fenderfour

Trip: Index UTW - Green Drag-On and Wateray P1 Date: 9/14/2009 Trip Report: Green Drag-on Argus and I took a quick trip up the Drag-on on Saturday. It was hot as balls. The heat was shocking. I started on the first pitch of Town Crier. This is a fun start that adds a pitch of sustained aid climbing. IMO, it's a much better way to get off the ground on the Drag-on Argus sent the second pitch in about 45 minutes. For not having done a ton of aid, he moved very quickly. As I was cleaning the pitch, I came across a very new bashie in the C1 corner. It was chumming a nice cam hook or small brass placement. Leave the bashies and pins at home when you are climbing this route. There is no reason to add any fixed gear. I would have removed the offending nug of aluminum, but it was set deeply and I left the funkness and chisel in the car. On a side note, there are ways to place bashies that do not involve beating the crap out of the surrounding rock. P3 was fun even though I took a short fall. A yellow/red Alien caught me. I should have died. Argus got on P4 (the roof) and was moving very well again. After a while, I heard "Ah, ah aaaaaaahahhhhh!" and I was jerked out of my heat-induced slumber. Argus got to tick "Aid fall" off his list of things to do for the weekend. It was a 20 footer. I was right there when Argus rudely woke me up. We stopped after P4 to reclaim our tallboys hiding in the shade at the base of the wall. Waterway P1 This is a good pitch. I haven't gotten above it on the Waterway because I had alternate agendas both times I've climbed it. The guide calls this pitch A3, but it didn't seem that hard. Granted, I haven't climbed a whole lot of A3, but it didn't feel any more difficult than the third pitch of Green Drag-on which I had climbed the day before C2+F maybe? Start You need to do some 5.6 ish free climbing on dirty slopers to get to the first piece. Not a big deal, but kinda sketchy. From there, it's up and over a roof-like feature into a groove You could place a lot of Lost Arrows and Angles on this pitch. Offset Aliens and the two smallest ballnuts made this unnecessary. I don't want to destroy too much of the mystery. Let's just say it goes from there. Bring a big hook (ring angle size) and a couple of cams in the #2 territory to sort it out and be prepared for some sketchy free climbing to the anchor. Once complete, Counterfeitfake cleaned the pitch and helped me replace the anchor at the beginning of Abraxus P3 and Golden Arch P3. There was one 1.5" long buttonhead, one 1" long threaded spring bolt, and one 1/4" unknown stainless bolt (it snapped). We pulled all three, redrilled one of them to 1/2" and made a new 1/2" hole a bit further out. We thought about re-drilling one of the other holes, but it was only about 6" away from the first. CFF getting all crazy: The plan was to replace the anchor, then investigate the "rotten bolt ladder" on the Golden Arch's lower pitches. After a rappel into the wrong area and subsequent jugging back to the anchor, we were too gassed to get any more work done. We got the hell out of the sun and drank some beer in the shade. FF doing the piggy dance Go donate some money to the ASCA. They provided the bolts and hangers for this project. http://www.safeclimbing.org/ It was a good weekend on the UTW.

The gri-gri is key for aid climbing. Put any old hammer in the pack. You will inevitably place a nut and it will get fixed. A carefully placed nut tool and a few taps of the hammer will keep your gear "yours".

I think sometimes people either lose track of time or want to sound more badass. Parking anywhere past the TH doesn't really make sense. You can't drive a whole lot faster than a walk unless you really don't like your car. A bike wouldn't get you much farther. A few slides have come down and make it decent 'schwack. 3 hours at our leisurely pace that day, 2 hours if you were working. If you asking about the approach with concern for your lady, budget 3 hours. I bet offthehook could get it done in like 15 minutes.

Really? An organization paid thousands of dollars to build a facility that they then donated to the public so that people like you and me can climb there, and you are going to bitch about it. What about the 5.11 climbers? Should they be pissed too? You can pay to access an area that will challenge a 5.9 leader. It's called Vertical World in Magnolia. I think dues are $50 a month. I'm not a mountie, I just think it's ridiculous when people complain about getting free stuff. On a more positive note - there is a bolt ladder/aid playground on the other side of the building. There are inserts and plates for hooking, questionable rivets through brick sections and tat for the desperate reach. Stick clip or shoulder stand to get to the first bolt.

