andyf

The first report says it's on the south side of the river, which puts it on the other side from Rainbow Rocks.

This isn't part of any "tradition" I'm aware of! If it's not enough that rattlesnakes are cool, ecologically useful creatures, people should be aware that the lower Tieton crags (as well as the crags at Vantage and the west side of Banks Lake, among others) are all on state wildlife refuge land. Climbers making a habit of killing snakes isn't exactly in the long-term interest of maintaining access to these areas. Someone asked whether bee sting allergies translate to increased risk if bitten by a rattlesnake. I asked this question of a doctor once (I'm allergic to bee stings) and was told no, because the neurotoxin of the rattlesnake is a completely different poison.

I've gotta agree with Mark. I've been climbing in the Tieton since 1985 and the snakes were worse back then. I've had a lot of snake encounters, but the most memorable was at Moon Rocks. I was on my fifth try trying to get the FFA of Ages of You. I'd finally cruised through the last crux without hanging or spraining my ankle. I'd just sunk the first sweet hand jam of the route after 60 feet of RPs and #1 Rocks. Right as I was saying "Fuck yeah!" to my partner, I got buzzed by a baby snake lodged in the back of the crack directly in front of my face, still thirty feet from the top. I pasted my feet high, did a reflex karate chop move, and jammed around it in high gear. I wasn't about to blow my clean lead! Seriously, this is the first time I've heard of a climber getting bitten in the Tieton. Not that it couldn't of happened, but I'm not aware of it. In my experience, mass encounters with snakes seem to run in cycles. I've gone an entire season without seeing any at a crag, then gotten buzzed by three in the span of ten feet on my next visit. Snakes always seem most prevalent at the Bend during peak heat waves in the summer. I've also run into a bunches at both the Columns and the Cave in April, when I think they're dispersing from hibernation. That reminds me of another scare. I'd just finished the FA of a route at the Cave (in April) and was getting lowered off. I got buzzed as soon as I hit the ground by a snake a couple of feet away. The guy lowering me heard it and said something like "Whoa," but for what felt like an eternity, he didn't compute that he still had me tethered to the rope. I was like a mad dog on a chain trying to get away. Finally, between me and another person, we got his attention and he played out some slack. Bottom line: There are snakes in the Tieton, especially lower down in the canyon, but based on having spent a LOT of time climbing and exploring crags there for 21 years, I've had MANY more snake free days than days with encounters. And, I've never had one strike at me.

Stopped by Moon Rocks today. Finished installing the new anchors above Moonstruck Pillar and Blue Moon. Finished swapping out old bolts for new on Moonstruck Pillar. Cleaned vegetation/dirt from Moonstruck, Comeback Crack, Bloody Knuckles, Lunar Rover, and Ages of You. Ages of You still needs a brushing to be a pleasant lead again.

Sacrificial Calves is very good. Moonstruck (.10a) is also a really nice V-dihedral. But almost all the crack routes there could use a cleaning. Ages of You has a big clump of mock orange growing out of it. The place needs more traffic! Even if you're not up to leading them, Ages of You (.11c) and Lunar Rover (.12a) are long, sustained cracks that are great to toprope and very easy to rig. You can walk right around to the top, where there are bolts on the ledge to TR from. On that subject: I stopped off at Moon Rocks yesterday on my way back from a work trip to Yakima. I put in new anchors on top of the Blue Moon and Moonstruck Pillar columns. (You start Bloody Knuckles and Moonstruck off these pillars). I also started replacing the nearly 20-year old 5/16th inch buttonheads on Moonstruck Pillar (and mean to do the same for Blue Moon). TWO WARNINGS: 1. I didn't have the right-sized wrench with me to tighten the nuts on the new anchor bolts. SO DON'T USE THEM UNLESS THEY'RE TIGHT. I'm trying to get back on Saturday to fix this, and rig them with chains. 2. A thunderstorm came in and I had to bail before I finished replacing the bolts on MP. I don't THINK I'd started pulling out the last old bolt yet, but in case I did...

Mush Maker is perfect hands (for me, and I have small hands); secure enough that I used to FS it pretty regularly. I wouldn't say the same for First Blood!

Yep, I helped write it!

Info already PM'd to Arden. It's RCW 4.24.210.

The WCC's Tieton information page should be updated today. In the meantime, the post on the site's discussion board has the latest information.

The annual raptor nesting closure at the Royal Columns was lifted on April 1. The Bend, however, will stay closed until July 31. More details here: http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/Forums/showthread.php?p=978#post978

The annual raptor nesting closure at the Royal Columns was lifted on April 1. The Bend, however, will stay closed until July 31. More details here: http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/Forums/showthread.php?p=978#post978

Thanks OW! I'm going to try and make it more this year.

