sobo

Niiiiiiiiice, Bronc. You teach her that ?

Yeah... whatever. I'll let the record speak for itself. AMF!

All, Just got off the phone with Bruce Berry, who is John McGowan's Assistant Wildlife Manager at Oak Creek Station. There is currently one established eagle nest in the cliffs between The Bend to a point about 0.5 mile downstream. This is the same place where a pair nested last year. So, the closure is still in effect until April 1st, then John and Bruce will most probably stick some signs up along the River Trail in the next coupla weeks to tell people to stay on the trail. Hey, Joe, you were right. Moon Rocks is NOT affected by the closure. You can climb there right now. The upstream end of the closure area terminates at the bridge at The Bend. Climb safely!

Updated info. Click above link.

I find your take on this thread interesting, lummox, especially coming after this thread.

Should be at least one cheap hotel in Packwood, maybe even Ashford. But, WTF, if you're on business and the Company's springin' for it, stay at the Paradise lodge! Can't beat the approach drive! anything in the Tatoosh is good. Think about doing a hat trick across Unicorn, Pinnacle, and WTF is the name of the third peak (Castle???).

Joe, Well, I didn't ask about MR specifically, but John said, "...the river trail and all cliffs adjacent to it..." Since the trail runs directly below MR, I just assumed that MR would be closed as well. If I have the time, and can catch him in the office again, I'll ask specifically which cliffs are open/closed (or anyone else on this board could do that and post the results...).

See this post.

Just got off the phone with John McGowan. The entire Tieton River Trail and adjacent cliffs are closed until April 1st unless raptors establish a nest(s). If nest(s) is/are established, only the specific area(s) around the nesting site(s) will remain closed, until July 15. So what that means is that at this time, the areas of Tim Pond Wall, Royal Columns, The Bend, Moon Rocks, and any other area along the cliff band parallelling the river are closed until at least April 1st. Check for signs or call John after April 1st to get the latest beta on any establishment of raptor nests. Climb safely, but somewhere else for right now.

FYI, Central Washington Mountain Rescue (CWMR) conducted a reenactment of the accident this past weekend at the very scene of the incident, based upon information provided by Robert's partner, another very close friend, and several witnesses (many from this board). Additionally, we tried to perform a rescue of the rappeller, given the equipment that we've been told was available at the top of the chains at the time of the accident. CWMR is currently compiling our findings and will be releasing a report to the AAI for inclusion in the next edition of ANAM. When the information is finalized and cleared for public consumption, I'm sure that we'll be posting it here. Thanks. Paul E. Soboleski CWMR

See this thread. I believe that it's the same one to which ehmmic was referring.

Really? Wouldn't it all just get vitrified into glass, and be really slick then? And go way hard on the grades?

Peeps, This coming Sunday, CWMR and Grant County FD will be conducting an investigation of the recent accident at Frenchman's Coulee. We would ask that everyone PLEASE avoid the area surrounding the accident scene. We're concerned that there may be blood stains/gear/etc. that may give us a clear picture of contact points and fall line, and we would not want that evidence disturbed. There may also be some personal effects of Robert's that the family might like recovered. Thanks again for your help. Paul Soboleski CWMR

Hey minx, you gettin' this?

Man, that's a really nice trip plan. How do I get a job as a Master Slacker so I can do these things? Much training involved in that line of work? Have a bunch of fun, Man.

Yeah, brand spankin' new footbridge replaced the old bridge last fall. Nice approach again to the Royal Columns area.

Stefan, Here is where I get mine. It is kinda expensive, but I've always felt that it's been well worth it. I've recertified (every 2 years) several times now. WFA is a 16-24 hour course, can be done on a long weekend, and costs about $130-$150, depending on how you work out travel and lodging arrrangements for the instructors. WFR is an 80-hour course, and is really recommended for those that will function as guides and/or outdoor instructors. I don't know what level of preparedness that you'd want to train for, but the WFA course would serve most all weekend climbers quite well. WFR is quite the commitment of time and money, and you'd want to recertify every two years to "keep your card current". WAFA (Wilderness Advanced First Aid) lies between the two. One good thing is the recertification process for the WAFA and WFR is that it is basically the same as going through the WFA, so the time and cost is much reduced after you get your WAFA/WFR first. I will be recertifying in October, so I know that there will be a course offered in the Tri-Cities at that time through my climbing club, I-MAC. We accept "outside" parties to help us defray the course cost. Lemme know if I can help further. Paul

There isn't. The Q&D Guide was a "one-time" thing, and Yale has moved to Wyoming (hence the name of the Strobach ice climb, "Sudden Change of Plans") and Norm doesn't get out much anymore what with his gymnasium biz.

See this thread from last October.

As do I. I just always hope never to need it.

Did I say something stupid? edited to remove autosig

Greetings cc.com-ers, My name is Paul Soboleski, with Central Washington Mountain Rescue. Our unit has been asked by law enforcement to coodinate the investigation into this accident. We have already spoken with Mr. Peruchini's partners, but we would like to talk with those who witnessed the fall and provided immediate attention to Robert. If you feel that you would like to assist CWMR and Robert's family and friends, please email me at psoboleskiATg-oDOTcom The following is information that has been approved for release at this time: Local climber, Robert Peruchini, 41, of Ellensburg, WA. fell to his death while rock climbing at Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, WA. The accident occurred around 2 pm Sunday while he and a friend were rappelling on the Sunshine Wall. Mr. Peruchini suffered massive head and body trauma and despite the efforts of first aiders and medics on scene he could not be revived. Central Washington Mountain Rescue is currently reviewing the accident. His mother and father of Kittitas and many local friends survive him.

Intentionally launched myself off a climb at Vantage about 15 years ago when the column I was climbing peeled off the wall and started to take me for a death-crooz. Executed a beautiful 30-foot swan dive toward the talus, only to be "safely" jerked up just short of impact by the rope, absorbing much of my kinetic energy. A mere nanosecond or so later, the rope got chopped about 2 or 3 feet from my harness by the VW-sized column remnants that were now chasing me down the scree slope. Route no longer exists, but I still do, much to some people's dismay. I don't have much use for Vantage anymore.

Hoo boy, do I have one from 1991! If you want, I could try to find the incident report we filed, or type it up with a word processer to get it just right.