hemp22

correct on Black Orpheus for the "easy pitches"... and yeah, that milford sound shot is hard not to recognize if you've been there.

Yep - the limestone is Payne's Ford. Close on the boulders - I believe they're "Moeraki" boulders (Aoraki = mt. cook). I didn't see anything destroyed by the Kea, although it was perched on someone's rearview mirror for a while.

Correct pink - the first picture is a shot of Traveler's Buttress from afar (it's on the upper main wall - the pic also shows Surrealistic Pillar on the lower buttress - we'd intended to link the two). The "crux to contemplate" is Triassic Sands in RR (my car didn't enjoy the black velvet approach road too much). The El Cap picture isn't really meant to be of any route in particular - I didn't go all the way up...just did some cragging at the base.

Trip: Cali, Vegas, NZ... - Various - Pics & name that route Date: 11/16/2007 Trip Report: I recently took an extended vacation, and I was able to do a little bit of climbing in various locations. None of the routes that I got on were note-worthy enough to warrant a more detailed TR. All of the climbs were common and well-traveled climbs in popular areas, and there's plenty of beta for them elsewhere on the net. So, instead of an informative TR, I figured I'd just share some photos. Feel free to try to identify the routes or locations - like a Name-that-route thread - some are easy, others are a bit harder. You can click on the pictures for a larger view. Some caveats: * I'm not a talented photographer, and most of these were taken with my old point & shoot camera (which now has a broken display screen). * This is my first TR - go easy on me. _____________________________________________________________ The trip started with visions of spectacular buttresses... ...and golden swaths of granite. There were plenty of opportunities for butt-shots of leaders... ...and poses by followers. There were dikes to yard on... ...and roofs to negotiate. There were wide cracks to grunt through... ...and thin cracks that ran on to the horizon. There were splitter hand cracks hidden in the trees... ...and layback cracks just waiting to spit you off. There were looming monoliths... ...and peaceful meadows. There were long classics to tick... ...and high-ball boulders to top out on. There were traverses to warm up on... ...and vicious crimps to cause injury. There were posh digs to stay at on rest days... ...and cultural festivals to partake in. There were easy pitches to wander up... ...and cruxes to contemplate. There was much wine to be tasted... ...and much beer to sample as well. There were scenic sea-cliffs to admire... ...and towering walls of schist(ty) rock to fear... ...plus limestone crags hiding in the bush. There were golden, sandy beaches... ...and not-so-golden, not-so-sandy beaches. There were peaks to be viewed from down low... ...and peaks to be viewed from up high. There were grueling approaches... ...and thrilling descents. There was mischevious wildlife ready to entertain... ...and friendly locals to make all you CC.com'ers feel at home. There were runouts to get the blood flowing... ...and sketchier descents to let the curses fly. But most importantly, a great time was had by all. Gear Notes: * Keeping multiple air fresheners in the car helps keep the funk down when keeping nasty climbing shoes in the trunk for 3 weeks. * When photocopying topos from guidebooks to avoid carrying the book up a climb, don't forget to photocopy the page that explains the descent... * Casualties: -1 red camalot -1 tent due to high winds... Approach Notes: Domestic: Trusty subie Abroad: El Corolla Loco

assuming that you'll be living in the city and without a car, the other 2 gyms (Stoneworks and club sport) will probably be too far from you. PRG does have a bouldering area, but of course it's tiny compared to the circuit. The circuit does have some other work-out equipment. Personally, I'd say that the decision between PRG & the Circuit should depend on whether you prefer bouldering or roped climbing. If you're more of a boulderer and can do without having any roped climbs, then get a membership at the Circuit. If you need to toprope/lead on a regular frequency, then go to PRG. if you know you're gonna spend a lot of time at the gym, take that into account when choosing a neighborhood too. living on the east side or downtown, you'd be closer to PRG. living in SW would put you closer to the circuit.

i just got back from there a few days ago. while i didn't purchase any guidebooks, i did look through a bunch of borrowed ones and I'd say that yes - Rock Deluxe is still the best bet for the whole South Island. for the ice screws & axes, you can probably find places to rent them...

hmm. my 60M rope must be getting short in its old age. the last time i looked at rapping from the top of P2 with a 60, it was still quite a ways off the ground at the bottom. oh well, that's why i like my 70M. but - i have rapped off those P1 anchors and haven't felt sketched about it. i don't know what type of bolts those mushroom-heads are, but i'm pretty sure they're found at other anchor chains throughout broughton's as well.