Just for the sake of accuracy, it's "Reckoning," not "The Reckoning." IMO, Reckoning is more like .10a, and even at that mostly because it's sustained. I think Pure Joy has more difficult, technical moves. Many of those cracks may seem more or less difficult depending on finger/hand size. My hands fit Introductory Offer perfectly and it feels like 5.8!

A few more details here: http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/Forums/showthread.php?p=958#post958

It's still for sale at Mountain Goat and Mountain Gear in Spokane--saw it at both places during a visit last week.

And here's a link to the WCC site with info on Frenchman Coulee (including Winter Walk status): http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/Climbing/vantage.htm

OW-- Anything going on NEXT Wednesday? I might finally make it down after work. Andy

The first time I saw SPM (circa 1987 or 88), there were long fixed slings on the bolts, presumably to make them clipable. I was in the company of climber very active at Midnight from the mid-70s to early 80s who told me that Bob McGown had placed the bolts. He also expressed the opinion that the bolts were placed without regard to whether they were in the "right place" to protect free climbing. Point being, if this is true, the bolts pre-date Croft's ascent and were put in half-assed to begin with.

Maybe not, but I recall a time coming off Dreamer when we got back to the car in the dark, drove a short ways before getting a flat tire, and then--when finally back in motion--rounding a corner to come full face with a bonfire right in the middle of the road. As we skirted around the flames, we could see people's eyes reflected in the bushes to either side. Harmless high schoolers, or...DEVIL WORSHIPERS?

In case you missed it in Kristin's message: Due to a PHENOMENAL response the past few days (including dkemp raising more than $900 last night at his homebrew event!), we have now raised $11,647 ! That blows away our goal of raising $8500! To remind you, when we started out we were $16,000 short of the complete funding package. The WCC set a goal to raise $8500, and TPL submitted a grant request to the Access Fund for $7500. So, every dollar we've raised beyond $8500 has reduced the money we need the Access Fund to cough up--a good thing! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S CONTRIBUTED AND HELPED! And, a special thanks to Jon for his generous offer to retailers and our ability to get the word out through cc.com! Andy Fitz Washington Climbers Coalition

I haven't gotten the end-of-the-week total from TPL, but based just on contributions I know about, we're within $2,000. (So, we're almost certainly closer than that.) We are VERY CLOSE and we have ONE WEEK TO GO. Please help, if you haven't already!

Update: $300 came into TPL in today's mail. In addition, I'm directly aware of contributions of $500, $150, and $25 on the way. That basically ups us another $1,000, so we have less than $3500 to go! We're getting closer--please keep it coming!!

If you haven't already pitched in, please help in raising the last $4,000 to buy a Leavenworth climbing area! Here's a recap: For the past month, the Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) has been working to help purchase 40 acres on which Sam Hill, Trundle Dome, and the Fridge boulder are located in Icicle Creek Canyon. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has been working for some time to buy the parcel. TPL intends to transfer the land to the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust. Climbing access will be preserved. Through grants, TPL gained $216,000 toward the $226,000 purchase price, and the Land Trust gained $14,000 toward the $20,000 it needs as "stewardship money" to cover long-term taxes, insurance, and monitoring costs. That left a $16,000 gap to fill. That's where climbers come in. TPL has submitted a $7500 grant request to the Access Fund. In addition, last month the WCC kicked off an effort to raise the remaining $8500. To date, we've raised about half the $8500. We have approximately two weeks (until the end of the month) to raise the rest of the money! So, we need your help! We're asking two things of you: 1) If you haven't already, please contribute to the fundraising effort. Any amount will help: $25, $50, or more. You can send a check to: The Trust for Public Land Attn: Rebecca Lavigne - Sam Hill Project 1011 Western Ave., Suite 605 Seattle, WA 98104 Please make your check out to "TPL--Sam Hill project." Or, you can go directly to washingtonclimbers.org for more information, including a donor form to donate by credit card. 2) Please help reach out to other climbers. Forward this message onto other folks. Make sure your local gyms and shops have a flyer about the project, which you can download from washingtonclimbers.org This is a good project and we are very close to success. We hope you will help out. Andy Fitz Washington Climbers Coalition www.washingtonclimbers.org

Total. cc.comers can help out, though, by E-MAILING OTHER CLIMBERS THEY KNOW to help! You can download a PDF flyer to mail around by going to www.washingtonclimbers.org and clicking on the Sam Hill information page.

As of today, we're up to $2,955 in gifts and pledges for Sam Hill, from 33 donors. We've fallen off last week's pace. Please help out! $5,545 to go by April 28!