retired

Corvallis, sounds like you had a fun outting in the piss fog, Have had a lot of days up there when it seemed way too wet but the rock can be climbable. Not really pusing the new guide book but all the beta will of course be there (see the new guide book thread).

Facing mockery and ridicule the desire to get my camera back has me posting here. I believe I took it off descending early Saturday morning the 27th maybe 1/2 mile down from Saddle back lake. Black case (the next one will be yellow or orange!) and if you look deep inside my name and number are on a card along with the reward money Take pitty on me I suffer from sometimers. Jim

John, I climbed Astro Elephant or somthing pretty much like it after 4 days tuning up at The City, had to get my partner back to Hood River so we parted from our other two buds and left early. I should have taken you up on the offer for the topos, the one we had for Astro was way off and the route finding is a bit challenging with all the traversing off the ledge. FGW, was hoping you guys might have seen the camera but we took Tree's camera on the perch and he got some great shots...guess i'll have to post somehing in the lost and found and suffer the mockery and ridicule there. I did have the forethought to include a card with my name and number in the camera case and still hold onto some hope. Jim

Nice go on the sunrise book. Looked really nice from the descent gully. Sorry I didn't actually talk to you, was too busy fishing when my buddies stopped by to chat. Didn't find my camera did you? guess i left it by the trail early Saturday morning hiking out.

There has been enough interest that I will sell some guides. I can't comment on how the final guide looks since I haven't seen it. I can tell you that I went to great lengths to insure the information about the Menagerie was as correct has possible. here is a link that describes the guides in detail http://www.climbsworegon.com/GUIDE/climbing_guide.htm The release date has been moved up to mid October which is good since I have a climbing trips planned up until then. Jim

The release of Greg Ortons latest editons of climbing guides is close. The Willamette book will include the Menagerie, Wolf Rock, Flagstone, Hills creek as well as other areas. I provided about 95% of the Menagerie info as well as some for wolf rock, because of that I'm listed as a co-author. I did this with no expectation of finacial gain but was informed by Greg that he would sell me guides at a reduced price for remembursment of my efforts. I'm just testing out the waters to see if it would be worth my trouble to market some books. The book price is 20 bucks for a 244 page guide that I have done my best to insure is accurate for my areas. Was wondering how many folks would be interested in purchasing the book from me instead of perhaps REI or Amazon. P.M. me if you would be so inclined....no obligation but I could get an idea if I wanted to sell some books or not. Jim Anglin

Wolf rock is a huge choss pile...always has been, always will be.

You are a sick man...seek help before it's too late...but actually well done lad, but you do have to realize you're tossing the dice this time of year.

I got a half dome if you got any more chouinard gear... John for the steal I gave you on my ice hammer, you should give me your Half Dome! I do actually have some other trinkets you may be interested in...email me. Jim

I have a Metolius el cap with just two very steep walls on it ie: no wear or tear but used. I want a Metolius half dome for a route where we will be taking two pigs, anyone want to trade? Straight across for equal wear amount or a few bucks exchanged if appropriate.

I'll stop using chalk when you pry it from my hot sweaty fingers...tongue firmly in cheek, thanks for the Beacon outing Joe & Bill

