Otto

What an interesting two days that would be, wish I could go. Love the "Thaitanium Project" name - I wonder what that is all about. Though I'm not sure we need to "Organize, Fund, Operate" bolting efforts, it would be fun to learn about those who do. One thing I really want to know is why doesn't Metolius have a product to compete with the Fixe anchor chain systems. I'd rather buy locally produced stuff, and I like their hangers. I see they are not represented in the agenda, but Fixe is! Anyway, thanks for posting this, have a good trip!

Good writing, nice pics, thanks!

fgw said: There are no bad bolts on Revolver. Only one 5/16" bolt left, it was rebolted last year.

Pitch 5 of Revolver, Three O'Clock Rock. Steep friction to a high reach, then scampering up a cool crack. The first pitch of Gastroblast. A balancing act into a deep hueco! Then more balancing act! Pitch 2 of Dirt Circus. Knobs, knobs, knobs. Recently rebolted. Pitch 19 of Slab Daddy, Squire Creek Wall. Half-pad tips with smearing feet from the anchor into the Arch crack. Then easy crack climbing for a long way. Pitch 22 of Slab Daddy. A mixture of crack styles - layback, fingerlocks, stems and a little wide. Pitch 10 of Oso Rodeo, Squire Creek Wall. An unusually flat plane of slab tilted up to a perfect friction angle, with sills. Good topic. Keep 'em coming folks, I need new ideas for next season.

Thanks for the sweet photos of Autumn light and knobby rock. It's a good stoke to continue exploration of the Comb. The only thing I've done there is Over the Rainbow, which is very good; must get back up there next year. BTW, I was in the general area yesterday, in foot-deep snow at 3200'. The snow started at about 1900'.

There is no need to be disappointed by a lack of gear routes at Vantage. You could climb all weekend there, multiple times, and never clip a bolt. Bob Dylan, Burning Spear, George & Martha, etc. etc.

I remember going up there a few years ago with DavidW, and he was looking for the hubcap! Couldn't believe that would be the sign. We need someone with a pruning saw to get it done right! Below the Wilderness Area line, of course...

Charlie Chan's Number One Suspect at Three O'Clock Rock. More info in the post over in the Rock Climbing forum.

This long stretch of great weather has made a lot of odd projects possible. Just the other day Jake L. and I went up to Three O'Clock Rock and rebolted this old one-pitch 5.9 slab climb. We had an early turn around time, so we only got eight of the nine bolts replaced. The top anchor was replaced previously. We climbed Silent Running in the morning, and moved over to the South Buttress in the afternoon for the drilling work. I showed Jake L. how we do it, with the mighty Stanley prybar and careful chipping out the old hole. I'll be back after the next rains end to get that last bolt! In the busy subsequent evening getting all the gear, food, cameras, and video cameras for my main project all together, I erased all the photos from this day. So, no pictures. I've heard a couple of Darrington adepts say that Charlie Chan is not much good as a route; it doesn't go anywhere, it ain't beautiful, it bends at the top unnecessarily, etc. But I've always liked it as a warmup if I'm going over to that side of the wall. What do you other D'town slabophilic folks think of it? Regards, Bill Enger

We rebolted a really old slab route in Darrington. It took all afternoon.

Trip: Three O'Clock Rock - Dirt Circus Date: 9/30/2012 Trip Report: We finished the rebolt project on Dirt Circus at Three O'Clock Rock last week. Earlier this Summer we had replaced four of the original quarter-inch bolts on Pitch 2. Now we've replaced the remaining three originals on Pitch 2, plus the last old bolt on Pitch 1. This last one was from a two-bolt intermediate anchor, midway up the pitch, which was hung with crusty tat and two aluminum rings. Yale leading off ... and through the sweet 5.8+ terrain. Meanwhile, a hawk was circling overhead. Yale on the second pitch, contending with the crux. The first two bolts clipped here were replaced. The third one was done in August. The new tool proved worth its weight in extracting the old steel. Modified from an old Stanley pry bar in Uncle Harold's collection. My vote is for Jumars for this kind of climbing. With no big overhangs or traverses, these jugs are simple and positive. The intermediate anchor on Pitch 1 was replaced, leaving a history bolt ...and removing the tat. This history bolt is a quarter-incher; the one we pulled was 5/16". Another beautiful day in Darrington. After rapping down Dirt Circus we ambled over to see Charlie Chan. Noted the new replacement SS bolt at the anchor, and were pleased. Thank you for doing that, and to all the other stewards of this great area. Cheers, Bill Enger

Thanks for the renewed stoke for this route! I got on it once with chucK, but we didn't finish it. Will soon! Thanks for all the info and good pix.

Good notes, thanks for posting. When I did it in one day with chucK, he just soloed the first pitch up to the first bolt! But DavidW and I are always talking about, and trying to implement, safely protected pitches with little chance of decking before the first pro. So, we have to mention the pro possibilites in the description or the topo. In this case, a #5 cam will definitely protect it. With some fiddling, smaller cams can be made to work, at least as "psychological pro". On the crux of Pitch 7 that day, I got to second it with the pack and did something that worked for me. I hung the pack off the bolt and did the mantle without it! Once on the shelf, you can reach down and get it back on. Sweet!

Good on you for getting up there! I'm glad you liked the route. By the way, did you clip the LA on Pitch 18? If you missed it, it would indeed seem a bit runout (but that crack does take cams anyway). Thanks for posting up!

