JosephH

Cat, you are correct and failing to mention not using singles as twins was an oversight on my part in the post above so I've edited it, thanks...

There was a similar conversation on rc.com recently and the quote below is my post from that thread. Also, Tuesday night I and a friend were working on a [currently] fairly dicey r/x-rated (due to sharp, fragile, and loose rock) FA and doing the reverse of the OP's inquiry - we were climbing on two Metolius 9.8mm single ropes using them as doubles. When a marginal piece blew at our high point I ended up taking a pretty substantial and glancing ride onto the wall below the roof we were attempting to push. Not sure how far a fall it was for sure until I get back up there next time, but it was into the realm of real business and falling on two singles used as doubles was not only completely fine - it was very comforting. The reverse going the other way isn't the same sort of deal - I would never use a double as a single, or a twin as a double. [Edited both here and on rc.com per catbirdseat's comment below - My oversight in the above is whereas using singles as doubles is fine, using them as twins is a bad idea and can introduce some ugly loads on your gear and produce a harder catch for you.]

No, I don't think either of us was up to that as Dave had already done Dods the night before and YW that morning. We rapped and Dave went home, I then did a roped solo lap on YW and took off myself.

No, it actually bordered on casual once I got over the fact that I've never gotten it first try of the season because I'm always quite fat and out of shape - not so this year. That, and because I only do a single jam at the bottom to get started and then it's a pretty straightforward layback.

Did Dods to Big Ledge yesterday and didn't see any blood or excrement anywhere...

175 - gotta get that down to 165...

Kevin, dude - Just noticed - 9,000 posts? Man, and I thought I was busy! Makes my finger tips sore just contemplating it. Do you chalk up at the keyboard? I know mine gets slick and greasy after just a few posts.

Kevin, the FFS mid-anchor was the last anchor replacement of last year on the way to hitting the couple of anchors above the Arena. It was replaced in lieu of removing it all together which has been a controversy in its own right for decades - Henry Barber bitched up a storm about that anchor being there. But the anchor was only there because of folks rapping on 50m ropes from various different anchors higher up. I was on the side of not removing it in case someone rapped down needing it. Some, like Mark, and 'Hot Henry' did and do consider it an embarassment. I feel it is as well, but am inclined to err on the conservative side of things on this particular anchor regardless of my personal opinion on it. There has also been discussion over the past two years of doing a complete Beacon anchor review and optimizing a few of the anchors by adjusting one side of the anchor and removing the slings/rings altogether; that, and possibly removing some anchors entirely (check with Jim and Bill). The Rise Up anchor slings and rings are gone as you only need the Windsurfer anchor to rap out off that ledge. If you want to TR Rise Up just throw some draws on it if you don't like the feel of TR'ing directly on the rap hangers, otherwise it's a lead anchor. The FFS mid-anchor is for rapping though I'd say feel entirely free to TR directly on those rap hangers (I have) as it won't feel any different than draws and you aren't going to wear them out (and if they were to wear, I'd replace them). The anchors over the Arena, on Flightime, and a couple off of Upper Grassy Ledges will be the last ones replaced along with checking the two short angles high on Stone Rodeo. Other than that I will be continuing the effort to clean out the South Face column routes that have languished and grown over in the past decade or so. Flying Swallow and Flightime will be getting a thorough going over - any and everyone is welcome to 'adopt-a-column' and clean one out themselves, I have plenty of tools for the job folks can borrow. At the end of the year we should go after the poison oak which has taken over the good lines like Lay Lady Lay and Rip City to the left of Jensens Ridge (this year for sure!). The blocks missing at the top of the slab as you turn to head up to the Tree Ledge on p2 of the SE Corner were yarded loose by a very large beginning climber in a threesome ahead of me near the end of the season last year (good thing that's all he ripped off). They were very loose and detached about an inch or so and had to go or they might have done someone in on YW. The rockfall mentioned in the safety notice, on the other hand, is coming from somewhere up by the top of the wall by the trees high and directly above the SE Corner start.

