stevetimetravlr

Who da guy?

Anybody care? I think Index is in a designated logging wilderness. So we should be very concerned about bolts where no one can see them but encourage the clearcutting of our forests as you hardly even notice when they are gone, but those bolts are forever, and the negative impacts of them are......help me out here....?

10mm Mammut Galaxy Duodess Superdry. Sometimes its crucial to know when you have reached your ropes midpoint. This rope is the cadillac of ropes. New England Rope makes a similar rope I also have that wears like iron and is less expensive.

I'm always amazed at all the people that climb at Ozone without helmets on. Last time I was there, I think we were the only two people with helmets on out of about 15 or 20. Rolling the dice.

Pearly Gates

or Ferry cross the Mersey from Liverpool to Wales by driving down the M1 from Scotland and go climbing in Snowdonia, which has great rock climbing. Actually, you don't have to take a ferry across the Mersey river anymore, the highway passes under the river in a tunnel and you pop out the other side in Wales. Stay in Betws-y-Coed. http://www.betws-y-coed.co.uk/

Pounding on pins and stating that they are more solid and reliable then a bolt is a matter of opinion no matter how many times you state otherwise Joseph. Also invoking names from the past of some of the guys I used to climb with is even more humorous. No one is trying to dumb down Beacon or retrobolt. I simply think that Bluebird Direct is to good a climb and there should be a semi protectable climb to get to the dihedral of which Kevbone and Denali Dave were kind enough to point out that Suffciently Breathless does, but without all the negativity. I think you need to take a chill pill and do some climbing. So lets do Bluebird Direct. You lead Winter Delight and I'll take over for the hard climbing, sound fair?

Whatever Joseph, its just your opinion no matter how loud you yell it. I liked Winter Delight. Its a cool climb but there are a couple places where you better not blow a move, period. Bluebird Direct is really fabulous. Starts off thin fingers and goes to hand and fist at the very top. Super stellar. There is a cool detached block where the regular Bluebird route joins the dihedral that you can throw a leg over and ride like a horse for a full body rest, or just stand on it. Sustained stemming the whole way with good gear. What a ride, I highly recommend it.

All of the above is your opinion, and thats all it is. Other people have different opinions, and that may lead to a concensus, and some things done differently. You put rap slings all over Beacon off of rap hangers, and then get furious when they get chopped. You place pins that you deem are needed but then again you get upset and go public when they are pulled. Yet you argue against placing a pin on a dangerous route that probably used a pin originally to lead it. Strange! To say Winter Delight is not X rated must be because you have not climbed it. I climb R and X rated routes, and I know what they mean. Winter Delight is not a safe route by any stretch. However, I am not debating that. I was simply suggesting that there be a trade route that reaches the anchors that allow people to access the spectacular dihedral of Bluebird Direct, and if Sufficiently Breathless allows that, then I am stoked to find that out.

What total bullshit that a pin outperforms bolts and are every bit as solid. I have pulled pins out of the rock with my fingers. Frost wedging and other factors has its effects on pins, which have a very much shorter lifespan then bolts in general. yeah, there are allot of scarefests at Beacon and they rarely if at all get done. I am not talking about retro bolting lines, I am simply suggesting that there be one line that reaches the start of Bluebird Direct that not be a death line. Winter Delight is not really safe or reasonable, nor do any of the other lines that lead to the anchors appear to be. Kev, we did look at Sufficiently Breathless and Aging Fags and they didn't look like they took any more gear then Winter Delight which is protected(ha!) by micro brassies and if Dave would have fallen, I don't think they would have held much. The bolt on Aging Fags is a ancient pinhead. If Sufficiently Breathless does protect somewhat, then I'll give it a whirl, as Bluebird Direct is stellar. But I know for a fact that many of these lines used pins on them when they were lead, and I also know that you pulled many of the pins yourself Joseph without climbing the pitches. So in that respect you have devalued your opinion, destroyed the original route pro, and in the process opened up the option of new pins and/or bolts for future consideration where there currently are no options for gear for long stretches. Also Joseph, I never suggested placing pins or bolts on Bluebird Direct. It may be rated R(but i don't think so with small cams and stoppers) but it takes suffcient gear and is a clean fall, and absolutely stellar. I am talking about any approach pitch to the base of it of which Winter Delight, Aging Fags, etc. are rated X. I will check out Sufficiently Breathless.