Trip: Squire Creek Wall - Oso Rodeo Date: 8/28/2012 Trip Report: We are trying again for the first one-day ascent of this 20-pitch route. Now I am honored to climb with chucK, whose time in the mountains is so limited in recent years. The summer days are still long enough. With a declining weather forecast I jump at the chance to climb in cool temperatures with a strong partner. We leave town at 6:00am, the trailhead at 8:00, and this time I get a photo of the big log that has fallen over the Slab Daddy approach trail, near the top of the woods. Getting to the base of the route at 9:00am seems like a good start. This is what you're looking for at the base, a nice dry watercourse! This shows the route up to the sky. I leave the bulky camera at the base, so there are no more photos. We turn around at the top at 6:40pm. chucK says, "It's a good route", and we rappel leaving a bottle of water on the U-shaped ledge. We reach the forest at dark at 8:30pm and descend by lamplight. Gear Notes: There is a place for a 4" cam on the first pitch, but not all parties will need it.

I, too, have fond memories of bashing down a creek bed to Park Creek after climbing Goode. It must be a fairly indistinct trail to follow, lots of folks missing it!

I enjoyed the personal writing style, nice work! Thanks for posting the story, and pictures, of your climb.

Jumars: Jumars.

Really nice TR and photos, thank you. That "Room with a view" shot looks like a painting, beautiful.

Trip: Squire Creek Wall - Oso Rodeo Date: 8/5/2012 Trip Report: On Sunday, Yale Lewis and I attempted the first one-day ascent of the (unrepeated?) route Oso Rodeo on Squire Creek Wall. After climbing twelve pitches in the morning, we were turned back by the record-breaking heat of that day. With thirst barely slaked by the brown water dipped into our bottles from the frog pond at the Pool Hall, my partner's hands had started to cramp up. There is no shade on the upper wall, nor water for refreshment, so with disappointment we had to give it up. We gave it a good shot, moving steadily up the beautiful white granite of the low pitches in the early morning hours. We learned what it will take to make the successful Rodeo-in-a-Day, making an Alpine start at the creek crossing, moving up through the forest by headlamp and racking up in Otto's Grotto at first light. The sun did not directly hit us until the crux seventh pitch, the Black Roof, at around 9:00. So we knew we had a chance with all that remaining daylight, but it was not to be. Getting set to place two small cams in the crack at the start of pitch 3. Yale approaching the route's first 5.10 spot, the overlap on pitch 4. That sweet, flat slab below him was the scene of my first drilling on lead on this route, two years ago, and I pass it with great affection. The slab was so low angle that I had to lean far forward into the drill, reducing the angle of my foot to the rock, causing great fear of slipping off. Laughable now, as it can't be more than 5.5 or so. Pulling the move on pitch 4. The camera just missed Yale pasting the left foot up high on a smear. Relief to be up! We were swapping leads until I gave my partner pitch 5. Delicate smears pass the curving edge just below Yale here. There are some nice smooth friction moves on the short pitch 6. Here's Otto getting set for the fearsome mantleshelf on the Black Roof. It was getting hot and I couldn't pull it clean, mea culpa. I found a cool undercling pocket in the shelf, so using it and the quickdraw I made it A0 to the foot ledge. On the FA last year I was able to do this move, but it still intimidates. The pure friction moves through these three bolts are fantastic. This is from a tour de force of skillful wayfinding by DavidW. Yale moving into the sweet slab on pitch 8. After I scummed up pitch 9 we joined the true slab masters, the froggies of Pool Hall. They jump off the rock slope, snag a fly, and kerplop back into the pool. Posing for their photo shoot for the upcoming calendar, "The Frogs of Darrington". We filled our water bottles here, and proved that chlorine tablets will stop mosquito larvae from wriggling around. After many attempts to smear up the start of the amazing pitch 10, Yale gave up and went around. This is not the route. He connects up with it at the fifth or sixth bolt after a long runout. Don't do this; climb straight up to the bolt directly from the bivy site next to the frog pond. The moves are fabulous, just do it on a cool day. Two more pitches got us up the the U-shaped ledge. On pitch 12, Yale found the third bolt had been hit by a rock in Winter and was missing its nut and hanger. As it is bent over, we'll have to drill a new hole, but he was able to use a wired nut on it and continue. But on the ledge, in searing heat, we gave up. With a turn-around time of 12:30 we had more than enough time to go to the top and descend before dark. This is the wild scoop ledge atop pitch 8. We stopped into the Forest Camp bivy site to pick up the garbage we left last year. Someone had found it, opened up the bag to look inside, and left it open to the weather so it was half full of water. Whoever you are, I'm sorry to disappoint you when you found only empty plastic bottles and a tarp; but really, you could have closed it back up. Anyway, we removed it better late than never. The approach boot track to Slab Daddy and Oso Rodeo has taken some Winter abuse. Near the top, a huge log now crosses over and one has to bend low, which I hate; a bypass can be made around it to climbers left. Also, for the two years DavidW and I were doing the traverse to Oso Rodeo, we watched with interest a "widowmaker" branch hung in a cedar tree. It has now fallen, and nearly covers the boot track but is easy to avoid. There is a lot of good slab climbing to be found on this route. Because it starts as a long finger of rock down through the trees it appears brushy, but with the sole exception of pitch 11 with its "Wet Spot", the climbing is always out in the middle of clean, wavy granite. It was a pleasure to watch, and learn from, the creativity and "eye for the line" of DavidW as he guided us into the best parts of this big wall. Thanks David, and the others who helped, for fulfilling two years of the climbing life. Our original TR for this route remains here: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1044503

It looks like you had a lot of fun! Those are nice pictures, thanks. That "awesome 8 pitch .10b" is called Total Soul. Good Darrington stoke!

Sounds not good, indeed. What crag in D-town were you in? Good people will want to know if there is a particular trouble spot.

Nice work you guys! Setting up for a solo climb is exciting, but I love that, "He traded me for a blueberry bush"! Even better! It's good to have a partner on a beautiful day for climbing. Thanks for doing the re-work.

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Yes, 50m pitches max.