bremerton_john

mmmmmmm! It's a lovely day for a Guinness.

Clark, Johnson, Sweat and the others are really worth doing, and surpisingly few people give them much notice. When we did Sweat a few years ago the summit register had only a handful of names, and the most recent had been like 6 or 7 years before us.

I'll talk to my friend who put up the one route that is in there and get his opinion on the place. He seems to know more about the quarry than anyone else I've met.

Great, thanks for the help. I didn't realize I could simply link the photos from the gallery section.

Hey! How you do 'dat?!

I don't know much about the quarry, though I've been there and decided it wasn't a place worth investing too much effort in. I'm not sure if it is on private property or city property either. Next time you're heading south out of town, look for it off the road just before getting to Gorst. There is a somewhat hidden turnoff onto a dirt road that leads back to it.

Yes, it is true that there is at least one bolted line at the quarry on highway 3 between Gorst and Bremerton. I'm not sure it's worth the trouble, though. You'll have to sweep out an area free of broken glass and syringes for belaying. But it is about the closest outdoor climb to Bremerton. You can also hike up to School Rock on Green mountain and play around on the moss. There's maybe 2 or 3 lines. OC uses this for their Mountaineering Course. A little further away is Chimicum rock near Port Townsend. It's an interesting place to play around, though it is on private property and frequented by some of the colorful locals who consider the rock sacred. Three of us once walked right through a circle of 12 people all chanting in strange tongues while bowing to the rock. We carried on, dumped our gear at the base and proceeded to climb.

Blakej, I just tried your cell. I've got Thursday through the Monday off, though I need to be in town Thursday and very early Monday morning. I originally thought you had to work until Friday night, so I tentatively planned on going on a paddle Friday morning. But that is not set in stone, so we shall see. Do you want to swing by sometime this weekend for a ? Rollo, what's your schedule look like?

Blakej, the Alaska trip is off for next weekend. I might just be free to take on something. What is your schedule? You want to give Anderson a go?

I'll have a free day or two, during which I might explore some part of the Chugach State Park. It's right outside my brother-in-law's place. I've never been before, so it will all be new territory.

The only old one I've got is 'A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra', 1956.

Sorry about the schedule screw-ups, blakej. There is something very important consuming me right now that is going to take some time to work out. I hope we can hook up in June, though.

Sounds like some good work. I'd like to get back in there sometime soon.

The Hamma Crag definitely has potential. Easy access and lots of variety. I guess the only question is how much of it will demand bolted pro. I think the only placement I had much confidence in was the bush I slung a runner around. I posted a (not-so-good) photo of the climb on my gallery page if you want to see it. I don't have my own website, so I don't know how else to post an image directly to this message.

Sounds like the Queets might be the preferred access. I read somewhere that the Park service was allowing the Queets valley to retain its "wildness" by not maintaining trails and doing other management work, and steering general tourist traffic to the Hoh and Quinault.

The Valhallas have been on the minds of myself and my climbing partner for the last 6 months. Unfortunately he is away for the rest of the year pursuing another passion, so our trip into there has to wait until next spring. But I am an acquaintence of another of the first ascentionists in the Valhallas, Roger Becket. He's got some interesting pics and stories of their trip in the early 70's. Yes, frankly there aren't many peaks in the Olympics (or Cascades I'll venture) that take the commitment in time and bushwack as the Valhallas. Another group I know attempted them a couple years back, and were overwhelmed by the jungle of the South Fork of the Hoh.

Nice Climb! You know, it's been mentioned in previous posts that the guidebook committee for the Olympics is presently working on the new edition. The Brothers Traverse was something that they felt could use an improved write-up. Robert, would you be willing to contribute?

There really is no good reason. Sometimes I wan't to carry as little as possible. But I think maybe I partly feel that I've already got enough shots of myself and friends "standing on another peak". I know that sounds bad, like climbing has become routine or something. That's not it, believe me. Taking photos just isn't as important as it once was.

Unfortunately I've not taken my camera up Pershing. I find myself taking a camera on trips less and less these days. There are those times I regret it, though - cool sunsets, or cloud/peak shots or the like.

I've been up on the ridge and done portions of the Needles. From Baldy you can get a fair way's over to the Needles, but it gets complicated and real interesting when you approach Walkinshaw and Mt. Clark. I think another fun trip would be to start at Suprise Basin and work your walk over the Needles to Deception, climbing each of the spires along the way - Sweat, Gasp, Incisor, Martin, Johnson etc. A friend of mine attempted the GrayWolf Ridge traverse last summer. Travelling light it took him a couple days to get across to Walkinshaw and find a way down to the lake.

Sounds like fun. Three of us bushwacked up the ridge that is betwen Ellinor and Washington running SE off of 'A' Peak. We went up and got A and B peaks, and had a good look the Horse's Mouth. My buddy lost dropped his helmet off 'A' Peak towards Ellinor, in case anyone stumbles upon it. It smacked rock a couple times on the way down, so don't trust it for your own brain bucket.

It took us 6 hours to make the summit, and we weren't moving very fast, but we also were in the right place to get through the worst of the slide alder. As long as you keep your eyes open for the path you shouldn't have any trouble. We took a rope and belayed a couple of newbies up 2 4th class steps to gain the ridge. Then one of them wanted to be tied in along the ridge walk, but the others in our group were comfortable without. The ridge is thin in spots with consequences if you fall, but safe to walk along if you watch your feet. We downclimbed without roping up the newbies much closer to the summit, where it is only class 2/3.

Rocktown is pretty damn cool. A climbing oasis set in a nice southern pine forest. House sized boulders strewn about with amazing features and holds. Some are big enough to take a half-rope along. Foster Falls, TN is another great place for tough sport routes. Its not far from the border of NC and GA. But Looking Glass is definitely your best option for bumming around Asheville. Mmmm, springtime in the south... sweet tea, sweet southern belles...