Yeah. Go to Private Idaho and climb that stuff. Magic Fern 5.9 Senior Citizens in Space 5.7 Istanbul 5.9 Battered Sandwich 5.9 5 minutes away is Peanuts to Serve you 5.9 Them 5.9 and Index Airforce 5.10 Easily TR'd if you don't want to lead it. Bring a normal rack with at least one #4. There isn't any offwidth per se, but the #4 is nice to protect some sections.

Sometimes dreams take longer than one summer and include more personal effort. This is asking quite a lot from a stranger. You could contact one of the guide services for a custom trip. AAI does a bunch of private trips.

Man is that climb good. Nice pics and thanks for sharing. The first roof is very fun and not as hard as it looks. The second roof is pretty damn hard, pulling over on a rattly finger lock.

...and you are comparing alpine to crag climbing. Alpine climbs are usually not as sustained, especially at those grades. The "easy" way up the North Ridge of Stuart was originally rated 5.4.

Trip: Darrington, 3 O'Clock Rock - Silent Running 5.9+./5.10b Date: 7/11/2009 Trip Report: Counterfeitfake and I went to D-town for some climbing. We brought along a couple of "n00bs". "n00bs" is in quotes because this is only their second season climbing and these guys are sending 5.10 on gear. Bastards. Since this is supposed to be an alpine climbing class, our first objective was the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. The forecast of rain and thunderstorms pushed us toward a less committing objective; one that might lead to something more than a hike to a wet bivy site and a hike out. None of us had done much climbing in Darrington, so it was on. The approach to Silent Running is cake. Park at the 8 Mile Creek TH and walk about 20 minutes to the start of the climb. It was hot as balls on Saturday. CFF discussed different terms for the swampy condition that is created in man's crotch as he is hiking on a day like that. The obvious "swamp balls" was thrown out, as well as "bog crotch" and "the fen". Eventually talk switched to "duck butter" which is something I've never experienced and I hope I never will. Silent Running is a 6 pitch 5.9+ or a 7 pitch 5.10b. P1: pretty easy and a little run out. If you work for it, you can find a small nut placement or two to ease the length between bolts. P2: Like P1, but with more features. P3: the first "crux" of the route. Yes, this is where you go up to the bolt. Yes, I know there aren't any holds, its' called "friction". Keep moving and don't be skerred. It's going to be ok. It's well protected through the hard bits. P4. run out 5.8 climbing with some gear to ease the run out again. P5: less run out 5.8 climbing I don't remember any available gear placements, or wanting any. P6: the second "crux". Again, it's very well protected, just keep moving and have fun. P7: the bonus 5.10b pitch. If you survived the lower pitches, you need to do this one too. The steps look intimidating, but they are all bolted just before you make the step. There are a lot more bolts than shown on the topo. Do bring some gear. I placed a couple of nuts and a #2 cam on this pitch, and I was happy to have them. Sorry I don't have any pics. I left my camera at home. As a side note - the road into Dreamer is a bit rough. We stopped not too far from the 8 Mile Creek TH. A new-ish wash would be rough to get over with my little Subaru. Trucks can still get back to the big log. We parked back at the TH and walked in. It took about 15 minutes to get to the log. Save your paint job and walk in. The trail is also getting pretty rough. The road bed is rather overgrown. A few hours with a machete will clear it out. Just short of the first boulder field, a large slide has covered the trail with deadfall. Don't fret the trail is still there. Climb up/over/through for abbot 30 yards and find the trail again. Once we could see the sky again, it was clear that heavy rain was coming soon. We checked out a little more of the approach and left as it started to rain. Gear Notes: 12 draws, small rack to #2. The gear isn't necessary for the first 6 pitches, but it does reduce the runouts on the easier sections. Gear is needed for pitch #7. Approach Notes: Follow the trail for 20 minutes. Climb

The chuck on the petzl drill tends to jump and pinch your hand when you are drilling. Wear gloves. Other than than, it works great, although I haven't tried to penetrate a small boy with it. It's just not my gig.

