Wildlife Area Manager If you see or hear motorized vehicles in the Coulee, it's illegal. Please report!

Thanks for the confirmation. Did anyone there in the last few weeks happen to GET pictures of them out there???

Today, I enjoyed a glorious spring day climbing at Vantage. The only low point of the day was seeing 3 guys on motor bikes doing laps around the valley floor, in what I understand to be a protected wildlife area. Seeing them tear across the desert floor in a cloud of dust and create new trails in the cryto-biotic soil out there was hard to believe. In speaking with some local climbers, apparently this group has been out there every weekend as of late. I tried to look up the land use agency for Frenchman's Coulee to verify the local rules regarding motorized vehicles, but was unable to get definitive info online. If anyone here can speak to the actual land use policy re. motor bikes in the coulee, please do. I am fairly sure that they're verboten. What I did find: WCC LINK I intend to contact the local land use agency and make them aware of the motorized vehicle traffic in the coulee. If you were there today climbing and were unhappy about it -- or if you are simply concerned about it in principle -- please join me in making a simple call to the local land use manager. Thanks for reading, Steve

That's a LONG day. Nice work....

Great thread topic, by the way!

Isn't that fixed #4 on the Gendarme kinda high up? Don't you need a 3.5 to reasonably get to the #4? I haven't been up there in years, but I remember it being about 3/4 way up the pitch or thereabouts....

Update on Blazermania status in P Town?

"However, while they admire the adventure of it all, they are not encouraging others to try the same thing."

Thanks for the updates!

In related news: MORE BAD NEWS FOR FISH

Any TR's from all this activity on Chair Peak??? Curious about updates on NE Buttress and N Face routes.... Thanks.

Wow -- so different than conditions I've seen in the past which was basically thick ice and neve the whole way.... What a different experience, climbing it in these mixed conditions.... Nice work! Also, a big day from the car in the short days of winter!!! I bet I would have been exhausted too....

Nice photo of the so-called "oatmeal flakes!" Kind of easy climbing but a little thoughtful as the rock is absolutely bleak for a stretch...

Outstanding! Sounds like a fair amount of sugary snow but you guys made a go of it. The photos are great too.

That perfectly summarizes J Tree altogether -- fun, but pretty stiff (for whatever grade you're on). BEWARE 5.9+ at J Tree!!!!!

Can't wait to hear that story! Could this be a possible "epic" for LINK Wayne's site?

Great shots but the skier navigating through the schrund is fabulous!

That strange block of granite sticking out of the fin (behind Lucie) is one of the most bizarre things when viewed from any angle. It seems so improbable when you're up there, and also when I gawk at it from home. The rest of the fin is so uniform and planar in this section, and that one feature juts out so prominently..... Any of you geo-geeks care to comment on it's formation?

RR "hosts" suck some serious horse-^$%#*.

Minx, Questions you might ask yourself: 1) What does the vet say is wrong with the pet and what are the options for treatment? 20 How old is this pet and how might the different options affect the quality of life from this point forth? 3) Which treatments can I afford to pay for? My point is that once you've identified the medical problem and the options, and eliminated the ones that you can't afford even if you want to, what's left if a personal decision that only you can make. The answer to that question for a new pet with a long life ahead of it might be very different than that of a pet who might not live more than a few months regardless....so, it's relative. One might be more likely to inspire you to spend inordinately, the other -- maybe not so much....