Climb: Zion-Desert Shield Date of Climb: 5/18/2005 Trip Report: This is a trip report my buddy wrote up for desert shield, thought he did a nice job so I'm posting it here for the info it contains...nice route with the aid a little easier than expected and the free a little harder. Desert Shield I just climbed this route (sans last pitch) with Jim Anglin over May 18th and 19th. The only reason I'm writing this report is to add to the only other one I found on moabclimbing.com by Andy Welman. By his comments, Andy 's a much better climber than hacks like us so I thought some info for average joe was in order - especially average joe thinking of a solo ascent. I had toyed with attempting a solo but with Jim's partner for the Shield (the other one) having life complications I ended up with a partner. We hadn't shared an aid climb together since a 1981 ascent of the Nose so we were long overdue for some fun. We used Chris Mac's climbing mag topo and as usual it was very accurate. Day 1 - Pitch 1 - mostly an ugly solo but with a bit of 5.8 OW at the top. All of the free pitches end in great ledges. All belays are very bomber bolts. Pitch 2 - Hard face to tricky thin crack eventually widening to #4 Camalot. I followed it free and would give it 11a/b. The face is not aidable unless you hook it, which I hope you won't. If you do you'll risk breaking off one of the key holds on a very nice face climb. Better to do as the soloist we saw several days later and use a 2 - 3' cheat stick. I combined pitches 3 and 4. Pitch 3 has a weird chimney/stem section. If I had indeed attempted a solo ascent this could have been the pitch to shut me down. You'll have the choice of doing the crux as an OW, chimney, or stem. All are not overly hard at about 5.9, all are insecure, and all will have you looking at your pro about 5 to 6' below your feet with an ugly fall awaiting your mistake. I found it exciting. I guess you could possibly protect this with the largest Big Bro but I've never even seen that unit. The 4th pitch is classic desert crack climbing starting at tips and widening to #4 Camalot. We fixed from here to the ground by tying a 60m and 70m together. We got back to the ground around 2:30. We had been in the shade the entire time and though the day was hot our temps were actually pretty cool. Day 2 - The shuttles weren't on the early summer schedule yet so we caught the 7 am ride and commenced jugging. Pitch 5 - Jim led this one. It's a sandy lieback with less than unquestionable pro. It felt like 10a to him. Looked scary to me. Can't say much about the 5.10 variation to the left except it will leave you with a sizable traverse to the belay. Pitch 6 - Steep bolt ladder with one hook move and one hybrid alien placement. No rivets. We didn't find any need for rivet hangers. Pitch 7 - I had been worried about this pitch due to several reports of "bad fall" potential. This is due to a low angle ramp below you as you start the hard moves. Fortunately it's not a flat sidewalk but pretty steep so it would be a sliding affair versus an all-out splat. It made me feel much better. The hard moves consist of some very blown out scars that yield rather reasonably with a #.5 and #1 Tri-cam. After that the pitch is thoughtful but never really hard. There was no fixed pro on the pitch at all. Pitch 8 - Jim led this and didn't feel it was bad, maybe easier than the preceding one. He did use a hook a couple of times but always had decent gear below. The pitch does end with some scary freeclimbing through big, loose blocks. On both the 7th and 8th pitches you will find spots for up to a #3 Camalot. Otherwise a big cam rack is not required for the aid. At this time, with my insistence, we rapped off. I didn't really give a hoot about the last pitch and was more concerned about hanging up a rope on the rappels and getting stuck in the dark. We did briefly hang up a rope on the 4th rap but otherwise all went smoothly. We got down just as it got dark. Though we had shade on the lower part of the route, we were roasting in the 90-degree sun the entire time on the headwall. We felt this was a great climb with a lot of variety and a healthy dose of adventure. For us the freeclimbing was definitely the crux. The aid, assuming you have at least 3 sets of offsets nuts and a couple of Tri-cams, was intimidating to look at but not actually hard to climb clean. We never had a nut to blow during testing or climbing. The placements really aren't any harder than what you'd find on something like the 6th pitch of Prodigal Sun, you'll just have many more of them. Though speed climbers might easily zip up in a day, average joes will be pressed to do so. Fixing to the 4th pitch made life much more relaxing for us. The bivy ledge to the right of the 3rd belay looked good (the barbeque is still hanging from the ice screw) but the hauling didn't look too fun. Pretty amazing location up on the headwall. Must have been a hell of a first ascent up there!

all the adventure out of climbing el-cap???WTF why don't you climb a few of the dozens of routes not featured in super topo then come back and spray. Your signature must really fit your personality. Keep up the great work chris

I'm looking at it out my living room window and it's white. sorry to be a smartass, good luck and be safe.

