Drive-by Choss Fest

[rbw1966]

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.

[b-rock]

I look at that damn chimney everytime I drive by, scary!

[Terminal_Gravity]

Great TR. Sounds like adventure climbing on some of Oregon's finest!

[rbw1966]

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.

[wayne]

There is nothing like moss over choss! Good job fellow dirt eaters of America. Glad to see the true spirit of adventure displayed here. Please get help immediatly.

[rbw1966]

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.

[wayne]

You gotta be carefull, too, when you tie off to those "Chickstones"!

[iain]

thought you might like this cross-post from rec.climbing a few years back...

 

From: travis bickle (nospamtravis@ethergate.com)

Subject: Crown Point Oregon-spook fest T.R.(long)

 

This is the only article in this thread

 

View: Original Format

Newsgroups: rec.climbing

Date: 1998/09/03

Any climbers from the Northwest are undoubtedly familiar with the

Colombia River Gorge and its crumbly rotten walls. Countless times I'd

driven past 700 foot Crown Point cliff face(where the semi-famous Vista

House stands) in the Western end of the Gorge and wondered about the

climbing routes I knew were there. A true horror I imagined. The standard

route is the big chimney on the west edge. The whole thing is covered in

moss and grass hummocks and I only actually knew two people who climbed on

the formation.

Last weekend I got to find out for myself what was up there. A spook

fest is what's up there. I was climbing with my friend Thomas, who has

eons more experience than me and certainly a lot more sense to know

better, when the idea came up. We had just climbed "Gandolf's Grip" at

Broughton Bluff and we were discussing our options at Beacon Rock for the

afternoon. I made an offhanded reference to a route description in the old

Nick Dodge guide to Oregon climbing--something about zucchini for

sustenance on a route on Crown Point-- and the seed was planted in Thomas'

head.

We drove up and down the 84 freeway looking for a place to start and

chose the pullout in front of Rooster Rock. We racked up with all are big

cams and hexes and a couple of pints of water and headed off to find a way

through the thick Northwest jungle at the base of Crown Point. The way was

choked with pricker bushes, and the sweat and dirt started to cake on out

sorry asses. The ropes and pro were snagging on every other bush and the

idea seemed to be securing itself as the worst one ever with each step.

Eventually we were several hundred feet above the river and the thought of

going back down was sickening.

The way eased up a bit as we hit an open slope of rock and grass

only 100 feet below the start of the route. I was out in front when I felt

a prick. For a moment I was puzzled as there were no thorny bushes on the

open slope, but the moment was brief. A cloud of angry yellowjackets began

their assault and within seconds I was pulling off handfulls of the evil

bastards and had scores of stings. I ran headlong into the thorns with the

hexes clanging like a cow being chased by the Chupacabra. Fortunately the

bees didn't chase me far and I waited under a tree for Thomas.

We finished the approach and stood under the base of the huge chimney.

Thomas took the first lead(it was after all his idea) up a slanting grass

covered groove. He set a friend and moved higher and found a pin. The

route is fixed he proclaimed with a smile. He scratced away the grass and

dirt and clipped the rusty old relic. We were on the route.

Thomas made his way to a belay with two old pins and a friend and it

was my turn. Following the grassy wall had really put the zap on my head.

It was dead vertical and almost totally covered in grass. It wasn't very

hard, maybe 5.4, but it was damn scary. My lead didn't look any better.

From our lofty perch I had to make my way 15 feet right to the start of

the chimney. Not having the courage to traverse upwards, I lowered a bit

and tensioned over to the chimney. The rocks wiggled and groaned as I

moved, but surprisingly there were solid parts and the protection was

reasonable. I slowly made my way to a huge chockstone and pin belay.

We now stood at the base of the enormous chimney. Its base angled up

and back about 50 feet into the cliff. It towered above us for a full rope

length. The whole thing was formed by the space between a smaller tower,

the Alpenjagger, and the parent cliff. It was Thomas' lead.