Bill, Wayne, et. al. - the historic anecdotes are great - keep em coming. to Geoff & Kevbone, I've never felt too sketchy about those bolts on Gandalf's, but I do agree that they're not ideal. But if anyone updates them, please try to do a clean job & replace them as opposed to adding new ones. I think there are already some old holes & sawed off bolts up there - no need to add more mess. I don't have gear for bolting but would be glad to lend a hand to anyone who wants to update some of the manky stuff out there.

they're always closed on sundays and mondays....at least since they've changed ownership and moved to the 28th & Sandy location. The exact hours (usually 10am-7pm) are on their website. It can be a little inconvenient for us Mon-Fri 9-5'ers if we're used to having our gear stores open on Sundays - but it's just a small group running the place now and I respect their need to have some time off to climb too. Anyway, looking forward to this saturday.

Hey guys, At what time(s) will Juan's film be showing? back in town for a few days and will try to swing by on Sat.

no, I-rock is not mentioned at all in the new Olson guide. It covers Broughton, Rocky, Carver, Beacon, and French's. It includes some slightly better topos, and a lot more pictures. But it doesn't include the section in the back on the more obscure/adventure areas, or the gorge ice. Also, it does not list the FA information anymore either

likes: 0-60 < 3 sec. top speed > 160. Reducing morning commute time by 25%. dislikes: uncomfortable seat. nearly dying. selling it.

hey guys - just wanted to give a heads up to Rocky Butte climbers that an Adopt-a-Crag cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, October 6th. There wasn't one this spring, so there should be no shortage of trash to clean up. access fund website Locals should show up and "give a little back" by helping keep it clean. It would also probably make a good time to get a bunch of viewpoints/opinions on things like the crack warrrior anchor (or the poison oak). unfortunately, i'll be out of town for a while, so I won't be able to attend or remind people about it - but hopefully people will mark their calendars.

I once saw a guy jump into the irrigation canal tunnel that's up by the Marsupials at Smith. We were approaching the Marsups and there was a group ahead of us. This is right where the trail joins up with Burma road, and where Burma road makes a hard right turn before heading up to Koala rock. The irrigation canal dumps into a long tunnel right there at the turn, and ends up coming out on the other side of the hill. This irrigation canal is quite a bit bigger than the one at Snow Creek wall - probably about 3 or 4 times as far across. Anyway, one of the guys in the group ahead of us had a dog, and the dog decided to go play in the water, and immediately got swept away into the tunnel. the guy must have been really attached to his dog, because he immediately jumped in after the dog. It was totally silent for a few seconds, and then the rest of his party started freaking out. they tried yelling to him to no avail. We ran up to help & tried to get a cell phone signal to call 911. We realized that any 911 help wasn't going to be able to get there any time soon, so people started trying things like feeding a climbing rope into the tunnel to see if he could grab it. After a while, a couple guys started running up to the top of the ridge to see if they could see where the canal came out on the other side. Well, after about 30-45 minutes, as the other guys ran up the ridge, they ran into the original guy walking over the ridge back towards them with the dog in tow. Both were soaking wet, but otherwise fine. it turns out that the guy (and dog) had been taken on the water chute ride of their life and been swept all the way through the tunnel about 1/4-1/2 mile to where it came out the other side. Luckily, there were no grates or strainers or anything along the way, and this was more of a "tunnel", with air-space above the water, than a syphon. Note: the big irrigation canal at Smith is totally different than the one at Snow Creek, and even though this particular story had a happy ending, in no way do I encourage anyone to be stupid enough to jump into an irrigation stream to save a dog or for any other reason. Oh, and the 911 responders never did actually show up - they couldn't figure out how to unlock the gate to the Burma road.

bummer bill.... ...and here I was hoping to get outside again today. did you hurt yourself on anything in particular at lake O?

bill, that missing anchor bolt has been replaced. i might show up... but, as usual, if i do, i won't know until right before...

Panic Point Third Pillar Great Roof Arena of Terror Gollum's Hang

were you on the climb yesterday (Thursday)? from the parking lot we saw people up there. it looked like someone was on that line. also looked like someone was at the top of Gandalf's P2 & couldn't tell if they were together or 2 different parties.

back to smith:

Bill - don't worry, "slit your wrists" is a route name, not a suggestion. but i don't think that's what Stan is on. I'll guess that it's "Highway to Hell", or maybe "The Quickening". John, is #3 "Midriff Bulge"? Pazzo - I don't know any of yours either, but they look great. whereabouts are they located? folks were correct on my last one: "Kigijushi" in Cheakamus

Teddy Bear's Picnic? Bill, i'm not sure on your bottom pic either, but is it on churning or aggro?

it's not in oregon. some hints: it's further north than any of the rock routes posted so far in this thread...and there are a bunch of .14s on the roof above the climber...

not wolf rock. i had to go further away than that for this one.

fgw was correct on mine: start of loose block overhang (right start). And yeah, I thought I recognized those wonky anchor bolt placements at the top of phone call from satan....

would hate for this to die, but i'm out of Smith pics that aren't obvious/easy.