Question for all Beacon climbers. My buddy Dave and I did a not often done route called Bluebird Direct, Dave led it. I think it is one of the best crack pitches I have done, and certainly has to be one of the top pitches at Beacon and it takes gear well. Its at least 70 feet or more of perfect splitter and stemming, starts narrow and goes to wide hands at the top. However, the approach to it is up one of the scary not easily protected pitches like Winter Delight to get to the anchors to start it. I spoke with Jim O. at length on the routes and he filled us in on the other routes beta, etc., and they are all scarefests now. Seems like these routes had to have pins placed back when they were led, and seems like there should be at least one approach pitch that is not a death pitch to approach Bluebird Direct, as if there was I think we would all be doing it on a regular basis, and the anchor up there is looking brand new(thank you Joseph). So how about a extra bolt or at the least a pin or two on the easist variation to get up there so guys like me who have a family and want to be around for a bit can climb it once in a while?

In September you will be hiking almost the whole way in the pumice. no need for crampons on the south side.

sounds like just another bunji jump to me....hope she is ok!

I still got my copy from 1975. Dallas you the man!

The little hand tape circles seem the worse because they're left at the base of climbs, kind of dirty and disgusting, like aid climbers. That photo from the west race of the leaning Tower?

Actually it is typical to get a new name IF the person who frees it so chooses. Perhaps the most famous example, East Face of Washington Column or as it is known today after Kauk, Bachar, and John Long freed it, Astroman.

Since you guys are in the trundling mode, on that 2nd pitch of Dastardly there is about a one foot by one foot round stone just setting there at the base of the final wide crack as you start up. You are tempted to put your foot on it, and if someone does they may roll it right off. On Monday, it didn't look like anyone had been that way this season due to the blackberry sticker Adam and I encountered, so I don't think it gets much traffic but there is that rock just waiting for a good launch! You can't see if anyone is below you at that point, so thats a problem.

Wow, that Bill Coe has more balls then.....buttocks. Joseph, I thought you were going climbing with Adam today, are you blackberrying from the crag?

Nice photos~!

Great project! Mine was in 1974 pulling all the old overgrown fences/barbed wire out of Lake Sammanmish State park, what was old farm land.

Nice

The rain was quite a surprise. One minute nice and toasty, the next a downpour. Kind of messed up my plans and had to beat a retreat. We didn't look you up Ivan as my crew was running late as they had not eaten when I picked them up, yada yada yada...I was surprised we made it climbing at all after a tour of Cascade Locks restaurants, we went into 3 before deciding it was the right one. Shizzah. You are right about the mosquitos coming out after the rain, I got bit about 10 times on the walkout and I was running trying to stay away from them.

I think little engraved brass plaques at each belay that explains the longetivity of the webbing, the expiration date, and maybe some commemorative stuff to make interesting reading while you are waiting to rap.

That was my point at the very beginning of this topic. The rings and slings are not needed and people will chop them occasionally. But they do just make pulling the ropes a breeze, which is nice.

Beacon IS outfitted with rap hangers. Its just the rap hangers are fitted very deluxe with webbing slings and rap rings in a professional manner with zip ties and cleats, and even dated. Its really very nice, but some people question the nylon and cut it and replace it, and this gives Joseph a conniption fit, and rightly so because its work and money to upgrade all the anchors that way as he maintains them. He is probably always going to have grief because people will cut the slings when they question them as stated in the above posts, just the nature of nylon slings I guess.