JosephH

Yes, seriously, 54 anchors had BOTH bolts spinning free in their holes. So which of the replacement anchors has a bolt spinning in the hole? No doubt what you think of any route you can't lead.

Well Dennis, it's all just part of the beauty of being someone I've already been and still enjoying it (and do feel free to try and lead any of my routes if you have any doubts about that at all). Steve, which part of 54 anchors had both bolts freely spinning did you miss. And maybe the math is bit challenging as well - let me give you a hand with that: 72 / 2 - 36 < 54. But hey, don't let the details bog you down.

I have replace several anchors in my time and never once did I remove the old anchor. Simply added a new one that is safe. Just saying....... Say away. That wasn't the deal with the Lisa Lantz (the WSP Resource Steward). And the only 'historic' anchor of the 72 was Schmitz, Levin & Caldwell's anchor on Flying Swallow and it's still there. But double-up 72 anchors? Seriously? Yeah, that really happens everywhere.

You're definitely welcome, but hey, head over to the ranger station or Opdycke's any time you get nostalgic, they have every bit of that 'historic' trash. Of course feel free to gloss over the fact 54 of 72 of those replaced [pre-]historic anchors had both bolts spinning and two of those anchors were going to kill someone what with one bolt breaking solely under the resting weight of the breaker bar and the other three breaking in under a third of a turn. Oh, the friggin' humanity...! And 'uncharted'? Dude, there's only one stretch of uncharted rock out there worth trying to climb. The rest? It was all oh-so-well-charted in the 80's and 90's.

The anchors were replaced so I shouldn't think folks would believe it hadn't been climbed.

It's definitely climbable on gear.

Wonder if rt. 97 isn't going to get a tad busier as well.

Jason, great point. If that's the case then it's good to know the original primer did at least work and didn't come off in sheets as the paint did. And if corrosion played no significant role then I guess it does just further point to the basic failure being that the truss beams were way under-spec'd for the job all the way around. At least you look at the first aerial shot, all of the beams look like they were designed 'to the bone' with no margin for anything going wrong.

The truck did make it across and with only a small dent in its load (impact point circled in blue below). I'd guess off hand the bridge deflected considerably before the collapse which probably would have given the whole experience a real 'slo-mo' feel. The roadway also likely 'folded' and 'tore' from the hit side of the bridge on across the roadway like a zipper which would also have slowed things down a hair. Couple of interesting points from recent photos: first, is the role corrosion played in the collapse, check out the points where the beams bent - most of them had recently been prepped for painting due to rust (green circles); second is the fact the bridge had no strap or block siesmic retro-fits of the kind done throughout downtown PDX bridges after the Oakland quake so the bridge section ends just slid off the piers with no resistance (yellow circles).

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57586034/bridge-collapse-in-washington-state-blamed-on-tractor-trailer/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57586034/bridge-collapse-in-washington-state-blamed-on-tractor-trailer/

Would imagine the first span on the other end of the bridge has also taken hits so it's probably not just a matter of repairing the collapsed span. Even if they attempt to do that I would guess the whole rest of the bridge will have to get a retrofit before they'd let traffic on it again. Does sound likes it's going to be a way extended clusterfuck. At least there's a nearby bridge they can reroute with.

The bridge design is a series of triangular and inverted triangular trusses with low, curved horizontal beams directly above the roadway connecting the two sides. This was the entrance span at one end of the bridge which collapsed. According to a bridge survey of the span it was rated functionally obsolete, in part because of the design due to trucks hitting the low side of the first entrance horizontal. The force of a hit there would be immediately transferred to the beams supporting the roadbed by the second sidewall diagonal beam which terminated at the spot the roadway collapsed. Speculation is that the outboard (passenger-side of the slow lane) of that curved, overhead entrance-span horizontal took repeated truck hits over time, basically jack-hammering the roadway support beams each time and eventually weakening them to the point of collapse. Think carabiner 'micro-fractures', but for real, and probably combined with stress corrosion cracking.

I didn't say the biner itself was annoying as such, but rather the lack of symmetry in the latching strengths on the one I used was annoying. If the latch strength on the weak side deteriorated any further, however, I'd have some serious questions about the manufacturing execution of the design.

Probably not a big deal, but after seeing one where the latch on one side was a bit funky I've checked out a bunch on the rack. The surface finish of the magnet and latch face can sometimes be rough causing uneven latch strengths. Again, probably not a big deal, but it was enough to irritate me the one time I used one. I'd say if you're going to get one then examine the latch surfaces closely and note whether the latch strengths are symmetrical.

I dont think it is up for an aurguement that it does or does not prevent tooth decay. The question is should the government force it on you? Last time I checked it's called 'public health'. Hell, let's abolish the CDC while we're at it as they're clearly evil. Sigh, fighting ignorance - who knew the Internet would make it that much harder, not easier.

Good to know...

#7 HB alloy nut and a #1 Mastercam, both way in the back; neither are the worlds best placements, but suffice.

What do you consider the crux?

Two billion in gitmo costs and counting - all for maybe a dozen guys who were ever worth holding, and then only for long enough to try them in civilian courts and send them to your local neighborhood supermax. It's all part of the enduring W clusterfuck we are still stuck with thanks to moronic republicans. And let's not even get into us holding prisoners there on China's behalf...

Go down to PDX Saturday market when it's happening and he should be there in a stall. Usually on the river side of the street.

Just about. The main beams and cross bars have been torched back to relatively straight, but it still needs to be re-decked and re-railed. They're working as fast as they can with the resources available.

More times than I care to remember - goldline wasn't particularly kind either and it's especially no fun on free-hanging rappels. You learned fast to go slow.

Still a rightwing / libertarian chicken little 'the sky is falling' deal:

Sobo, dude! You'll be carrying out last soldier out of there on your back at this rate. And are you also now transitioning those bases over to the Taliban and coordinating with their facilities staff instead of closing them? I mean, now that we're partnered up with them and all...