rbw1966

I've salivated heavily over most of the ice climbs listed in the Olson book - and the gorge falls. Too bad Multnomah's off limits Lots of potential out there in Gorgeland with an artic winter. I watched a couple guys climb multnomah falls when it iced over about ten years ago. They did it at night. Stealth ice climbing--oh yeah baby.

I was out there recently and there were still signs saying no trespassing. I'll check it out. Thanks.

Isnt Goodness a band out of Seattle? Did they ever make more than one album?

Every couple of years or so they talk about instituting limits on the amount of climbers on the South side of Hood. I wonder if this survey is going to be used in an effort to limit access there and elsewhere. Just what we need, more limits on use of public lands.

If we don't find it, I am sure it will find us. I'm glad we decided against that A3 route on the main Crown Point buttress.

Indeed. This ties in withmy drive-by choss fest TR: New Medical Study from the FDA

Thanks for posting the pics Shredder. You da man. Note the antiquated edition of Nick Dodge's Rock climbing in Oregon guide (for the foolhardy). Also note in that Crown Point pic that Alpenjager is the far right had spire that splits off the main buttress. The route follows the groove to the chimney.

Can you name one of these sources so I can confirm for myself? I live real close to there but dont need another bust.

Drive by Choss-Fest or "Did Somebody Call a Wahhhhmbulance?" Shredder and I enjoyed a fine day of choss climbing Saturday in the Gorge. We settled first on Rooster Rock, the pinnacle protecting the nude beach. We parked in the park lot and walked across a field past a culvert and down to the base of what we thought was the pinnacle. 20 minutes of thrashing around in blackberry vines made us reconsider. As we doubled back we saw a couple of what appeared to be climbers (you know the look) walking back towards the park. Well, maybe we didn't walk far enough along the highway. So we follow a small trail further west and bingo we find the 'trail' leading through the blackberry vines into a cool, shady grove of willows. The trail wound around and up steeply until ending at the base of the west side of the pinnacle. We put on our harnesses and decided to forego the rope on the lower section and ascended some easy 4th class terrain with packs. Above this was a bolt that marked a traverse over to the gully proper which Shredder led in fine style solo over 5.3-5.4 ground. We made the summit and enjoyed the outstanding views of the ambulances roaring to a stop just outside the park about where we had been thrutching around before finding the true trail. We kicked back, took a few hero shots and then set off on the scary ass rappell back down. We had to down climb some of the lower 4th class sections but nothing too serious. We then decided to climb Crown Point via the Alpenjager route. The Dodge guide describes this route in relatively favorable terms and hell, we're a couple of adventurers. Had we any idea what we were in for we might have left that one alone. We had to park alongside hwy 84 and hike along some railroad tracks to find a small trail leading towards the base. It soon waxed out and we were thrutching around through undergrowth again. We waded through lush fields of stinging nettles. Did I mention I was wearing shorts? Much groaning, crying and whining found us clinging to the rock with absolutely no sign of a trail and no route indications. We're both a bit sketched out as we don our harnesses while clinging to choss on 5.3 terrain. I get a feeling we're again in the wrong spot so traverse further east to discover, yes we are in the wrong spot again. While no trail existed, this gully leading up was clearly easier than where we had started from so I yell for Shredder to come and join me as I start off on the lower 5.4 sections. Before I know it the climbing has gotten harder and the exposure is crazy but I am committed. I see a piece of bail-off webbing and start to think about using it. Above me though I spy two pitons and what appears to be a relatively new bolt and hanger so I continue towards safety thinking I can at least rapell from here more safely. I clip in, say a few silent prayers and look over my shoulder to see how Shredder is doing. Oops--he's got the rope. He's coming along nicely and accept for one spot that has him stymied briefly he arrives at the belay without incident. We both agree we will never do anything like that again. Little did we know that was nothing compared to what lie ahead. We pulled out the rope, tied in and I grabbede rack. We were both climbing with packs on again. Shredder put me on belay and off I went. The route goes up directly from the belay then follows a series of fixed pins along an open book to a chimney where the real fun began. Dodge describes it as a stem fest in his book. We both agreed it was not only a stem fest but a scare fest. There was a number of fixed pins along the way and a full-on belay station with a rusty, spinning 1/4" bolt backed up with two pitons that ended the second pitch. Rockfall was unavoidable but not that bad on the second pitch. The third, exit pitch was another story. Alpenjager splits completely from the main Crown Point buttress and is seperated by a chimney that goes from fist sized at the bottom to big enough to accomodate my fat ass with a pack at the top. I followed the chimney up and as it arced back south I stayed inside of it stemming out the entire way. Pretty easy climbing but there was no more fixed gear and I saw nothing solid enough to take any passive gear. So I slung a chickstone and ran it out. When I reached the apex of the arc I tried to ascend to the true summit of alpenjager but it was not to be. It was covered in a thick pelt of moss over large stones that were no more secure than gravel. I got about 20 feet up this crap when it started peeling away and I was sliding backward clinging to that choss heap like a cat on a shower curtain. I slowly and very methodically downclimbed. Did I mention I was scared? As I did so I released a torrent of dirt and rocks that rained down the chimney but thankfully avoided shredder. Then I continued my stemming ways to the south side of the chimney and terra firma. Shredder followed but because of the rope catching on a piece of choss up above he was suckered into trying to climb the moss as I did until I yelled to him to avoid it. We gave up trying to achieve the true summit of alpenjager in favor of wading back through the nettles. All in all a great time and truly adventurous climbing. I highly recommend Rooster Rock as an easy outing but I would discourage anyone from trying Alpenjager unless they truly want to experience Columbia River choss at its finest. As a sidenote, apparently there was a shooting in the parking lot of Rooster Rock while we were climbing. Hence all the ambulances. Rooster Rock 2 pitches of 5.3 climbing Alpenjager 3-4 pitches of 5.4/5.5 climbing, one pair of ruined underwear. No rock pro used on Rooster Rock. A light rack would suffice for Alpenjager. I'll defer to Shredder's masterful computer skills for picture posting.

