Otto

At the City building in Seattle they have a large art collection which they move around on the walls. This piece was once displayed on a wall near where I work. I scoped it every time I passed by; thinking I might go there some day, wondering if it would look just like this. If I went there, would my image be so preconceived that I would see the cliff as a series of sumi brush strokes? Then they moved the piece; I didn't see it for many months. I found it again in a hallway on a floor above, in the distant heights of the skyscraper. I was glad. I didn't want to lose it for good. What do you who climb on this rock feel from this painting? Does it come close to portraying the cliff in your imagination? From a physical standpoint, does it look like any view of the rock itself?

Hey, that was my elementary school, too! I never heard it closed; it always looked in good shape whenever I drove by in later years. Anyway, I think I was a couple years ahead of you. I only remember you from the swim team in summer. Your brother (Keith?) was a couple years ahead of me. I graduated from Shoreline H.S. in '73. I didn't get into climbing until '79, after college, thankfully, as I may never have earned a degree if I'd discovered climbing earlier! Tried slab climbing early by going to Darrington with Mark_L and hated it - couldn't handle the runouts. Had to let my head mature for a couple of decades, now I'm really digging it. Still like crack climbing, too! Anyway, you write some good tr's, keep it up. And the comments on writing style, too, of course... re: "super fun"

Please include some basic information for out-of-towners: 1) What town is it in, anyway? 2) What is the Hollywood? Is this the Hollywood District in Portland? Thank you.

Yep. My Junior High (Butler) became a high school, they shut down my H.S., and the whole thing became a City. Progress. Anyway, I'm glad my Forrest hammer blew apart; my new Black Diamond one feels better, drills faster.

Kyle, I'll date myself even more. If your name is really Kyle Flick then I believe your father was my opthamologist when I was a kid. He fixed up my eye when it was mashed by a soccer ball.

Well, it's in two pieces now. Also, it wasn't new when I bought it. Before the interweb, there used to be bulletin boards at places like REI and the Swallow's Nest with little pieces of like, paper, where people would try to sell their stuff. I bought the hammer off a guy who said he roofed his house with it. I was poorer then...

We're using Pika drills. They're heavier and so have less vibration and bounce than the Petzl one (that's the Rockpecker). The Pika is a nice, solid piece of hardware.

Trip: Leavenworth, Clem's Holler - White Bird, 1p, 5.6 FA Date: 5/14/2008 Climb: Clem's Holler, White Bird, 1p, 5.6 FA Date of Climb: 5/14/2008 Trip Report: I had been conscripted to work as hod carrier on a big David_W project. If I wanted to upgrade my station I had better learn to hand drill on lead. So, when on a training day at Clem's Holler the week before, I noticed the slab right of the route we were on, Boardwalk, I thought, "It's a Beautiful Day". It looked like a good candidate. David said, "There's your White Bird..." Sure enough, it was easy enough climbing to find good stances at the required spacing. I think it yielded a good addition to a day's outing for the beginning slab leader. Yes, you have to climb at least 5.9+ to get up to it, but perhaps the stronger leader can do that one. By CascadeOtto The second bolt saw the end of my old Forrest Mjolnir hammer. The epoxy gave way and the head flew off, first up the slab a ways, then reversing course past me, in surprise turning to horror, as I saw it bouncing directly down on David and Zack. They actually caught the magic thing! Fearsome no longer, it's another one for the box of memorabilia. David's trusty A5 hammer was a lot better. Heavier, better balanced, it cut my drilling time in half. Three more bolts for a total of five, past some groovy pockets and horizontal cracks, led me to the Boardwalk bolt anchor. Thanks to David_W and Zack Krupp, photo by David_W

John Ramuda is still doing resoles, and does a good job. He's moved (to Montana, I think). Bring them to the Vertical World gym in Seattle, and they'll send them out. I got mine back in about 3 weeks.

Nice, funny, and warm. Thanks! I would like to do more in there some day.

