Lovetoclimb

Enjoy your secret moss fest. I'll drive 2.5 hours to Smith and climb and solidified mud/rock instead of spending days cleaning mud off the rock.

What crag what routes? Looks like perhaps Broughtons? On second thought I think it doesn't look like Broughtons. The dirt and moss threw me for a second. The tree canopy is all wrong for Broughtons and the rock isn't angular enough. So where is this hidden dirt pile covered in moss?

Brand new pair of Outdoor Research Brooks Rangers Overboots size large. I won these at a raffle and have been moving them from house to house ever since. Please help me get rid of these damn things. Make me a decent offer and they are yours! Your financial support will help me buy gas so I can go to Smith and do bolt replacement with Tyler. I'm unemployed. I'm like a charity! But instead of just sending you a tax deductible receipt, you will actually get something that will keep your toes from getting frozen off on some big snow slog route in AK or here in the miserable Cascades.

Well said Tyler. Go climbing boys and girls. Stop de bitching. Trout Creek, Mecca, Bills Columns, The Gorge at Smith, Pete's Pile, would all be pretty good places to stay in shape for Beacon. Are they Beacon? No. Are the rules and regs fucked up? Of course. It is our government were talking about. Deal with it. Next topic.

What I have done in the past at Smith is toprope the line to check the clipping stances, mark where I want the bolts, and then climb, either with the drill on me, or pulling it up after I sit on the hooks. Most of the time though I found that I would rather have the drill on my harness. It is also pretty fun just going for it onsight though and trying to get the bolts in good places and do a good job placing good bolts. What are the ethics at the crag? Top down usually makes for a better finished product. Ground up is good for your ego. Especially if you can keep the bolts widely spaced.

Currently there isn't a ranger on staff at Smith Rock. The park has a park manager (Dave Slaught), and I think a bathroom cleaner (Big Jay), and they have some park hosts who are camping out in the Bivy Area in their RV. The park manager was down in the canyon today handing out dog tickets for leashless pets. Thankfully my dog was on the leash when I ran across him. They did just finish doing interviews for the ranger position at Smith and they offered the job to someone. Dave said the guy was young and had experience elsewhere as a ranger. He also said the guy told him that he would give him three years at that park before looking for a promotion. It is too bad that to advance in the State Park system you have to transfer so nobody ever stays at a park very long.

Anybody know about the bolted route by Tunnel Falls on the way up the Mt Defiance trail? Looks like 11ish? Also wondering if anyone has explored the Wind Mountain area much and if there are any good routes there. Just always catches my eye as I'm zipping back and forth between Portland and Hood River. Thanks for any info.

Bolts we put in were on the variation start. Jim's original start was basically eliminated by a sport climb project 5.15? that was bolted back a number of years ago. The variation we did was about 30 feet left of the original line. The second pitch is where the route gets the x rating from. From the last piece of pro to the top is a 50+ foot runout on mediocre to loose rock.

No that is Tyler's other project... I'm trying to get him out there to finish that one too. I think I get the next pitch. I know of one person that took a big whipper on it so I'm looking forward to it.

Trip: Smith Rock - Air To Spare w/variation start 5.7 A3 X Date: 1/21/2010 Trip Report: A few weeks ago Tyler and I went out to Smith with the intention of aiding an absurd line of seams left of Scarface. The line overhangs about 30 feet in 100. To get into the seams Tyler started hooking right off the ground. He placed a bolt to keep his ass of the ground and then the nailing starts. The pitch took 27 #2 and #3 pecker placements and the occasional angle and LA. We placed just enough bolts to keep a gear ripping leader off the ground. After we started the route I got really sick for two weeks so we left a line fixed which at Smith attracts the wrong type of attention. Some yahoos had swung on the rope so much that they cut the sheath of the rope and the core strands were all exposed which made for an exciting ascent yesterday morning. When I got to about 3 feet away from the core shot, the sheath started to slide down the rope. At that point I had to reach up past the core shot and put my ascender on the rope and keep going from there a few feet to the belay. A few minutes of excitement for sure. Add that to the list of things I don't want to have to experience again. The second pitch was pretty exciting for me. It was straight forward nailing up a slabby seam to a ledge where you sink a good #3 camalot in a wierd groove. That is the last piece of the route. From there I was in free climbing land. I put on the shoes and started going for it. 5.7 climbing on halfway decent rock leads to an exciting exit downclimbing left into a chimney. I just kept expecting to find a bolt up there and I never did. Those guys had some balls. Tom Blust and Jim Anglin put up a killer line. tyler jugging, ryan at the belay (note: i think its kinda steep) belay meeting tyler on the left ryan on the right ryan starting to nail the second pitch where you join air to spare after 2 placements ryan launching into the free climbing up to the ledge above him to a long traverse to the left and into the hobbit hole

Looking for climbing partners in the Hood River area. I'm up for all types of rock/choss adventure. I have a lot of sport trad and aid experience mostly at Smith Rock but I'm game for whatever. I would love to help do development on new crags as well. I would also like to find or meet anyone who might have a home gym in the neighborhood. Thanks for any info.

I am selling a pair of brand new Brooks Ranger Overboots size large. I won them at a raffle and am looking for a new home for them. I am selling them on e-bay for $75 obo. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300224392197&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123