Explorer

When Tyson.g posted that back in July, 2014 I thought his comment about a cess pool was an analogy. But with Choada Boy's plan for his power dump, maybe Tyson.g's comment was closer to reality than I knew. You knarly climbers do have a unique culture! Don't be put off by the flamin that we give. As in most things inter-nutz related, when you meet even the most violent mouthed spray lord, they are good folk in person. I personally know Choada (Justin T) and he is a reall cool, helpful and interesting person. I bet you two would get along. Forget about the past and just share what you got. We all really appreciate the cool things others do. This is a social media site after all. Would be cool to meet you at a pub party some time. I have thick skin and the flaming doesn't faze me. The more time I've spent on this site the more I understand the culture and humor here. In a much milder way, Cascade Climbers reminds the wild culture we had when I was a young Marine in Vietnam. That culture would not be accepted in a civilized society today... I am way older now, have mellowed out some and I have learned things like "restraint." And I know it would be fun to down a few brews with you guys someday!

[quote=Tyson.g No kidding, with the recalcitrant hive mind around this place, it is a wonder anyone posts anything. Sad. Best of luck and glad you have stoke......maybe that is the cause of all the hating? Lack of passion and stoke by the others? Who knows but yeah, flee this cesspool. When Tyson.g posted that back in July, 2014 I thought his comment about a cess pool was an analogy. But with Choada Boy's plan for his power dump, maybe Tyson.g's comment was closer to reality than I knew. You knarly climbers do have a unique culture!

Yea, I definitely learned my lesson on that!

More here: http://registerguard.com/rg/sports/outdoors/34007966-80/divine-discovery.html.csp http://registerguard.com/rg/sports/outdoors/34008086-80/safety-key-for-those-who-plan-to-visit-valhalla.html.csp My take on the hype that seems to be the main focus of this thread on Cascade Climbers: I have looked through some of the trip reports on this site - the stories and photos about the places you guys climb really are incredible! Putting that into perspective it's not hard to understand why you Dean Potter type adventurers are not very impressed with my discovery. It sounds like some of you might even find slot canyons routinely, on your way to the cliffs and mountain tops that you climb. But for the average non climbing member of the public, seeing photos and a story like Valhalla is exciting. If you watch the story Thursday night on Oregon Field Guide, you may even know some of the climbers that are in the film. The producer or no one else told them how to act or what to say, but you will see that they were pretty excited with what they saw in Valhalla. Once you have been there its merits will stand on their own and you can decide whether or not it lives up to the hype. If I ever find anything else, next time I will see if Ivan wants to be my publicity manager!

Have you seen SOME of the people who pump gas in Oregon? Would you really want those people out and about with no job?

You read my mind. I don't know anyone on this forum, but reading through this thread and other threads on Cascade Climbers I have an observation about Ivan. Most of his posts are very concise and his humor is on the mark. And he seems to make these short comments at just the perfect place on a thread. I bet he would be a fun guy to have a beer with someday!

Water, thanks for putting into perspective. I am still learning about this strange climber culture. I have learned a few new terms here like "beta", "stoked" and "SUPER STOKED!!!." I haven't learned what "spray" means though. As far as neutering some of the flippant people, from their tone and the way they pile on, I would bet that they have already been neutered which explains the way they are.

Gene is awesome and it would be awesome to name it after him, but I'm glad Hyberbole Canyon was found. What a great discovery! What are the coordinates? I can tag it on Google Maps and start a petition to make sure no one tries to tag it with some Norse nonsense that has already been over used. http://www.summitpost.org/valhalla-peak/800488 http://www.summitpost.org/valhalla-range-british-columbia/538347 http://www.summitpost.org/mount-valhalla-hail-peak/152731 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Valhalla_(Alaska) http://www.scci.org/preserves/valhalla/ I could go on.... I have agreed several times in this thread that the words in my original post were overly enthusiastic and hyperbolic (let go - move on). I thought people would be glad to hear about a place like I found. But I've since learned that on this site, unless you give out photos, details, coordinates, and in a certain way (and right now), that many members here will pout, ridicule and criticize every possible aspect of the whole story, including my motives for bringing it forward. I get it that you hard core climbers have your own culture (I wonder if some of you have ever experienced anything really hard core). I know there are many cool people here, but at times this forum reminds me of petty Jr. high school BS. And now, Oly Climber, with no part whatsoever with any investment in this discovery, wants to start a petition to name it something else.

In my original post I never said it was 8 to 9 miles. I said it took 7 hours (not miles) to get to our base camp. From there it takes another three hours to get to the slot canyon. On that first trip we tried a different route on the way back out from the base camp and that way was much better, in fact it cut four hours off of the hike.