"In the sixties climbing was dangerous and sex was safe. Now it's the other way around." - Chuck Pratt

Here's one from a contemporary of ours, quite recently. The setting: way up on an unclimbed slab, I'm nearly freaking out, "where am I going to rest, how am I going to get some pro, gotta get over to that edge, this is all blank, I'm way past his last bolt, this wierd ramp is just barely good enough to stand on..." buzzing like a mozzie in my head. Hand drilling on lead is proving to be a strange new game indeed. In unknown terrain in a sea of wavy granite, I'm twenty feet past David's last bolt and looking for a place pleasant enough to stand and drill another one. I've got a three eighths drill for the big bullets, and a quarter inch setup for the quick business. All this weight and clatter, with the penalty of a scraping fall down the slab with any misstep, and I'm getting worried. So it was like a cool breeze to hear, coming up from the belay, the master calmly mention: "Just think: What would Warren Harding do?" Hammer in a quick quarter inch hole, bat hook, stand in etriers and drill a big one. Yeah!

"I don't want to write about climbing; I don't want talk about it; I don't want to photograph it; I don't want to think about it; all I want to do is do it." Chuck Pratt

Please don't use the term, "retrobolting", for this. Good on ya for rebolting old, rusty, quarter-inch bolts with stainless steel 3/8" gear! By the way, making a wedge puller out of a Lost Arrow piton is a handy way to pull the old bolt. I was foiled until I got a new hacksaw blade at my local hardware store of a particular type: it's blue, and I think is has "Cobalt" in the name. It cut many times faster than my old blade. Just drill a 5/16" hole in the thick part of the piton, and cut in from the thin part. Think "tuning fork".

Hey, way to go Mark and Jim, that's a good training run for you guys.

Chuck Pratt

As an older Dad, I've noticed that the real list of interest is the list of things I've given up so I can go climbing. skiing white water kayaking running soccer go music concerts mountain biking All that's left: Climbing 14.1 Continuous Straight Pool

And what is "feathery" type gear?

While climbing the Beckey-Mather route on Snowpatch Spire with Mark_L, we admired one of Fred's driven wooden blocks. Speckled with green moss, a scrap of tat hanging from behind, it protected the good big crack up around the fifth or sixth pitch.

I like the "many sports within climbing" idea. It reminds me of the great essay, "Games Climbers Play" by Lita Tejada-Flores. By the way, I've got your time beat on The Nose, we did it in four days! Thanks for putting up the good site.

Trip: Static Point - The Granite Jihad Date: 7/12/2007 Trip Report: Climb: Static Point - The Granite Jihad, 5.10a, 2p, FA Date of Climb: 07/12/2007 Trip Report: The previous week, when DavidW and I replaced some bolts on The Pillar, he'd noticed this line. It became the subject of our next visit, when he cruised it placing the bolts on lead. Afterwards, we rapped down Shock Treatment and replaced some more old steel. The Granite Jihad My cresting great grey granite jihad No quest to find a personal god But the pilgrimage was just the same A search for adventure could be one claim Otto on the third pitch of The Pillar route We’d come for work and perverse play High risk mechanics some might say We’d changed old gear for something new And always marveled for the view Dan relaxing at the Pillar belay But now an idea had worked its way That even an old dog could have its day Sweet granite previously viewed with dread Its melody somehow left unsaid David starting on the first pitch of the Jihad I strained and searched for a way to believe That the line of holds would not deceive But rather lead me up from there If only my heart would accept the dare Looking up the first pitch of the Jihad, toward the Great Flake and beyond For this I might need some credits accrued From Allah or Krishna or some bearded dude Who’d show me the way and make me the hold And spare me the pain of being so bold Crossing the Great Flake on the second pitch The new route starts from the top of The Pillar feature, and climbs two pitches before connecting with Lost Charms. The first pitch goes straight up a trough, passing five bolts to a double bolt belay. The second pitch passes a bolt and heads up to the overlap. It goes up past two bolts and some gear opportunites, crosses over the Great Flake, and to a double bolt belay on the Lost Charms direct finish. photography: Dan Dingle and Bill Enger, verse: David Whitelaw

huh?

photo: Bill Enger My rack circa 1988, hanging from the Big Stone at Camp 6. Mostly solid stem Friends, a few TCUs and wired stoppers. That's my pal Wayne Bunker from Portland.

Wow, great effort guys. That's a good read, too, thanks for posting.

Oh yeah, Cairns, that one! What a magnificent layback. chucK, where was your camera that day? U cuddahadda shot like that in your collection!