He started up, confident in the ability to find more solid pins(the

gear we had found was old, but still looked reasonable) and cracks for

protection. It was an amazing setting. I watched him stem up between the

two walls in classic chimney form. Below me I watched the busy highway and

waterway of the Columbia Gorge below me. I relaxed. We were going to pull

it off, and it really hadn't been that scary up to this point. We had

decided to hitch hike(it was Sunday and thousands of folks were in the

Gorge) to my truck parked at Broughton so getting down wouldn't be a

problem.

Thomas disappeared up over the Alpenjagger side of the chimney. The

rope moved steadily and then stopped. "He must be setting a belay," I

thought. "It won't be long now," I thought. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15.

Something is very wrong. "For Thomas to take this long at a belay spells

trouble," I thought to myself. What I thought was the wind, began to blow

down huge clouds of dust and moss. "Strange," I thought. 20 minutes, 25

and finally the rope begins to move. In the time--which felt like an

eternity-- I tried to imagined what had happened. Was the belay so scary

that he tried all this time to find a good placement? Did he encounter

some ancient bolt ladder that he had to tie some aiders for? What do you

do if your partner has a heart attack and dies on a ledge above you? How

do you know?

He had me on belay and I started up. I climbed cautiously, assuming

that the belay above me was worthless. The climbing was actually fun.

Stemming between the huge walls, I found the rock to be reasonably sound

and the protection good. As the chimney narrowed and the left hand wall

began to overhang the route went straight up the Alpenjagger side. As I

popped over the rim just below the top of the sub-summit I saw a good tree

in the system and followed the rope line up with my eyes.

"Jesus wept," I moaned to myself. Jesus wept indeed, and so did I. The

horror I was looking at was unspeakable. The small summit of the

Alpenjagger was 20 feet above me. The entire top of the formation was

covered in thick grass and only the occasional piece of fractured basalt

was showing through. The parent cliff was the same only dead vertical. The

rope continued up from the tree another ten feet to a piece burried in the

dirt and grass. The rope moved right and across the two foot chasm which

seperated the Alpenjagger from the parent cliff. Upward went the line

about 25 feet to some sort of protection in the dirt and then disappeared

into the trees above where the cliff ended.

Realizing that Thomas had made the step across and the climbed up

another 25 feet or so I shuddered at thought of the fall he would have

taken. I moved up to the piece in the dirt and almost vomited. I removed

it and continued. I traversed cautiously to the left and as I approached

the point where Thomas crossed I discoverd the reason for the delay. A

huge 4 foot square area had been cleared away. He had been desperately

scratching and clawing away the grass and moss in a vain attempt to find a

placement or holds. That explained all the dust and moss that the "wind"

blew down. Again I pondered the fall and the fear that must have been

going through his mind. What nerve this Thomas has. Truly Godlike in my

little universe. I would never be in his league I thought and was proud to

know him, although I kind of wished I wasn't about to step across this

chasam looking at a pendulum fall into the main cliff face.

I made the step and clawed my way up the grass covered face. Using

grass humps for holds I found calm in the rope above me, a calm that

Thomas had had to do without. His piece midway looked sound but who could

know. Probably his fall would have pulled down the whole rotten cliff

face: grass, mice and men and all. When I got to him I let out a yell of

relief. My God! What a fright. Indeed, but Thomas reminded me that as

frightening as it had been it was still a picnic compared to his

experience on the "Hollow Flake" pitch on the Salathe Wall(they had the

wrong size Big Bros)

We smashed our way up through the bushes to the top and the mobs of

tourists at the Vista House. A group had seen us top out and wandered over

to look and see where we might have come from. We bummed a ride to my

truck and headed back to the car. We had covered quite a bit of ground for

an afternoon.

djm

[Dru]

you should sell the "rapping the cock" picture to Trojan to show what happens when you try and use protection.

[aggressivepedestrian]

Balls of steel, I reckon.

 

As for the shooting, no worries. According to this article in the Oregonian , it was just an accident. Apparently the Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputies are cool with folks shooting their cousins with semi-automatic pistols in state park restrooms.

 

 

[cj001f]

Well Done! Anyone up for the first winter ascent?

