catbirdseat Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 The climbing partner (who shall remain nameless) who I had lined up at Pub Club last night didn't show so I prevailed upon Ade to go with me this morning. He and I went up to Darrington and climbed Westward Ho, 5.9. Ade led the odd pitches and I the even. They all seemed about the same difficulty. If that is the only route you do up there you don't need much of a rack. I got in a supplemental blue Alien on the second pitch and 1 inch and 1.5 inch cams on the last pitch. Ade noticed a few 1/4 inch buttonhead bolts to the right of Westward Ho. They are few and far between. The route looked too sketchy for us to try. There does seem to be more gear placement opportunities there than on Westward Ho, but still it is severely run out. We were wondering if the route had a name and what the history was. I should think with some upgraded bolts it might be a worthwhile climb. We were done so early that we decided to go do the West Buttress. We started it on the second pitch. Ade got to lead the 5.9 pitch (#3) and liked it. We trundled a couple of big loose rocks on the middle of the fourth pitch. They made quite a noise. Saw some rocks spontaneously fall down onto Westward Ho from the ridge above and were glad we weren't on it at the time. We were going to rap the route from the top of the fourth pitch, but said "what the hell" and finished at Blueberry Terrace descending via the rap route that starts at the big pine tree with the orange and yellow slings. Ade trundled some rocks while rappelling and they sailed off to one side of me by a good margin. They made quite an interesting whirring noise as they soared by. It was rather hot up there and the one liter each we brought didn't go far. We were parched when we got back to our packs. The additional liter we had stashed there tasted great, as did the sodas and beers in the car. Cleaned up a horrible mess some other climbers had left at the camp site. Someone took a shit not five paces from the fire ring, and tore up some clothes for TP and fucking just left it. In Darrington we bought a gallon of water that we made short work of. It was a great day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ade Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 A few bolts right of Westward Ho make Matt's Topo but there are some more, but spacy, 40-50' between old quarter inch bolts. Looks like a fair amount of the original route is intact and there are certainly belay anchors etc. I'll be posting "chopped up white wife beater shirt" on Lost and Found. If it's yours then do us all a favour and learn how to shit in the woods or stay at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhamaker Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 >>>Ade noticed a few 1/4 inch buttonhead bolts to the right of Westward Ho. They are few and far between. There does seem to be more gear placement opportunities there than on Westward Ho, but still it is severely run out. I should think with some upgraded bolts it might be a worthwhile climb.<<< It goes at about 5.8. Belays are sound. Also the route is more out of the way of rockfall than either the W *Buttress*! or Wesward Ho. Upgrading bolts to 3/8 inch might be acceptable, but I volunteer to chop any new (extra) bolts. I see no reason to destroy one extablished climb and make annother in its place, just to bring a piece of rock down to ones comfort level. Anyone who denies that runout is part of the climbing experience is deluding themselves. There is nothing wrong w/ top-roping or or climbing on rappelle to cheque out a piece of rock, especialy if you gain potentialy life-saving info. Question: Is it, or is it not common practice to bring a few pieces when climbing, on-site, a challenging sport rt? W/ me it is SOP. Thanx you two for cleaning up after the ya hoos. That was probably the scariest piece of the trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbw1966 Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Ade said: I'll be posting "chopped up white wife beater shirt" on Lost and Found. If it's yours then do us all a favour and learn how to shit in the woods or stay at home. I did a hike on the Timberline Trail aroudn Hood last weekend and saw tufts of TP in several spots--usually within 10 feet of the trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 we should resurrect the thread about the guy stopping people on the trail cause his gf was taking a shit around the bend. hey people - go shit off the trail! or Santa Crap will come and shit on your tv-watching sofa cushions!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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