bwrts

All approaches to the plateau/mesa are long brushy and full of jackstrawed trees, except maybe prusik pass. The elevation gain up Hook Creek will likely crush anyone carrying a large overnight pack with climbing gear... Toketie sucks due to overuse--trail is also loose and dusty. Rat creek is long and ephemeral. In summary, obtaining photos similar to ones depicted above is not an easy prospect... Unlike the alternatives- enchantment, colchuck, stuart or 8mile/Cashmere areas.

wow...glad to hear you are on the recovery road now! thanks for sharing... I can definitely relate to idea of "cratering" and having a kick ass partner who saves your life. Cheers to sobo!

the best bet is to drive to vantage or peshastin pinnacles and show your newb some of the best rock climbing areas in the state. BoB wall is only worth climbing if you are up there already via climbing Icicle Buttress. not worth hiking up hill... Domestic Dome has some descent slabby easy routes. Sam hill has a couple easier climbs and couple move 5.10's. Purina has some easier areas but spread out. Planet of the Eights has some easier climbs. There is new crags scattered around JY area with easier climbing...

purchase the book Rock N Road by Tim Toula. Rock N Road website Comprehensive catalog of USA and Canada climbing areas and possible areas. well worth the money...

went once. not sure why I never went back. except that if you hike anywhere else that long in the icicle or tumwater you can expect nice granitic exposures and time to climb those is always much more worth it when wasting time. anyrate, always thought the crags were well worth more visits. all tiers included. heard once the drive up the road approach saved some hiking but then I also heard it takes longer. Any advise which way is better?

It is more than likely snowing there now.

just curious where the route is located on the face... i assume this is the standard route. can you draw a line on a photo of Yellow Jacket Tower?

what about stealing threads with stupid pictures? SCoco= yep bolting on lead at FC would be comedic if not suicide as the majority of face climb rocks in the coulee is crap and deffinitely needs route prep (ie route crafting/loose rock removal). Another point to be made is many ground up face climbs are considered very bold climbs. (ie bachar yerian Tuolumne) Placing bolts on lead is very difficult and takes a different sort of mindset that many climbers do not possess. as for peoples projects: one should contact the route prep person prior to climbing line and ask permission. Time money spent are a big deal and should not be shunned. Sometimes life gets in the way for someone... and we are merely wasting time in life while climbing. If multiple attempts to contact the person proove futile then the climb should be considered abandoned and open to new fa attemptees; flat out stealing a proj/or stating times up, now its my turn is (in my opinion) merely a frenchie bullshit attitude towards climbing...

typical. index seems to go through fads of popularity. and braggin about being there w/o people will not bring the hordes that you may seek. ~we climbers should push for train depot in Index so commute cost is decreased...

nice site mr. wilson... thanks for the link mcJizzy

tumwater campground hike or drive up forest circus road that leads to one of the various trailheads on Hwy2,find pullout somewhere along the way and camp. campground in Monitor, near Wenatchee. Campgrounds on hiwy 97 Blewitt Pass.

[quote=sexual_chocolate btw, i don't think there is any sort of "ground up" ethic at vantage, beyond what the late bill robins tried to endorse. You are wrong. There are "still" a handfull of climbers who support ground-up ethics at Frenchmens Coulee/vantage and who have practiced such ethics. Choss or not, cracks have been pioneered this way at FC for many generations. Sport climbs on the other hand have (to my knowledge) never been done this way at FC. The security of a crack is way better versus hangin on some crap-rock face climb yarding loose rock off while attemping to drill in the superdense basalt.

almost looks like the man.

To my knowledge CB route does not get done much. IF at all, other than one or two ascents? anyone...? The cs variation has been repeated ? somewhat... The nose route has been repeated a bunch of times (I imagine). I know of a small number of people who can take claim. One party missed the crux roof and instead climbed feature to left (dubbed Kleenix Variation). KLB variation...possibly repeated. Area looks ok. The pedestal- repeated a few times. E face repeated a few times, perhaps more than 3. BBluff route- ? Honestly, the details are sketchy due to bridge creek wall has been tradionally kept adventurous with no more than a line on photo and a bit of rack beta. The topo in the Leav Rock 1st ed. should be taken with a grain of salt; gets you up the wall but good route finding skills a must. The typical rack used on ascents equates to standard free rack. Approach from little BCwall and have fun in the sandbox. Decent game trails usually steer you around the biggest cliffs. Typically 2 hours. From most route ends, a good Snag along the south end or Climbers right deposits one to navigatable ledge and gully systems to eventual steep sandy bruch covered slopes and after much sand filled shoes you pack. I can not recall if the rap is avoidable but one rope will suffice. And then the long decline back to the road. Allow a long day car to car. Never hear of overnight trips due to short ashy-sand approach.