[cj001f]

shredmaximus said:

I have heard that the waterfall that comes out of the hanging valley on the other side of Crown Point is an awesome ice climb... about every 10 years or so!

 

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.

[MATT_B]

cj001f said:

shredmaximus said:

I have heard that the waterfall that comes out of the hanging valley on the other side of Crown Point is an awesome ice climb... about every 10 years or so!

 

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.

 

Yes, yes! If I remember correctly it is called Crest Jewel, WI3, 2 or 3 pitches. I saw it in shape the first time I went ice climbing. That was about 10 years ago so we should be due. Maybe this winter About the only truely good climbing in the gourge is on ice. There are plenty of other "good" adventure climbs too. Anyone have any other favorites? I've tryed Pillers of Herculies and the rabbit ears. Both seem somewhat typical. Loose rock, moss, rusty pins and stinging nettels. Everything you would need for a good adventure.

[wayne]

Wow, I bothered to look up when I last did Rooster/Crown and was shocked to see it was 25 years and 1 month ago! We had to make our own moss back then.

I am truly now an old shit. 17 years since I did Crown Jewel. I need to stock up on Depends. The Ice in the Gorge used to come in more before we all got SUV's and shit. About every 3 years or so. http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/showphoto.php?photo=383&papass=&sort=1&thecat=507

[cluck]

While it is fun to bash SUVs, think the issues around temp changes in Portland most likely have something more to do with population growth and urban sprawl rather than emissions variations of cars versus SUV. Between 1990-2000 alone, PDX added 470,000 more people. The Oregonian (I think) had some sat photos of suburban Portland a few years back versus today and the amount of transition from forrest/farm land to concrete & buildings was visually arresting. Ditto an article in national Geographic (a couple years old) that represented population growth impact on planet via photos at night.... places that were jungle twenty years ago and showed no man made light are now lit up like a Christmas trees. Yes, I drive an SUV (the van of the 2000s for families with lots of kids) but I think blaming the worlds problems on my car is a gross over simplification of the problem. And..... in fact, even today's SUVs do a much better job with emissions than older cars still on the roads. Next time you are in a hot parking lot in the Summer, ask yourself "Am I frying because of radiant heat coming up off this blacktop or because an SUV was driving around somewhere?" food for thought.... flame away SUV haters

[Winter]

OFF TOPIC!!

 

OFF TOPIC!!

 

 

What are you an SUV dealer or something?

[bunglehead]

Uhhhh..... Post in the wrong forum?

[cluck]

Uhhh???? Nope. Check out Wayne's link to a pic of an SUV going off a bridge. And, if you read the rest of the posts above, you would see that folks were missing cold times "back in the day" when it got cold enough in Winter that Gorge waterfalls brought ice climbing to our doorstep. Theory is.... doesn't get as cold as it used to in PDX, thus no ice climbing. Wayne mentioned SUVs. I'm just saying, if we don't get cold temps, don't count on autos being the cause.

[wayne]

SUVs are just a bellweather on how spoiled we are with our consuming in general. The place is warming in general and weve all been doing our industrial belch thang for centuries, We are just so used to fucking the planet anyways so dont stop now someone may notice and call you strange

[iain]

I still find the seagulls in your drawing priceless! HAHAHAHA!

[iain]

Here's a good sign there's ice in the gorge:

[iain]

note to big-ass suv owners: the majority think you're an idiot! it's not a status symbol! even the true 4x4'rs think your troop transport is a disgrace! you look like a tool!

[wayne]

If the Hummer isnt big enough , try the Bradley Family fighting vehicle! It has half the radioactive armament of the leading troop transport

Sorry to do this to your great thread RB, The medicine is now taking effect.

[MtnHigh]

cluck said:

temp changes in Portland most likely have something more to do with population growth and urban sprawl rather than emissions variations of cars versus SUV. Between 1990-2000 alone, PDX added 470,000 more people.

 

About a half million more people emitting gas. That will raise the temps.

[rbw1966]

cj001f said:

shredmaximus said:

I have heard that the waterfall that comes out of the hanging valley on the other side of Crown Point is an awesome ice climb... about every 10 years or so!

 

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.