tieton cragging tr (for chucK and peter puget)

[erik]

so i was finally able to force one of my friends to go to the tieton with me. the place is soo damn cool that it really is hard to describe, the coolness of it. sadly i have only ever cimbed at the crags in the lower canyon, which are quite good.

 

so erik and i met at our uncommunicated secondary meeting time of 8pm at the enumclaw safeway.

 

i totally prefer the laid back drive up and over 410 and down the american river....camp somewhere along the way as the ice cold beer is calling out to us! pull over and remark what a great spot we found in the middle of the night!!!! vvrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmm oops guess not!! after all the backroad driving we only evert paralleled the damn thing!!

 

wake up at 930ish and mull around make some coffee, make some chorizo and eggs, make some coffee and ponder life till lunch time!!!

 

the royal column and the new bridge! sure is nice!

we met up with the WAC group who was enjoying the sun and the fine rock. teaching and learning how to lead climb. funny way they go about it, but had no problems kickin it with them and sharing the rock. hmmmm maybe all those rumors are not true?? i dunnoo? once the sun becomes too much we escape for the river, beer and the yellow jackets!!!!

 

off to th store to get ice and more beer and some firewood. rude biatch at the store!!!! go down to indian joe's!! we kicked it for 20 minutes. dont go to the trout lodge, go to blocks down to the sporting goods store!!!!!

 

dinner...dinner...dinner.....and more beer!! erik and i stay up late making sure the beer is gone and firewood burned!!......too bed! man why do i have to get up and pee 50 times a night?? sheesh!!!

 

up at an early 10.....same schedule as yesterday....today none of the lower crags sound like what we need....so i call a whim and say we need to search for wildcat cliff. where's it at?? i dunno....wildcat road??? up and down the highway watching all the silly rafters!!! there it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

up the road wrong turn, wrong turn, wrong turn....hey!!! some chalk and bolts!!! all right we found some climbing!!!!!!

don't i notice that bearded man in the trees!!! no way it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woot!!!!! it is the man who shaped my formidable climbing years!!!!!

 

the 1st thing ole boy sez is "man your website is too much! too much spray! where's the climbing? i would love to share info and what not, but not with all the spray"..i bashidly shy away from the topic for a bit......so he gives us the grand tour of the wildcat and what an area!!!! so many amazing and hard climbs to be had!!! i convince erik he needs to lead a route that he thinks he is not ready for!!! bling bling!!! with some work and a bit of determination erik gets the send and makes his day???? we go about and enjoy the great rock and nice temps!! at this wonderful crag......towards the end of the day!!! my old buddy coaxes us onto one more route

..i call out until i fall and then find myself working the crux till complete exhaustion!!! upon lowering erik asks should i? and i respond back hell yeah!!!! and once a grade, a route that erik never thought he could do!!! he practically flashes it!!!! now that is a day of climbing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

lazy hike back up to the beer and a sleepy ride home.

 

 

 

[Peter_Puget]

So why is this in spray?!?!?!?!!?

[scrambler]

Nice, I've only been at the Tietons once but I definitely plan to go back. Here's an attached pic of a new route at the Oasis. Don't look at this picture if you want to onsight it. The easy part of the route starts in a lava tube, to a heel hook, and then on to a harder section, 5.11 something. I look like a chump on toprope but, what the hell, I'm not hardman enough to lead it off the bat.

[E-rock]