pope
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Posts posted by pope
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"Not climbing, in an alpine sense...."
It seemed closer to climbing than what I witnessed out at Exit 38 recently. Tell Greg I have his wooly blanket.
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I was involved in placing the rap station at the top of Brass Balls, and I am proud of our fine workmanship and contribution to the climbing community. I am surprised to hear of those who dislike it; until now I have heard nothing but very positive feedback. After 35 years of extensive climbing I've only placed a handful of bolts; a rappel station at the top of BB not only seemed like a no-brainer, but will likely save someone's life at some point. My close friend who helped should be dead right now from pulling off a loose block on the dangerous, loose, poorly protected choss above BB. Headfirst fall on to a ledge with no pro, the rope miraculously catching on a rock protrusion nearly cutting through...how again did he survive?
I apologize to the few; feel free to not use it. The overwhelming majority are gonna LOVE this new rap station!
Tom Michael
Tom, I suggest you buy your friend a helmet and tell him to test every hold. Bolts at the Brass Balls belay would not have added one ounce of safety to your friend's ascent to Logger's Ledge. Instead, bolts would have provided a means by which your friend could escape passage through some 4th-class terrain which every rock climber should know how safely to ascend. And please remove the anchor you constructed so that somebody doesn't have to clean up your trash.
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Telemarker...it was fascinating to read about all the routes for which you didn't have to wait in line. Time well spent.
For years, Castle Rock was practically the last place in Leavenworth where fixed anchors didn't dominate the belay anchors and protection schemes. With few exceptions, to climb at Castle meant finding security using the gear you carried and the cracks available. Generations of climbers enjoyed this rewarding experience.
Adding an anchor to Brass Balls or Jello Tower may offer convenience, but it's not worth the price. As Webster points out, additional bolts promote additional bolts. It won't be long before bolts are added to protect Damnation's wide cracks. Many here will comment they don't have a problem with this. Well I do.
Before some of you who call yourself "locals" likely remember, the outside corner left of Saints was bolted, offering 40 or 50 feet of obnoxious sport climbing. The "route" ended at a sport anchor 5 feet below the Saints/Angel belay ledge. A Wenatchee resident and I removed this nonsense while one of the most prolific Leavenworth locals of all time kept us hydrated.
The belay on Brass Balls is so perfect. No matter what's left on your rack, you can find superb anchorage in that crack. The new bolts allow climbers to descend and thereby avoid climbing to Loggers Ledge. Is that convenience really worth completely changing the nature of this experience? If you think the benefits of this change are worth the cost, you clearly do not care about rock climbing. What you advocate is some kind of engineered, artificial experience. Shame on you for not desiring something better.
Finally, I'm curious about the guys who consider themselves "Leavenworth locals". Reading through the comments in this thread, I get the impression they assume they have authority over decisions made on land owned by the public, just because they live in a Bavarian theme park which happens to be located in the vicinity. I'm furthermore curious to know why anybody would take some kind of dish-washing job in Leavenworth to support their passion for climbing. If it were Yosemite I could understand.....
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You want more crowds/traffic at Castle Rock? Just bolt it to a point where it is completely unnecessary to bring a rack of nuts (yes...there is a dual meaning here). But I see you are already working on this. That anchor on Brass Balls is ridiculous but everybody chimes in with support. And then Mr. Webster nearly apologizes for questioning bolts next to cracks on Castle Rock.
You guys can go to Hell. Anybody want to buy my rack before there is no place remaining to use it?
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Raindawg, whats your real name?
Just wait....MattP will disclose the name, address and social security number. Standard practice around here.
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Didja really shoot those white-tailed deer in the Sky Valley?
[img:left]http://www.rcnw.net/forums/uploads/gallery_1_4_218596.jpg[/img]
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Here's Pope and The Dwayner in KV61, the Tomb of the Bolt King. Look out for the mummy, Dawg!
This is how it's done, Junior:
[img:left]http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/506/414forAlpineK.gif[/img]
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"Miss Universe Canada Finalist Disqualified After Admitting She Was Born a Boy"
Bill, that's gotta make you hot and bothered!
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May the "fair means" fever raging in Patagonia infect Exit 38 and every venue of sport climbing on the west coast. If climbing a hostile spire of vertical rock and ice with a trail of bolts and a generator is pathetic, how can bolts placed on rappel with a Bosch 5 minutes from I-90 survive for decades? We have been shown the future, and Messner claps.
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Pete Whitaker climbing a Big-Lou-sized crack!
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[img:left]http://www.twinner-pellissier.com/images/image/Photo/super-guide-galibier-0506.jpg[/img]
Super Guides. Best edging shoe. Ever.
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Enumclaw residents? What....there's no longer any money in making horse/man-love videos? Could it be these two maggots are also responsible for smashing my window (door unlocked) and lifting a pair of trashed hiking shoes and a worn-out pack from my Honda?
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A friend of mine ordered one of those test tube babies, that little tyke is quite the buckaroo!
Seems to me that this site had a new policy of prohibiting personal attacks...
yet I see that the ridicule of this Buckaroo fellow continues in a different venue.
Just sayin'.
"You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening,..."
And yet we have created a thread, the purpose of which is clearly to attack/ridicule the character of a participant?
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Dream trip! That rock looks clean enough to eat off of! Have to get back there. Years ago, Buckaroo and I watched the rain and snow come down every day for most of a week. July was probably too early.
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Now that's a trip report! Cool trip. Your dad's a stud (you too)!
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What causes more environmental impact: the strip mining for metal ore and factory production required to produce all that trad gear, or the comparatively minor amount of raw material and production needed to produce bolts? Note: I'm not bashing trad climbing in favor of sport climbing, I enjoy both, but an environmental argument is most definitely a non-starter when it comes to elevating trad above sport.