DFA--is it true? Is Madrone now open again? Fess up and please no BS. I cant afford another trespassing bust. Smith is just fine this time of year--just head for the lower and upper gorges and chase the shade ya foos.

I got dobs on the purple bike. Its going ot take a tremendous amount of hauling to rid that place of trash. I'm game to help in any way I can though. Who's bringing the tyvek suits?

Mike's a pretty funny guy in person sometimes, too...Gaston, do you know him? I met Mike once at Alpental. Very nice guy.

This sounds similar to what one can rent for climbing on Mt. Hood called an MLU or Mountain Locator Unit. It used to be a requirement but now they forego that if you have a cell phone.

One time I flew from Portland to visit a buddy of mine in Bangor, Maine. Direct flight from Portland to Boston then a twin engine, 15 passenger plane from Boston to Bangor. Of special note: no bathroom. We had a great time and on the way back hung out drinking beer waiting for my flight. My flight was delayed so we consumed more beer. After the third delay I was soused and staggered out on the tarmac to board the plane. It was at this moment that I felt that first bladder twinge, which of course I ignored. The flight was a mere 45 minutes or so and hell, I can hold it that long right? By the time we landed I had contemplated everything from pissing in an air sickness bag to the cooler my neighboring passenger was using to transport live lobsters. I ran off the plane, grabbed the nearest ground crew person and screamed wild-eyed that I needed a bathroom NOW! I was chipping porcelain within 15 seconds.

When I was in Airborne school in the Army we were taking off for a jump. It was hellishly hot (August in Georgia) and as we basted in the plane waiting for take-off someone hurls into an air sickness bag, filling the cargo bay with the stench of vomit. Cue chain reaction. Well, when I was in Airborne school, you had to jump out of the plane with the bag. Little did the poor saps who hurled know that upon ejection from the plane the prop wash from the engines caused the bags to explode cascading vomit all over the lucky bagholder. You knew who these folks were--they looked like they had been puke wrestling at a Judas Priest concert. Another time when I was in the Rangers we were deploying on a field exercise to Florida that included parachute insertion. The pre-flight briefing included a primer on what to do if a crash is imminent. An alarm bell will ring and we were told to bend over and kiss our asses goodbye. As we hurled down the runway towards lift-off we hear a loud bang and the plane shudders as alarm bells go off. We all stare at each other as the plane slams down and comes to the fastest stop I had ever encountered. We disembark to see we are about 20 feet of the fence at the end of the runway, in the dirt. Down the runway is a huge mess of feathers from where a goose had flown into the engine. Final Army story: flight in a C-5 from Germany to England. Non-pressurized cabin + sinus infection=screaming misery. I thought my head was going to explode.

Dude, that 20 ft crack we did was at least A5 new wave. Count me in on helping with the anchors.

I didn't read it that way at all. More of an anti-news rant.

If I may respond to this blanket generalization, I thought you should know that I was alerted to this attack by a fellow cc.comer who thought that the public might be interested in knowing about this. Out goal is not to sensatinalize everything that happens. This attack is clearly something that is of interest to you guys (evidenced by the large number of postings on this topic) so if you're talking about it, don't you think others might be talking about it as well? 1. I specialize in blanket generalizations 2. The news entertainment industry specializes in blanket generalizations. 3. The only thing that's newsworthy is a topic that'll ultimately help you sell more ad time. Fear sells. Maybe you can tie this story in with baseball bats from Louisville Slugger on special at Big 5 sporting Goods. 4. You sentsationalize everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING. News entertainment sucks for how sensationalized it is, and how it is tailored to a third-grade educated individual. 5. This topic was interesting on this board because it affects most of us that may either live or climb in Squamish. Your average homeowner in Bellevue will just see the headline and say, "That's it honey, we're going to Wenatchee for vacation this year. There's too many rednecks in Squamish. Canada is SUCH a violent country. I say we boycott Canadian products and smash in the windows of the local Canadian grocer like we did with those sappy French when they refused to join in the fun in Iraq." Shut up! Goddamn...if that happened here (as in the usa) it would've made the news also...sheesh... Exactly Gowans point. Regardless of where it happens, news programs specialize in sensationalized accounts of events that happen worldwide. They breed fear.

"The hardest part about climbing Everest was getting two inches of dick through eight inches of down" Sir Edmund Hillary, in a lighter moment.

Well said Herr Wallace.

You are evil.

Leave the carmpons and just time it to hit the snow when its a little softer. There are more than enough steps kicked in to provide an adequate platform for ascending. DOn't really need an ice axe either. Have fun.

No, I am a dolt.

We got better weed on ours.

Best be damn sure the closure is still in effect or face to wrath of the Ranger. Last I checked it was July 15th.