SuperSparky

Right -- there is a Protection Difficult section above the P1 bolt. Pro is bomber there (provided you bring the recommended gear), but you do need to place it from tenuous stances with gear a little below your feet. The rest of the climb protects easily, although it is easy to run out of green #.75 Camalots on P4 if you're not paying attention. The #4.5 (new #5) Camalot is useful on P2 and P5 as well as on the top of P1. -Eric

Chris knew fashion. Salish Peak and Roan Wall.

I have terrible news. Chris died at Darrington this Saturday near Martha's Place (Roan Wall area). My knowledge of the accident is 3rd hand, through what David Tower described to me last night, but it sounds like it was the stupid mistake of thinking he was on belay when he wasn't. He had spent the last couple weeks camping and climbing around Martha's Place. His oldest daughter had hiked in to visit him for the tail end of the trip, and was with him when he died. Here's an image of Chris from 2007, from a day I spent with Chris and David up on Chief Wawetkin buttress. -Eric Hirst

Soft spoken, really nice guy. He was at VW every Wednesday night since always. Never drank beer afterwards because he liked his wife better than the rest of us us. Probably a sign of good taste. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=robert-a-prosser&pid=162446863 -Eric

A friend picked them up on Tuesday, thanks! -Eric

Base of Cobra Kai last Sunday. (I think.) If you are the part of 3 (2M, 1F) from Freelard (Seattle) area that was climbing there after us, did I leave a sling-load on the ground in my haste? Give a call either way if you see this post. Thanks, Eric 206-930-8358 PS I promise to follow up or delete this post if I suddenly find these in the bowels of my pack, or some such. It's possible...

See my recent updates to the "Gold Bar Bouldering / Rieter Pit" thread. Unless I'm mistaken, the DNR plan will increase your chance of getting killed by stray garbage being hucked off the top of Upper Town wall by members of the ORV crowd. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/916012/Gold_Bar_Bouldering_Reiter_Pit#Post916012 http://www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/Topics/RecreationPlanning/Pages/amp_rec_reiter_foothills.aspx Pipe up or die. Or, tell me why I'm mistaken. You have until Dec 4. Eric

The public comment period for the plan ends Dec 4. I have 2 major concerns with the Plan right now, namely: 1. It pushes the ORV people closer to the top of the Index Upper Town Wall (I think. I don't fully understand the map). If you've ever been up there when the ORV bottle kids have been trundling from above, you will share my concern here. 2. You'll have to park at Rieter from now on. This doubles the approach to Zeke's Wall. If you are one of the tiny number people that actually climb at Zeke's, you may actually care about this as well. Same applies if you're an old man boulderer like myself with creaky knees and a crash pad the size and weight of a queen futon. I hope other climbers will join me in making their voices heard here. DNR is mainly hearing from the ORV people, but they are looking for comments from other user groups. -Eric

Here's a follow-up, from the DNR e-mail list: -Eric ********************************************* Reiter Foothills Update - November 24, 2009 Many of you may have attended the November 18 meeting in Monroe to hear about DNR’s upcoming plans for Reiter Foothills. We had a good turnout at the meeting—about 150 people showed up. Most of the people were from the motorized recreation community. Many folks expressed concerns about the limited size of area proposed for future motorized recreation. In the coming months, we will be paying extra attention to Reiter Foothills. DNR staff and volunteers will be restoring damaged habitat, beginning construction on new trail systems, and working to improve public safety. DNR will be looking for volunteers to help not only with restoration projects, but to help locate trails and to donate time and heavy equipment to repair damaged areas. Look forward to more information about volunteer work projects in future emails. Reiter Foothills Planning Update As most of you know, the Reiter Foothills Forest Recreation Plan is available for public review at this time. The comment period will be open until December 4, 2009. Written comments can be submitted through DNR’s SEPA Center by email to sepaceter@dnr.wa.gov or by mail to: DNR SEPA CENTER; P.O. Box 47105; Olympia, WA 98504 How can I get more information? The Reiter Foothills Forest Recreation Plan is on DNR’s website at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/..._foothills.aspx Important SEPA documents for the Reiter Foothills Forest Recreation Plan are available at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/ResearchScience/Topi...reiter_jan.aspx Reiter Foothills Plan Implementation Update DNR will continue to implement elements of the recreation plan in the coming months. DNR staff is currently working on developing the following implementation objectives: • Reiter Foothills Forest Watch Patrol • Reiter Foothills Advisory Committee • Restoration Work Plan • Volunteer work project schedule • Motorized and non motorized trail design • Trailhead design • Funding opportunities • Partnership opportunities Reiter Foothills Enforcement Update On November 2, we closed Reiter Foothills to all uses except foot traffic. DNR law enforcement has spent a considerable amount of time in the last couple of weeks patrolling the area. We are very pleased with the high level of compliance on this temporary closure. Only a few citations have been written to motorized and non-motorized recreationists. Thank you to all the users who have cooperated with the closure. Thanks to all the volunteers who have donated time, equipment, and materials for the planning and on-site work thus far! If you have questions or comments, would like additional information, or would like to volunteer to work at Reiter, please contact David Way at 360-854-2830. Candace Johnson Assistant Region Manager, State Lands Department of Natural Resources