This is such solid logic (and probably the best you can come up with). Similarly, we shouldn't object when somebody takes a large, steaming dump on Library Ledge since somewhere in Wenatchee there must be a sewage treatment plant.
But seriously, I don't object to updating old bolts. Every effort should be made to use the old hole, or at least do a nice job of disguising where the old bolt was located. My issue with the bolt being discussed here is that the pitch is well protected without a bolt. Instead of replacing that bolt, it should have been removed. What we have is a bolt placed next to a reasonably protectable crack with a stampede of CC.commies rushing to defend it.
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DougT suggests the addition of a stout bolt is superfluous (with adequate modern nut protection) and that the museum-piece relic bolt offered little more than a history lesson (only a fool would rely on it per se). I completely agree with DougT that the placement of a modern bolt fundamentally changes the nature of this pitch, providing a care-free, dumbed-down ascent in which the possibility of falling off presents zero penalty.
This is one of the more pathetic trends in rock climbing. Every contribution to this thread reverberates with the same message....."We want perfectly solid gear, we want to be able to fall off the crux whether we're capable of 5.7 or 5.11 and we're enthusiastic about bolting next to a protectable crack in order to accomodate our desires."
Why is there missing a single response where somebody with any sense of adventure and aesthetics says, "DougT, I'm inspired by your post and I'm going to try the route without the bolt. It certainly would be more aesthetic to use skill and boldness to protect this route than clipping yet another bolt."?
It's been a couple of years since I climbed this pitch, but if my memory is correct, the hardest move is the mantle onto a triangular shelf above the thin crack. Prior to this move, while one hangs from a monkey grip on this generous shelf, one may place superior nut protection in the crack behind the shelf, possibly more secure and certainly more aesthetic than the bolt about which DougT voices concern.
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Let's see a couple of Peter Puget photos....one from back in the day (fit and trim "rock icon", scrubbin' new lines at Index), and a contemporary photo...displayin' all that Subway-poster-child potential. Yo.
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Good TR. Nice job "toughing it out" in wild conditions.
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Good stuff! Thanks for posting.
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Apparently all one needs is to pass a belay test at the local climbing bym, plus six quick-draws and he can learn to leave "no trace" by clipping up a rap-placed bolt trail? HELP! I'm so confused!
Apparently some can't comprehend the difference between drilling new bolts and simply climbing routes with bolts already in place.
"No snowflake in avalanche ever admits responsibility." Let me translate, maya babushka: clipping bolts is voting "Yes!" for sport climbing.
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you have got to be the world's biggest douchebag...get a life, you retard...BOO!Hey Groovy Guys, Groovy Gals!Don't be dissin' now on the Mountaineers, 'cuz they livin' in the future! Check it out! If you gots it inya to be a crag-anarchist and defile your local stones witha metallic trails any which way ya please so ya's can get's up it (without bangin' your noggin), or at least support the movement in that there direction, it seems like the Tacoma Mountaineers gotcha covered RIGHT CHEER! "Prospective intermediate climbing students are especially encouraged to take the course.." Yee ha!
http://www.tacomamountaineers.org/activities/sport_climbing.cfm
P.S. Shame on ya! Y'all ain't gotta clue!
Clip 'n Go!!!
Let's face it, the new Mountaineers can be horribly confusing, offering all sorts of contradictory information:
Leave No Trace Trainer Courses
The Leave No Trace Trainer Courses provide participants with innovative teaching skills to educate a wide range of students on best practices for low-impact recreation. Participants get a comprehensive overview of Leave No Trace through direct, in-field experience during the two-day overnight course in an outdoor setting. The course covers the principles, application, and ethics of Leave No Trace and includes techniques for educating others. Participants learn to effectively educate their friends, family, and community about Leave No Trace, as well as lead Awareness Workshops.
Sport Climbing Course, 2010
Revised November 15, 2009
Course code: TBA
Class size minimum: 2
Class size maximum: 10
Non-members allowed enrollment: No
Member cost: $100.00
The Sport Climbing Course, is a program of field instruction designed to teach the fundamental skills required to safely lead on sport (bolted) routes. Instruction includes clipping, anchors, rappelling, and climbing techniques. The course is suggested for gym climbers and scramblers who want to give rock climbing a try and Basic Grads who want to further develop their rock skills and learn to lead.
PREREQUISITES: Applicants must know how to belay. The following proof will be accepted: A Belay Card certificate from any Climbing Gym, a certificate of graduation from the Basic Climbing Course, equivalency status, or have at least passed the Final Exam.
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT: Six quickdraws and /or, slings, clothing, pack, helmet, carabiners, a rope and a variety of other gear.
ELIGIBILITY: The course is open to any person who can pass a belay exam at any climbing gym.
Apparently all one needs is to pass a belay test at the local climbing bym, plus six quick-draws and he can learn to leave "no trace" by clipping up a rap-placed bolt trail? HELP! I'm so confused!
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"Solving this equation requires only freshman-level college calculus. Why, there must be dozens of people in this country who can do that!"
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The Idiocracy that is the Right doesn't seem to realize that by opposing public school's its cutting off one of the two foundations of a fully employed workforce: baby sitting services (the other being surplus food). Everyone needs to pay for these babysitting stations; they absorb those who would otherwise cling to the ankles of the productive worker. The Right's wealth depends, of course, on this amortized service.
Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage.
That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).
Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.
However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.
LET'S SEE....
That's $585 X 180= $105,300
per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).
What about those special
education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an
hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.
Wait a minute -- there's
something wrong here! There sure is!
The average teacher's salary
(nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days
= $277.77/per day/30
students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!!
[TR] Mount Adams Circumnavigation - 9/15/2014
in Southern WA Cascades
Posted
Spectacular and rowdy! Glad you finally got to do this.