okay rudy, gas pockets in granodiorite? my god! likely the bolt was drilled into an inclusion of country rock (not granodiorite, specifically the original rock in the area which the magma intruded), which was obviously weaker. I have not personally examined this section of the cliff but I know the general area is ripe with such features. Also, you don't get gas pockets in granitic-type rocks. This is because of the generalized cooling time... the magma cools very slowly due to the heat and where its located beneath the surface the earth. Volcanic rocks that have gas bubbles (like basalt) is due to the rapid cooling process atop the land surface. More probable than not, the bolt pulled because the rock quality in the section of the cliff is poor and with the outward thrust of quickdraw/rope it was yanked free. As for the integrety of the bolts question: really one should ask is why was this crap bolted in first place. I mean seriously, the bolter totally overlooked resurrecting perfectly good cracks to the right (inbetween spaghetti sauce and "beast") which were full of dirt and forgotten-- now cleaned up a bit with a few more ascents. one is 11- and one is 10-. -Yeah the "beast" is cool looking and yep, its steep, powerful and hard climbing but honestly do you think all sections of cliff should be climbed? Anyrate, I imagine any bolt there will eventually work loose and fallout due to the grainy nature of the rock. Differential Erosion at work again.

Rappin on a 6 or 7 mm w/9.4mm would be a bear in my opinion due to the small diameter tag line. Is the weight difference and amount of time pulling up the rope really that problematic? Leading with skinny twins or doubles seems more trouble-some to me due to rope catching friction in cracks. I prefer the one skinny lead rope and leader draggin the rap rope Method. Only have to worry about one rope in the belay and protection systems.

Doesn't bother me. I laugh heartily and so does my wife. Now I bow down to all you whiney kayakers uttering appologies as I wink at you from the cliff afar with my jackass brown eye. (I suppose I believe that we are ALL jackasses for partaking in climbing or kayaking as there are WAY more productive things to do in this world-let alone spray about it). Ok now Back to the IButt- anyone ever climb the routes called Yellow Wall or John Henry????

its not going to rain in Leavenworth that much...and there is always the beloved favorite of cc.com, The Peshastin Pinnacles... IF you buy a salmon license you get a parking pass with it.

My climbing partner is an ex-kayaker (with many friends that have kayaked probably longer than your buddy) and explained to me about the poor style. whatever. glad, he made it and you all had fun... As for upgrading bolts: as long as they are placed in same hole or very close to same hole then there should not be a problem as long as you remove old bolt.

touche! now that is funny, did not see that one coming... I guess it takes ONE to know ONE.

RideT161- As you many recall, the access to tober is 5.9ish (or easier) climbing for about one full pitch and then a short hike over to belay. seems about as easy as one would want when Tober is 10a. The old bolts and runout to the first bolt off the belay ledge are probably more of the answer to why it is avoided. The idiot kayakers had one standout idiot. He/She nearly drowned due to poor style and (perhaps)knowledge of the Icicle Ck. They all came spinning into the rapids below the wall, hardly keeping the boat noses out front. The standout then nailed the log in the creek upside down before finally swimming. Oh and then the swimmer nearly got pulled under a second time and the boat was lucky to not be pinned. Your right epics are abound. And I suppose my previous statement should have been partially explainded better... To me with my novice kayak eyes, it appeared like these kayakers had no business in this section of the creek and are very lucky a rescue was not needed. Anyrate, more Icicle Creek Buttress talk and less kayak talk.

I too am bored at work so here is another: CLICK ME for Original CBS request and TR and this is funny about chickenheads,etc. BTW differential erosion is the answer to why any chickenhead sticks out

if you rope up in the gully for the 5.8ish chimney block move be very careful of draggin your rope up gully and not knocking loose a death block onto your belayer. The dihedral above Easter Tower trends up and then veer left to the bolt by the roof. Easy cracks surmount the roof to "bubble land" and a shorter lead up to and obvious Ledge. At the ledge a prominent 5.6 chimney leads past a tree. Other harder options are to the left and right of chimney. The last pitch to ridge crest is pick your own poison...rambley not very memorable climbing. The ridge traverse is stellar and as BUG implies brings you to the top of outerspace. Specifically it brings you to the end of the ridge and one must rapel to the ground. One short rap. Then you have to hike over "eastish" towards outerspace to reach the end boulder of outerspace (should be obvious). I do highly recommend Champaign but I do not recommend it to someone not familiar with Mountain Climbing. Not your standard "Outerspace or Orbit" affair. Plan for a long day if unfamiliar with the ridge traverse.

el matador is 10d I thought. black hills are definitely special---HAVE FUN!

The standard descent route off Icicle Buttress is "loose" in a few places which is typically avoidable with a little care and creative wandering. If 'one' has issues with this descent then I do not recommend ever wandering up to snow creek wall/crag as that loose gully will leave you for the goats. Remember this is rock climbing and not hiking; descents are (in my opinion) sometimes way more dangerous than the climb. Take your time and look around before you tread downward. hey KKK- I saw you belaying below the chimney while climbing up to the cave. (I doubt you saw a snake but a tail of lizard perhaps.) Now that you have climbed R and D, head back for the cave route via leaner crack or chicken gully. ***But be careful of the large very dangerous yet avoidable death blocks in the cave proper (not suitable for belaying on- adjacent crack in slab way better).*** Exit the cave to the right and follow ramp to crack staying left vearing right is 5.10-. Good moves and great location.