Well not actually lost more like left...probably near headless horseman a couple weeks ago. metolius fingerless gloves, nearly worn out and stinky but still another wall or two in them. easy to identify cause one says "smile" and the other "this is fun" to remind while aid climbing. I'll buy you a beer and give you good karma if you p.m. me with their whereabouts. thanks

The previous post reminded me I have some Anasazi velcros to part with also. Never touched rock purchased at the phoenix boulder blast under the influence and much too small. I wear anasazi lace ups in a size 10 but these feel a half size smaller. Going to Smith tomorrow, save on shipping.

why in the hell does my post 2 feet of the screen?

It's making me homesick! Never made it up last year but will spend a few nights up there this year for sure. The anchors in the menagerie are mostly 1/2 self drilling shells that take a 3/8 cap screw. Sorry but that's what i was taught by my mentor. In there behalf I can tell you i took a solo 44' fall factor 2 on a single shell bolt which resulted in busted ribs, a knot that had to be cut out, and the ability to not make that stupid mistake again....so i turst them in good rock. that being said there is plenty of bad rock in the menagerie but good stuff too, that is where you get to enjoy the adventure leave a bit of a saftey valve, don't be afraid to downclimb and practice your judgement. there are older 1/4 inchers around and everyone of them should be replaced...feel free. My last couple routes sport 3/8 x 3" rawls (see you can learn as you get older)but just try and hand drill more than 4 or 5 of them a day. I might as well plug Greg Ortons up coming guide... It is said to be at the printers and will include the menagerie, wolf rock etc. with photos, topos and maps. it was a hard decision to out the place again (last published in dodges guide 1975) but I want future climbers to also share in the great times I enjoyed there over many years. Please treat the menagerie with respect, climb softly and use and cover your head. see you up there this summer. Jim

thanks guys, looks like a good afternoon for baking.

Thinking I would have to climb high for any turns this spring I bought a new pair of garmont syner g-fit boots (much lighter than my Garas) I got a great deal from a private party they are new but not in the original box with no info. will I have to go to a shop to form the liners, or can you do it yourself...say in a warm oven? Any info will be appreciated, but a good solid 2 foot powder dump would be apprecited more. Jim

wildbill, There are a ton of bolts on Turkey and as long as Corvallis wants to rebolt more power to him...just no power drills or new holes. remove the old mank and put in a new fatty...good luck

cornvalley climber...Turkey monster beta, 1st pitch 10a mostly bolt protected, if you call those weird pieces of metal bolts. 2nd pitch 10c crack, rotten roof, crack. 3rd pitch 11a bolt ladder featuring aluminum foil hangers. 4th pitch easy scrambling up to the head. the viscious rap begins at the end of the 3rd pitch In my early years I aided the turkey and it is actually easier to free climb the monster...pitch 2 anyway.

Oh a little more beta might be useful, kind of in a hurry eariler. The descriptions in Dodge will get you up the climbs...worked for me anyway. Carry a fairly comprehensive rack to a 3 camalot for Barad-dur and #4 for turkey. These are both old routes with old bolts. Barad-dur has had some re and retro bolting done but on Turkey very little has been replaced. There is some loose rock on barad dur and nothing but loose rock on turkey, wear a helmet and test pull your ropes if you rap the monster it has a long history of stuck ropes. A bolt kit to replace belay bolts would be a very good idea on Turkey.

Ah, a very cool shot of my good buddy Randy leading the 5th pitch 10d. The lower crags of the menagerie ie: Rooster, Hen, Chicken are open to anyone willing to hike 1,800 vertical.

Turkey goes free 11a, but the upper menagerie is closed for falcons this time of year. Barad dur goes free at 11b...some very tall folks say 11a and Wolf rock is not closed. both are serious routes. it may seem like dodges guide is ancient but it was published in 1975 not 1875.