1-3) When you say "the owls i saw were much larger than barn owls", you're saying GHO's... 4) "i saw a large brown owl fly out" - these are both Barn Owls: The one out there now is also very large, but mostly white when flying and seen from below. 5) "now your saying that gho's do nest on cliffs - I said at Beacon they don't nest on the face, they nest in the trees around Beacon. 6) "that jerk off dave anderson" - WDFW and David Anderson are the only ones who can lift the closure so caring what they think is the only way it's going to ever happen. 7) "head-banger approach" - Get over it? I'd love to if it didn't bang it's head again every year like frigging clockwork. 8) "bolt the fuck out of it" - Other than the ones on my FA's, I've only replaced the existing anchors at Beacon - someone else bolted the fuck out of it. Hey, I'd be all for removing them all, including mine. 10) "talk about shennanigans" - Oh well, can't please everyone, it had a pretty good effect at the time... 11) "why are so obsessive dude?" - Because I do live here and I want the damn rock open so I can climb and I didn't see anyone else doing anything about it other than bitching. An auditable history of hard data is the only way it will possibly get out from under the closure. No point in working for that goal on any basis but consistently and being in it for the long haul. And 'climb the thing' is my only interest as well...

Most of my earlier active Beacon climbing in '80 and then again '87-'94 at which time I tapered off with family and work '95-'00, though I was still out a couple of times a month when I wasn't working in Asia or out of state. I repeatedly encountered what I assume was you and Ken - or two of someone with very long hair, one black, one blonde soloing for the better part of a day. In fact, all the times I encountered them they were soloing or rapping from soloing and I was roped-soloing. If it wasn't the two of you, I couldn't say who it was, but I will grant you they weren't particularly friendly beyond the odd grunt in passing. GHO's are not beyond making nests on cliffs or using Raven or Redtail nests, but did you see a GHO nest? Or did you just see a GHO? The GHO's in BRSP have shown no such proclivity and no one has ever documented or observed one nesting on the South face. Having now monitored in endless three-to-six hour sessions steadily over the past four years (while everyone else was climbing at Ozone) as well as repeatedly traveling over the South face during that period I have no problem saying in that period no GHOs have nested on Beacon. Whereas, I've documented evidence of Barn Owls doing so in three of the past four years. And no, I'm telling you all you've said was you saw a 'big fucker' - you'd have to get way more specific than that to if you want to talk to the big boys in the bird world and have it count for squat. They only operate on solid observational data and 'big fucker' doesn't quite cut it at that table. Can you do better than that description? Where on Beacon? How often? Did you see a nest? Did you see eggs? Did you see chicks? These folks operate on real data - no good data? Fuckin' oh well - zip changes then... I agree, folks clearly all gave up long ago when whichever among you told them to go fuck themselves when they offered a partial closure to let you do the first few pitches of the Corner. That would have left you there and in the game to work [honestly] on the situation. Since then no one has attempted a single meaningful dialogue with any of the land managers that wasn't also accompanied a shitload of bullshit and shennanigans behind their backs the instant climbers weren't [hostilely] face-to-face with them. Hey, from my perspective, the head-banger approach to dealing with the various land managers of record for Beacon and the closure was totally ineffective - zip got done beyond pissing off everyone involved. It was also backed by endless bad-rapping of the various folks you needed to deal with, not to mention relentless 'pirate' breaches of the closure. A real gem of a strategy which delivered nada. I've delivered four straight years of early opens and the only credible path to even a remote possibility of lifting the closure over the long haul. Anyone else who wants to pony up and try to do better has my blessing. Again, there isn't a single one of you dudes - not even Opdycke - who wants Beacon open year round more than I do. Got a better idea on how to do that? I'm all fucking ears...

Pink, pink, pink... Great Horned Owls nest in trees and not on the face so have no incentive to "get along" or "live and let live" as a Barn Owl might have trying to coexist on the same face as the Peregrines. But this particular Barn Owl is a very large one size-wise and looks more than capable of tangling with the Peregrines which are smaller. There are definitely Great Horned Owls about the park, but no one knows where the closest nest might be though there was some suspicion there might be one somewhere just west of Beacon.

Pink, you better get in shape as I am going to have to spank you hard when I get down there (maybe early next month)...! Climbers are, unfortunately a significant threat to Peregrine scrape site selection, egg incubation, and less so raising chicks to fledging. To adults and successful fledges, no, we aren't a threat of any kind.

As we speak I just got a response from David saying that Barn Owls are not a significant threat to Peregrines. I'd say that jibes with pink's observations that Barn Owls have been on the face all along during all the years the Peregrines have successfully fledged on Big Ledge.