Is that the same as being stoked? Or "SUPER STOKED"? In climber jargon, is there any state higher than being SUPER STOKED?

Wow, over 16,000 views here and another thread following this one over at NW Hikers! With so many people who must have already been into the depths of Valhalla I am surprised that no one has posted any photos that they took there... Even Mr. Waterfall Survey Sorefeet hasn't posted any close up photos of the waterfalls there (but he has seen it on Google Earth). If Sorefeet is correct (and I am not saying he is not), and from the topo map posted at NW Hikers; if that is Valhalla there is a road only a mile or so to the northeast. That's the same road that goes to Breitenbush Lake, where thousands of people have been. It looks like a person could just start from that road and hike straight down and through the canyon. Just a few more days and this mystery will be over.

I bet you have deeper issues going on besides being upset about my bringing the story of Valhalla to Cascade Climbers. My best advice to you is that you NOT watch the Oregon Field Guide episode on it.

Long time lurker here, but this thread drew me out so I'm chiming in late here, but yes, OPB would definitely have still had interest and no, disclosing the location would almost certainly NOT have resulted in droves of people visiting. When I first saw this thread several months back, I made an educated guess about where this mystery canyon was, and the trailer for the episode of Field Guide that OPB has released confirmed my suspicion (I will not be a dick about it though and will keep quiet for now). It's definitely remote and inaccessible enough that few people will ever try to get in there. But it's not nearly as unknown as you may have thought. I've been aware of a couple of the waterfalls on the river in that canyon for several years now, thanks to Google Earth. The scope of the canyon and the uniqueness of the geology certainly appears much better than expected, but yeah...definitely way more hyperbole than necessary. Yes, OPB does many shows on well known sites in the northwest (the Oregon coast and Mt. Hood to name a couple). During the initial meeting with them, after seeing my photos one of the first things the producer said was that they would be excited to be the first film crew in there. Would they still have filmed it had it been covered before? Maybe, but the prospect that it may be previously unknown certainly piqued their interest for taking on the project.

What may be rubbing people the wrong way is your perceived sense of ownership over the "discovery" and the hyperbolic descriptions you laid on us without any details to back them up. So the snarky comments you're getting are a result of BOTH your own behavior AND the reactions you've elicited in the posters. This is the bed you've made for yourself. Yea, I get the over the top hyperbolic description from my original post in 2014. I re-read that post recently and even I was surprised how many times I used the word "amazing." I made that post two or three days after setting foot in the slot canyon for the first time. After my first (failed) expedition I was really "stoked" (as you guys on this site say) when I finally made it all the way there. I should have chilled a little before writing that post. As for my perceived ownership, probably guilty as charged there too. It goes back to being stoked and trying to figure out the best way to share a cool place with people. That, and I still feel some burden of responsibility because I realize that because of me, some people will find tragedy in Valhalla. Some people on this site have inferred that I did this to get attention for myself. If a person finds something cool that other people will enjoy, and shares the news with the world, is it because he wants attention or is just enthused about the discovery? I am not aware of any great need for personal attention. Maybe if someone here is a psychiatrist they can analyze whether or not I let the story out the way I did is because I am a narcissist in need of attention. When I first met with the producers of Oregon Field Guide I told them all that I expected was maybe to someday be a footnote in a geology text book. But from that first meeting, it was their idea to include me in the story for human interest. Whether I needed or wanted attention or not, it's coming. I am sure this won't be the last time my deplorable behavior will rub people the wrong way. I survived a year in Vietnam in the Marines, as well as many other experiences and adventures, and I can take (and give out) a little heat from the bed that I've made for myself on this internet forum! At any rate, I hope most people will enjoy Valhalla, whether by watching the documentary or by exploring it.

When did we find out it has been discovered by possibly many people before, some of which frequent here? While sarcasm can be hard to see through the internet, dbernika's hyperbole canyon may have been a commentary in jest on the 'amazing' discovery. Maybe dbernika can clarify but I have my doubts, just my 2cents. Coming from someone who believed this was a troll (and it appears perhaps a touch over-stated in significance of magnificence) but it's still cool. I understood that dbernika's Hyperbole Canyon was sarcasm and took no offense (pretty good by the way, maybe I should have named it that!). So maybe Genepires took it literally that Valhalla and Hyperbole are one in the same and many people have been there before? Genepires, if you get a call from someone with a foreign accent saying that they are the IRS and you need to send them money or go to jail, just hang up, it's a hoax!