Trip: Washington Pass - East Face of Lexington Tower Date: 7/4/2009 Trip Report: I just realized that I haven't posted a TR in a while. Argus and I climbed the East Face of Lexington Tower last Saturday. Holy shit is that a good route. I mean, that is a fantastic route. Did I mention how terrific that thing is? Argus projecting success with the #6 A casual start had us on route at about 10:00 am. The snowpatch leading up to the first belay ledge was soft enough for us to kick steps with tennis shoes which prevented the need to carry ice axes up there. Greg and Graham on Liberty Crack Side note: You can grab a bamboo pole near the Liberty Crack turnout and use it instead of an ice axe if you think you will need it. I got the first lead up the 5.7 protectable bit to the 5.7 unprotectable bit. Sure, it's only 5.7, but 30+ feet above your last piece of gear is still 30+ feet above your last piece of gear. I did a little gardening and managed to slot a #3 nut. I also found a boxed out pin scar that took half of a .4 camalot. A Red/yelly or yellow/green alien would be das schisse here. I finally got in a decnet .5 about 20' above the two shitty pieces. That good piece allowed my balls to redescend and put me in send mode. It's not hard to be in send mode when on 5.7 terrain. I climbed and climbed and climbed. I yelled down to Argus "How much rope is left?" Argus replied "Shit, I've been climbing for 50 feet" We ran pitches 1 and 2 together, simul-climbing for about 70 feet. Pitch 3 was a nice 5.8'is crack that had a little #5 action right at the top. It was a warm up for the upper pitches. We were leading in blocks, so I kept going on pitch 4, a 5.7 flake that protected very nicely. This pitch was kind of short and I was at the belay at the end of pitch 5 without noticing the 5.9+ section at all. By the numbers, that was the crux, but it really isn't. Pitch 4-5 (I think) This is where it gets all 5.9+ BTW - the belay in the pod at the end of pitch 5 is pretty darn cool. Argus took over for the second half of the climb. He is much better at the wide than I am. Pitch 6 starts with an airy foot traverse that could be protected if you want to put gear in at your ankle, and if you want to set up some rope drag for the difficult lieback. The lieback/flaring jam move was athletic and fun. I bet it was a little spicy on lead as Argus requested a little extra attention as he went up. The infamous offwidth was next. Yes, the 2x4 is stil there. It's still in good condition, Argus did clip it. There are also 2 fresh(ish) bolts that protect the pitch nicely even though you could get through it with one #6 cam. Both bolts are on the left side of the crack. The first one is a few moves up the crack facing the climber, the other is on the face outside the crack. The 2x4 from the belay That was a fantastic pitch. It wasn't too hard, it wasn't too easy, even dragging a pack below me. Looking over at Counterfeitfake climbing Rebel Yell You belay in a chimney above the 6" crack and climb straight up into another less appealing OW. This leads to a second short chimney and finally to an unprotectable, but lower angle decaying OW above that. As a follower, I opted for the unprotected 5.9 face to the left. F*ck that crack. You kind of top out here, but you aren't at the top of the tower. The final climb up the tower looked pretty unappealing from this side, so we skipped it. It was about 2:00 when we finished climbing. There s about 130' of low-fifth that gets you to the descent walk-off. (all pics from Argus) Gear Notes: Set of nuts Single cams .3-1 Double cams 2-4 Single 5 #6 was never needed thanks to the bolts Approach Notes: Park at the Liberty Crack pond, hike up for Liberty Crack, head left up the snow or scree to the rampy ledge on the left side of Lexington.

listen up, people, the king of all gumbies is speaking here! Oh Snap!

I thought about drilling a fresh hole beside a broken bolt, then chisel over to the bolt. You should be able to chisel the old bolt out and repair the larger hole with epoxy. I didn't do this because it seemed like too much work and would leave more of a mess than I currently had.

There is something you can use instead of tape... Technique Hands bleed because they slip. They slip because your jam sucks. Stop sucking, stop bleeding.

You're welcome I keep bumping in to people hiking a little to check out these climbs. It's encouraging. Hey Porter - Can we add a sticky topic with just a list of recently cleaned routes?

I cleaned "Index Air Force" 5.10a beside "Them" on the wall of 10,000 insects with Argus and BHerc yesterday. It's in good shape and a lot of fun, even in approach shoes. I will be coming back with an axe and a crowbar to remove the stump. I forgot to add chains to the rap station on PI. Next time...

I will be there on Saturday doing some work. I can fix it up then.

crazy cavers...

Really? I bet you can't tell the difference between a factory swage and a swage set with the kit IF the person repairing spent some time to do it right.

Please guys, we don't want this to turn into RC.com.

I came out of the womb with a gnarly thatch on my back. I must be a sport climber.

"bouldery start"

Werd. I need to finish setting the trail bed so it doesn't wash out.

We haven't scrubbed the second pitch of Magic Fern. It will take a shovel, a few wire brushes and a broom to clean it up. The route above Private Idaho is called "Peanuts to Serve You" near Bobcat Cringe. It's worth the 5 minute walk.