I've sent David Anderson the Owl info as we've gotten it starting with the heavy use of the Windsurfer ledge back in 2004 and the various sightings over the past three years. I've passed along this latest info and asked the same thing. If pink's assertion that large Owls such as this have always (and continuously) occupied the South Face than it would tend to indicate such Owls are not a threat to the Peregrines as they have successfully fledged off of Big Ledge many times over that period. There are Great Horned Owls in the park. They nest in trees, and have been sighted every year with one ending up with a broken wing two years ago from unknown causes, though there was some speculation a Peregrine had done it.

It's use by this particular Owl on a long term basis really is 'new' even if the Owl and ledge aren't. Don't make me kick your ass the next time we're in Eldo - you will be in shape from the wrists up, right?

Pink, get ahold of yourself - go climbing. This particular Owl and its use of this particular ledge are both 'new' as in the last four years and the use of this ledge vs. the Windsurfer ledge is 'new' as of this year.

Yep, this one has been around on a more or less permanent basis for some time, his use of this ledge system is new, however.

Mike, yeah, a lot of Beacon lines can seem a couple of grades harder until you get accustomed to the rock and figure out the nooks, crannies, and stems. That 'offwidth' section up to the business can be made infinitely harder any number of ways and easier only a couple. Once you have it down it feels more like 5.8, until then it feels very hard and intimidating. It also protects a variety of ways, I normally do it with two #11 HB offsets nuts placed at 1/3 and 2/3s of the way up it. Don't mind pink, he's a good guy, but pinned down in CO away from Beacon where he should be a hard climbing lizard, not a pop-up one. But, he still likes to keep a claw in all things Beacon.

That's the one we were seeing last year as well. That's a big help, thanks guys.

Mike, glad to hear you and Tyler were thinking about it and watered it with a flushing. It probably would have been worse if you hadn't. In general, if folks are going to bivy and need 'real' facilities, you'll need to treat Beacon ledges like a big wall and bring something so you can carry out waste. Thanks. Ivan, I'll be giving BSS a thorough cleaning this week sometime. Flying Swallow cleaning and Flightime anchors shortly thereafter. If anyone else wants to clean out one of the other South Face column routes let me know and I can set you with a range of variously rigged cleaning implements to do it. You'd likely need a paper breathing mask, two ropes, a means of stopping to work (I use a Petzl Shunt), and a day, or even two, to do the job right if it has a lot of plants in it.

I'd be willing to take you out sometime in the next couple of weeks, not sure when exactly. PM with your contact info. Joseph

Hi, we were the ones up on Big Ledge talking with you. So it was an Owl and not a Peregrine that made the mess on the top of. How big and what color was it? We've been tracking an Owl for the past two years though at that time it was in the large, wide crack below the Windsurfer anchor. Given we're operating under an early open at the grace of WDFW I'd ask that until we know more about what's going on with this Owl relative to chicks and nesting, that everyone please stay off of 'Beacon Towers' and the routes Borderline, Grunge Book, and Excalibur (immediately left of the start of the second pitch of Blownout) between now and July 15th. Thanks.

Mike, Thanks for the word on the overnight parking. I'll have a chat with the BRSP staff as this is a change from the policy arrangement we've been working under. It's legal to bivy up on the rock and parking was free under those circumstances - you did have to leave a note visible on the dash saying you are bivying and how many bodies are up there. No one is keeping track of anything, they just need to know that everyone who isn't bivying is off the trail and off the rock when cars are left in the parking lot. Sounds like that informal arrangement has now changed for some reason and we are back to the normal WSP regs. Again, I'll check with them about this. Also, the woman Ranger is Vivian McNeil and the younger man is Ben (don't have his last name). They are actually both relatively new to Beacon, very nice, into the climbing at Beacon, and looking forward to a run up the SE Corner themselves. Erik Plunkett, the BRSP Head Ranger, is currently on temporary assignment up at WSP HQ in Olympia for the summer. Introduce yourselves and say hi if you run across them. P.S. Oh, and when up on Big Ledge, please wiz over one of the end edges and not in the main wide column crack in the back - it was the source of some complaint today and is one part of Valley heritage which could stay down there. P.P.S. There is a Valley-style four-bolt anchor at the base of the columns under the Ground Zero roof and the columns flatten out there; it was left this way so folks aiding Ground Zero as training for the Valley could practice with their ledges.

Last posting for it... See 2008 Opening Safety Notes if you haven't already...

And one last time...