Otto

Wanting to read more on this, I had to search Mountain Project for the link. It's buried in a thread about the fate of the proposed fifth volume of Desert Rock. Thread: Desert Rock Series: What Happened? http://www.mountainproject.com/v/desert-rock-series-what-happened/107396367__2

Oh yeah, you guys were having quite a party up there! We watched one straggler climb up after dark, with help from guys above, by headlamp... and the howling!

Squire Creek Wall in November, 2011 The South Face, November 2011 After discovering that this South side of the mighty Squire Creek Wall is divided into several big low-angled buttresses, we still wanted to climb there. After all, how many people had even seen this wall close up, much less climbed on it? The question became, "Which buttress to climb here?". Of course we knew that Zippy had climbed the beautiful Primal Scream buttress. Does that feature have any other name? Who knows? All we knew is that there are acres of lovely white granite, waiting, enduring geologic time and its changes. With snow lapping up against a broad swath of climbable rock, it seemed we could start anywhere. I was amazed to be seeing this, and willing to start anywhere. At first, looking over from the approach trail in the bottom of the valley, it seemed it would be very difficult to get there. Dense brush to the creek crossing, steep forest, unseen terrain above all made it foreboding. Which was just right, I wanted to work hard for this. Previously, I was amused by Greyell's remark that while he was toiling long hours slogging up to the Illusion Wall, we were having it easy on the very nearest end on Slab Daddy and Oso Rodeo. Short approaches! Easy living! This big wall slab stuff is too serene! Well, enough of that. If we wanted to go up on the South Face of this beast, we were going to sweat hard for it. Early probes on skis and snowshoes, Otto in April DavidW skiing up in April Trillium by the roadside The beginning of the bike approach era, on May 19th Once we started approching by bikes, we didn't go without them. The hardware evolved; mine grew a rack and David's lost his, mine grew flat pedals and his grew flat bars Early season's challenging runoff With ski missions in April, snowshoe and boot approaches in May and June, and then bike-assisted approaches later, we bit into this work with repetitious zeal. Every free day was tested - weather any good? partner lined up? days off work approved? special gear needed? - this project was an ever present topic of daydream and worry. We pushed up the wooded hill over and over, flagging a boot track to a new high point for eight trips into July. Unable to find load-carrying helpers, my non-climbing friend Bill Camp went along once for company but no others were able to come through. There was only Whitelaw for the work, and for the company. Into the old growth forest Some approach details About the work David's worries were constant. Battling sore shoulder and ankle, he was often on the verge of giving out or giving up. "I'm gonna hurl!", was his catchphrase as we loaded up from a rest stop more than once. He said he wanted to give up once or twice. I didn't give that credence, knowing his work-hardened frame to be stronger than his head, and we stumbled on. As for the company, there couldn't be better as I knew from other days working with David on the North end of the wall. One time as we thrashed up through the brush, he burst out in a tune with the lyrics, "Stickin' it to the weak!" - which became the jingle of the weekend. His stories about fools who came into the shop where he works demanding refunds for equipment used for years, and tackling jacket thieves trying their escape, kept my mind off the miles trudging up the road. Good trips were kept even more lively with his invention of snow Margaritas at Happy Hour, and the Espresso Cauldron in the mornings. We talked about how we could get 20-something dudes to help bring up the gear to base, happy to take part in a grand project. David said having them along to carry our gear would be "better than robots!" The South Face buttresses in May Near the base of the route, but long before climbing, in June We finally got on the rock on July 7th, my father's birthday, and we knew it was all laid out before us, good times ahead. With snow lapping up against the sloping wall, I had no idea where to begin so David checked it out and decreed that we would go way out to the left and up the easiest looking dirty corners, putting in temporary piton anchors, and swing back into the line a couple of pitches up. So that's just what I did, leading off into the dirty unknown festooned with hammer and pins, full rack and drills, ready for anything but knowing we weren't putting in the "real" pitches. Much later in the year we pulled out the two sets of piton anchors I placed here. This day, I got us over to the route's real line, at the eventual anchor atop Pitch 2. After drilling the bolt anchor, we agreed to rap-bolt the first two pitches, ho hum. When we finally got on rappel, however, I declared I wanted to do Pitch 2 drilling on lead, perplexing David who said, "I don't know what the fook is goin on", or something like that. Was I some kind of ethics prima donna, or what? Well whaddayaknow, a disagreement. Absolutely, I wanted to do every pitch ground up, drilling on lead, on sight, all that good stuff. David agreed, so that's what we did. I led the eventual Pitch 2, placing three bolts, having found about five gear placements, and got to the huge knob in the middle of the white slab. I drilled the hole there, but found I didn't have a bolt. I stuck the drill in the hole, clipped a quickdraw to it, and ran up to the anchor using the brushy edges for security! 4x and gear to 3 1/2". Our first look at Pitch 4, when we realized we had found the line Higher up on Pitch 4, getting ready to drill above the overlap We got better at the communications and planning, and things smoothed out. David has such a clear vision of the true line, we kept on course and left plenty of room to the right and left for future projects. The wavy "brown knobs" on the right were a constant source of wonder between Pitches 5 and 10, and there is plenty of smoother whiteness out to the left. We moved steadily up, doing two or three new pitches each two- or three-day trip, while leaving fixed ropes up as high as the anchors of Pitch 7. Skeena26 in the center Flowers on the way to the base in August Every trip we were hauling up a load without the dreamed-of porters. Finally we got Yale Lewis on board for some hauling and camera help. We got better pictures hanging off to the side on the fixed ropes. We even got some video of leading through the lower established pitches. Too bad there is no way to capture on-sight leading with a neckful of pro and drills, hammer banging your hip, smearing up to the good knob to get the bolt in after a long run. This is the real stuff, why I am doing this after 25 years of cruising the classic routes, someone else's work, all their decisions and worry gone into the distant past. Looking over our pictures now are attempts to keep that feeling fresh, to revisit this time. May it never fail to surprise and twinge the heart with that intense racing feeling of going for broke. Yes, these slabs are low angle and moderate in difficulty. But they are just steep enough to keep in mind the question - what if I went higher without stopping to drill, misjudged where the next stance was, and there was none? We finally got some help in August; Yale Lewis hanging out on Pitch 8 David preparing Pitch 11. The route ends at the large white snag above There is more clean rock around the place In September the snow at the base had finally melted off, and David found the excellent Pitch 1 Finding and building this route made for a fully absorbing season. It should be a pleasant, moderate, full day of climbing for anyone. photos by David Whitelaw, Bill Enger and Yale Lewis

Thanks for posting the photos from the dry lands. Bracing! Those cracks look so inviting.

One more, unable to use IE without hanging, same issue. Windows 7 Home Premium IE 9.0.8112 64-bit Edition Update Versions: 9.0.11 (KB2761451) I'm happy to have this opportunity to try out Chrome, it's working well!

Thaitanium Project: "The Thaitanium Project is a non-profit effort dedicated to providing and installing titanium climbing bolts throughout Thailand. Due to a rare convergence of environmental conditions and minerals contained within the rock itself, Thailand's existing bolts have experienced grossly accelerated metal fatigue and oxidation, leading to unsafe climbing conditions and a substantial increase in the risk associated with climbing many of the popular routes."

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.