billcoe

So John, Allison, Chris, Bri and I were doing a few laps on the various breakfast cracks. Nice company, nice weather etc. Thank you all for the great time. We get an OK pump and finish @ sunset. I'm suppose to go visiting on a social call, but think I'll stop by the Buttress first and check for Beer Bottle Throwers. There are 8 to 9 dudes there. It must be the entire Russian Beer Bottle throwing team. Within 10 seconds I see one of the jackasses toss a beer bottle off the cliff. Now let me first say, I was there last week setting up a rap when 2 Russian dudes showed up. They had no beer. I engaged them in friendly conversation, and one of them brought up the fact that they throw the beer bottles off. I explained why it was wrong as politely as I could, keeping my last tense confrontation with the 5 guys on this very subject at that very spot and the ensueing lack of communication and ability to effect positive change in the dudes as a baseline in my memory of something to be avoided, I went out of my way to politely engage and present my views on this. 15 min later I'm 40 feet below the cliff hanging on a jumar and the first bottle comes whizzing over. My screams of rage were noticed when the second bottle was tossed and then there were no more. So when I showed up tonight, I have some history with this. None of it happy. So whoosh goes the bottle and whoosh I dial 911. Turns out - they had me dial the non-emergency number, 503-823-3333 which I did and explained the situation. 21 min later the first officer showed up. I explained the situation and gave her my info and as I was showing her the trail to the miscreants 2 other officers showed up, and she asked me to stay back. Which I did, but I crept up and watched anyway. They walked out to where they could see them and waited less than 30 seconds for a bottle to be thrown. Then they pounced. As I was leaving, I saw 2 more officers show up on the road, so I stopped to show them the trail. They assured me that they knew exactly the position and the trail as they had been here previously for this very thing. "Probably the same group", he says. "Russians?" I ask. "Yup", comes the reply. I hightailed it, but left feeling happier for 3 reasons. 1st) I finally feel that I might have a chance to clean up the glass and have it not show up like some half-crazed magic bean that refuses to stop growing. 2nd) I can say with some assurances to the rest of you all: if you witness this kind of crap out there, calling 503-823-3333 will get you a positive response and a positive resolution. 3rd) My actions my have saved some poor unsuspecting person from being hit from a bottle tossed from 80 feet up. Talking with those guys directly was like hitting yourself on the head with a hammer. Now I see a better way to effect change. If you see these dickheads up there again, watch and dial the number to report it. We can make this stop. We must.

I know I know. Thats exctalacatly correct sir. BTW, you itching from finding the DMM hidden colored Easter Nut hunt in the poison Oak yet? I am! Just starting on the foot. yeooooo BTW, think I might have gottened Scorpioned twice on Beacon Sat. Interesting, both holes (little left finger and side of same hand) are inflamed. We looked for you tonight BTW. I have a better story I'll tell in the next frame.

Hey, back the anchors up will ya. BTW, I have some brand new rope protectors from REI, esp for WR. Too late for the Maxim I wore through jugging, but hey, what's a mother to do?

Something.........that's fer damn sure.

Stay tell, pumped we get. (where's the yoda gremlin?)

Sounds like you have a pretty big stash. All I have with me is some caulk which will seal your raingutters if that will help. Maybe some athletic tape as well.

Fu*king GD ladders are vicious things, they'll turn on you faster than a scorpion in a rock removal project. Hope it all works out for K.

Get a 3/8-16 nut. Match the grade too, if it's stainless bolt, get a stainless nut. John recommended Loctite for the studs before putting on the nuts to keep the nuts and hangers on it, sounded like a good idea. Course, if you hit it with a wrench after the loctite sets, you'll have a spinning bolt instead of a missing hanger. Not necesarilly what you would want either. Other than that, sounds like you locals have to figure out what you really want to do.

Just so you know, I now believe, more than ever, that a policy of full engagement, truthfullness, helpfullness and honesty is the correct path to happieness at Beacon. You've swayed me to you position despite my early misgivings and doubts. Lets do laps tonight. ps, Mav, we haven't met, look for me , I'll be the old fat guy........unless Joseph shows up.....then I'll be the short old fat guy.

Sounds like a guy.

Doug, good seeing you last night. watching you cruise up without a rope directly above us (climbing sans helmet directly below of course) made me feel that those previous efforts to toss rocks was well worth the time. We got in 4 pitches before it got late and it was pretty nice to be up there again. To everyone else, I mentioned this to Bryan (Powderhound) last night but should say it here as well. Don't assume all the rocks were removed just cause someone says so on the internet. Guys like Doug are plenty savey on stuff like that, but some of you all I don't know about. (Please - everybody don't take offense, I'm just laying it down for those who need to hear it). There's plenty still up there, it's just more manageable and signifigantly less dangerous now. 8 guys can't get close to getting them all off in a full day, no way. Although there is a shitload less now. Within a couple of weeks it should be fairly negligible. Very enjoyable for sure!

Well how did they get down then? Must have walked off. No?

it's all good.

He LIVVVES! ______________________________________________________ Long time no see. Welcome back. BTW, I'm thinking anywhere but the mudpile for me. How about birds/white rabbit?

Your climbing parteners for gross breach of oral contract. Ie - they were suppose to hold your fall.

You mean: "Private Taylor, you missed that fu*ken rock right there asshooollle " Hmmm, Well, I thought there was harmony and peacefulness. Except for breaking the como line on the railroad...that sucked big. We had to stop doing anything. We in fact walked away from trundling the rocks on the Jill thrill extended ledge because of it. We grabbed the rocks by the belay area, stuffed them into a 5 gallon bucket and rapped with it though, so the belay area got cleaned.

You might be falling into a rut, Knottygirl. But I've been in one, an might be there too.

kachong, Arapiles, Oz -@ 13 or so yars ago.

I can't overstate enough that 90 percent plus of this early opening (as a minimum) is the result of Joesphs efforts alone to reach out to the folks in charge, organize and execute all this, and their good intentions to accept his input and ideas. My deepest and warmest gratitude goes out to all the rangers at Beacon who made us feel both welcome and appreciated. They are really amazing folks, and the more time I spend with them, the more I realize how skilled they are are what they do, the people of Washington and the parks are the benificiaries of their care and concern for that park. I think all of us climbers felt that way by the end of the day, and should the rangers need anything from me, any assistance at all, they have only to ask. Huge effort, major props, proud send, and thanks again Joseph!

Shit, I wayyyyyyy lowballed! 15 paragraphs ! I should have known.

5 WTF? you new? Put me in the office pool for $20 on 8 paragraphs and a word count of 250 or greater.

Hola Bryan: JH will have a detailed message later. Beacon thread

Cat...........Not.......In.....................Bag.

_____________________________________________________________ Suspecting that you are being smarmy and reading between the lines: If your suggestion Gary, is that we should sanitise a sport with is by it's nature unsafe, then shouldn't we also then pick put the top 10 most dangerous climbs throughout the Pac NW and then sanitise them as well? I understand that in fact, Cooper Spur, my favorite route on Hood, is also the most likely to get you killed. More so that the South side. Would you propose a fixed line and monitors there as well? -then- In the likely even you have a large hoard of people at some future point show up to get on both routes and the weather turns bad, could you imagine the death toll you will have gendered to create as this group of noobs, who were led by well-intentioned people such as yourself to believe this climb(s) safe, swamps the system and resources you have establised on that bad-weather day from hell? -then- This means you would have to be the arbiture of who can climb and when. Do you see where this is going? Sorry, but my vision differs from yours. Opps, just re-read and you may have been serious. In that case: apologies extended.

And a store selling T-shirts where the cable car terminates which say "I climbed to the top"