No sleep for Mark until that big log is history! Actually, the biggest obstacle right now is the giant swamp about 2/3 of the way in. Dave & I were able to lower the water table about six inches with our freshly cut alder shovels, but it's still a threat. A few hours of shoveling out the clogged drainage ditch on the uphill (R as you go in) side of the road will make a big difference on that one. I nominate the Hanna girlz for the task. Once Lake Tower is well drained and Mark's pet log is gone, I say borrow your grandpa's Lexus and check it out! -Eric

If you go, be aware that there's a spring by the road below the cliff, routinely used by hundreds of people (including me) as a drinking water source. In other words, poop at the nearby campground before heading up to the wall. In general, the 1st pitches tend to suck, while some of the 2nd pitches are pretty good. You will definitely encounter a fair share of moss and loose rock. -Eric

For me, the free-soloing connection wasn't there, it's never been something I found compelling. The movie would have been more or less the same if he'd worn a parachute or strung a net (of the finest gossamer, of course; it has to look good) below him. The years of planning and training and not knowing if the whole thing can ever really happen, though, that's the business. I wonder how many of the established climbs that we take for granted now have that same story somewhere behind them. -Eric

I saw Man on Wire a few weeks ago, shortly before putting a big multi-year FA project to rest. The compelling force behind each of the 2 stories was the same -- I've never before seen a documentary that so closely captured the whole big-project sleigh ride. Phillipe Petit, he spoke to me (albeit in French). It's still at Harvard Exit, in the wee upstairs theater. Climbing-related, I tell you. -Eric

On hard rock, try a flexible 3 inch metal putty knife, as a supplement to your wire brush collection. Surprisingly effective and versatile -- I think that's all Dave T. and Chris G. ever needed on most of the Roan Wall pitches. The sharp corners will quickly round themselves. -Eric (Also, mind your fixed lines. I've taken to double rigging, so I can fix a Gri-Gri to a dynamic line while I jug the static one next to it. Protect the rub points and snug your lines down at night so they don't blow in the wind.)

Acme Construction Supply on 4th Ave S has good prices on boxes of 50 3/8 x 2.25" Powers SS "5-piece" bolts. About $170 including tax, last I checked. These should be good for Icicle granite. Make sure you test the rock with a hammer before plugging anything in; I've pulled old bolts out of some bad rock before. -Eric

What Susan said on Borderline p5, minus a few meters. Use a very short draw (or even a single locking biner) on the 1st bolt of the OW, to reduce drag. FYI, that particular OW would have been very hard to protect on trad gear. At the time I bolted it, the only commercially available gear it would take was a very shaky #4 Big Bro, which I used for aid as I drilled. I never found a placement I would have trusted in a fall. Also -- is that big scary dead tree still there, halfway up pitch 5? That was the one trundle we never quite managed. -Eric

It's clean, it's bolted, all the stations are in, and it's too dang hard for all the people I usually climb with. In fact, it's the hardest and most albatrossive thing I've attempted since first jangled a hex. Anyone want to hike up and climb the thing with me? The project is really close; I'm done working individual pitches and I'd like to start at the bottom and put the whole thing to bed. Cool/cloudy midweek days ideal, but I'm pretty flexible as long as I have a strong partner and know it won't be a furnace up there. You: sport/TR 5.11+ or harder, trad at least 5.10, able to send magic calming forces up, down, and sideways through skinny nylon. Don't worry, you'll get some stellar leads in, including one or two FFA pitches if you have them in you, but damnit damnit damnit I want the pitch 4 undercling bad. The climb mostly sustained 5.11 sport, with a trad 5.12a/b crux and a scattering of 11d/12a moves (calibrated on the Squamish scale) along the way. It threads the line of least resistance on a previously unclimbed wall a day trip from Seattle. Please phone me at 206-930-8358 if you're interested, or PM, since I just figured out how that works. I'm also interested in getting back into Index mode as well. -Eric

I haven't climbed the route either. Does anyone want to know my opinion? -Eric